Radio New Zealand is New Zealand's public service radio broadcaster.

History

Radio New Zealand was established in 1975. Until that year, radio services were provided by the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (NZBC), and, before 1962, the New Zealand Broadcasting Service (NZBS). It became part of the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand (BCNZ) in 1978. Following the dissolution of BCNZ in 1988, Radio New Zealand became a separate State-Owned Enterprise along with Television New Zealand.

In 1995, the Radio New Zealand Commercial (RNZC) networks were privatised, with the non-commercial New Zealand Public Radio (NZPR) known simply as 'Radio New Zealand' (RNZ). The changes also resulted in RNZ's removal from the State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986 and it being made a Crown Entity.

Networks

RNZ has two main national networks, National Radio, which carries news, current affairs, and arts, and Concert FM, which is dedicated to classical music and jazz. National Radio generally broadcasts on AM, but is now increasingly available on FM in major cities. RNZ's third network, AM Network , is leased to a private Christian broadcaster while it is not broadcasting parliament.

Radio New Zealand International broadcasts on shortwave to neighbouring countries in the Pacific from a transmitter on North Island.

Call Signs

Until the 1980s, RNZ stations used a series of call signs, consisting of a single digit and two letters. The digits 1 to 4 identified the region in which the station was broadcasting:

1 = North Island as far south as the Bay of Plenty. 
2 = the rest of North Island and Nelson Province in the South Island 
3 = South Island down to Timaru 
4 = the rest of South Island 

1YA, 2YK, 3AQ, 4YA were the first stations operating in the country's four main cities. The commercial station 1ZB kept its call sign, after the practice was discontinued by other RNZ stations, and following its sell-off, became known as Newstalk ZB.

See also

• List of radio stations in New Zealand
• Public broadcasting in New Zealand

External link

• Radio New Zealand
• Radio New Zealand International