RIP Channel Z… Hello Kiwi
After several years struggling in the ratings, Channel Z is to be relaunched under a brand new name – ‘Kiwi’ – as a 100 per cent New Zealand music broadcaster.
The station will be programmed by current Z PD Grant Hislop but is expected to debut a new line-up of DJs when it switches format at 7pm on Waitangi Day (February 6).
“Simply put: About bloody time!,” says Hislop, who has mumbled late into the night at industry functions for years about the potential of a local content-only radio station.
Channel Z has always had a high proportion of local material, including stints during the last two NZ Music Months when it went 100% Kiwi, but going permanently Kiwi is a first for mainstream radio.
“We are rapt that this plan is finally coming to fruition and the feedback so far has been nothing short of phenomenal.”
“The last few years have been such a watershed period for the local scene with brilliant new acts, and programmers and listeners alike taking risks that they may not have a decade ago. Everyone at Channel Z has a passion for New Zealand music and we see the decision to re-brand and re-format to Kiwi simply as a long-overdue extension of that passion.
“Kiwi will continue to be instrumental in breaking new acts as well as focusing on the best of New Zealand music both past and present,” he says.
While Kiwi’s arrival is hailed as good news for local music, the departure of Channel Z will leave a big hole for the music industry machine breaking international music. Often the breaking ground for rock and alternative artists of all nationalities, the three-city network has long occupied the ground between the b.net and the mainstream.
However, it has faced consistent difficulties in the last few years maintaining an audience, not helped in Auckland by its exile to a Waiheke Island frequency two years ago when The Edge claimed its previous spot on the dial.
The new format will include dedicated genre-specific shows, according to Hislop, with plans to enlist the help of “famous New Zealanders in guest spots and a concentration on musical styles to suit the personalities and knowledge bases of the chosen on-air hosts.”
Kiwi will broadcast on the three FM frequencies currently occupied by Channel Z (93.8FM Auckland, 91.7FM Wellington and 99.3FM Christchurch). It will also be available nationwide to SKY Digital subscribers on Sky Channel 100, and streaming online at http://www.kiwifm.co.nz/