Golds facebook page is giving links to iheart and gold is still available there
Look, good luck to them. I hope they do well, although I must admit I imagine most Kiwis (even in regional areas) absolutely loathe country music.
Itās the opposite here. I live in cattle country so plenty of people dress as cowboys. The local radio station plays country music 24/7, thereās rodeos every second weekend so it makes sense that down the road in Brisbane they have four country music radio stations - 4AAA, iHeart Country, ABC Country, MMM Country. 4KQ used to be country, and 4BC was āBrisbaneās countryā. When EKKA is on you see all the country people in their cowboy hats.
But Aotearoa is not like that. Cow cockies do not dress as cowboys. So this is something new and itās not organic. What will work is if they program the station as āstraight from the USā, with US voices and slick production and the sound of Nashville or Texas.
I reckon if done well they can average around 3 or 4. But no more. Country radio stations even in the states always have a base, but also have a very low ceiling.
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I donāt know about that assertion. I do know quite a lot of ābogansā and young farmers in a few regional areas and they listen to nothing but country and Christian. I did listen to about half an hour of it and must admit, a lot of those songs played are current or past hits on ZM & The Edge so it might do a lot better than you think.
While classic country isnāt my cup of tea, Iād happily listen to this station on a roadie if itās on in the car.
I disagree. Both Brian FM & channelX prove that the all music, no talk format has a market here. That paired with already popular songs that arenāt played on those stations might be a winning formula. It would at least take market share from The Edge, ZM, More and channelX for sure.
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And thatās the thing. For most Kiwis it is not. Which is why Iām suggesting a 3 share. And yes I have no doubt you know people who listen to nothing but country and Christian. This is a music thing not a cultural thing.
When I go to Warwick and walk around the shopping centre and everyone is all decked out in checkered shirts and cowboy boots and cowboy hats and trucker hats - thatās an entire culture right there. And of course they listen to country music.
But Aotearoa doesnāt have that. So it is confected.
You make a good point. I think also itād be interesting to see how many Hokonui listeners jump ship. Iām old enough to remember when 4ZG used to play country.
Two things.
Aotearoa has never ever had a strong affiliation with country music. Never.
The new country is just a fad.
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As someone who grew up in a rural part of the South Island, I can attest to this - no one I know likes country music there today.
For my part Iāve deleted the preset off my radio - I have absolutely no interest in listening to country music, although my partner (an American) does, so she may listen on her car radio. Iām just glad I live somewhere now where Gold is also on AM so I can at least listen to it a little bit.
Having said that if they can make this work, all power to them - but I seem to recall country stations failing in the past (although that was a very long time ago).
I tend to agree that ānew countryā is a fad but Luke Combs and other artists packing out concerts proves there is an audience of some sort - at least for now.
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Donāt think it will ever get that high, not enough markets. Even Hauraki struggles to get a 3 share nationally.
Ha I was coming here to ask
Where do we think this will landā¦
On a scale of Mix to Channel Xā¦
Any takers on how long this format will last before they revisit this again and change to something else
I think youād be surprised if you went for a wander through peopleās record collections from the 60s to 80s (and maybe later). And sure, some of those people have walked into the sunset, but thatās not to say there still isnāt an underlying interest in the genre.
Iām glad to see someoneās giving a genre thatās not already out there in multiple guises a go. Hereās hoping they give it a decent whack (unlike some radio networks in this countryā¦ you know who you are!).
And maybe, if itās successful, it might open up the possibility of a Death Metal network 
@TV4 iHeartMetal - what do you think of the name?
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Yeah, itās certainly more of a thing in NZ than it is in the UK.
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Taranaki local day show being done out of Rotorua with Paul Hickey as well now.
And another update: Hayley Bath relocating from Wellington to Tauranga to host the local days show on The Hits. She will continue hosting Auckland and network shows, with Wellington losing its local day show opting for the network feed instead.
New Rova app launched today. Looks like a nice revamp but I see theyāve removed all independent radio stations and now just have MW brands, RNZ, Tarana and Sport Nation.
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Rova also has the different stations on it ie sound deep cuts/90s/breeze 80s etc sometimes makes a change from the normal stations
Update: Heās gone into Real Estate.
Iām not a fan of the alternate streams (High School Hits etc) being in the Playlist tab.
Also saw this which made me laugh.
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āSomethingās munted,ā sounds like an awesome playlist!
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Budget cuts RNZ funding by $18m over four years - $4.6m a year - Minister Goldsmith expects the state broadcaster "to deliver the same efficiency and value-for-money as the rest of the public sector."
ā Tim Murphy (@tmurphyNZ) May 22, 2025
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