Bob Gentil retiring from Magic?
Today he said this is his penultimate Drive Show.
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I guess so. In fact, in my book, Bob Gentil has been a radio announcer and voiceover artist (literally) for decades.
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John Markby from More FM Northland is finishing on breakfast tomorrow and More is running a promo that John is moving to Magic from 3 to 8 pm
So John will be taking over and doing the show from WhangÄrei.
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He sure has, I remember him since the 70ās.
Not to forget his association with Disc golf or Frisbee golf - whatever it is called.
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GFK Survey 1, 2025 Radio Audience Measurement New Zealand - Survey Reports
AUCKLAND
Newstalk ZB 14.5-14.6
Mai FM 9.5-10.8, best since S1/19
Breeze 8.8-9.0
Coast 5.6-5.2
Magic 4.9-5.0
CHRISTCHURCH
Newstalk ZB 14.9-15.3
Breeze 12.3-11.9
More FM 9.7-11.2, best since S4/21
Rock 9.7-9.4
The Sound 6.8-7.6
WELLINGTON
Newstalk ZB 15.6-16.3
Breeze 9.9-13.6, best since S2/17
Rock 9.0-8.3
ZM 7.5-8.3, best since S3/20
Mai 6.7-6.0
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..he has been around as long as i can remember wish bob all the best for his retirement
Looks like close results bewteen zb and more in chch
Maybe having si back and based in chch is making a difference
Yeah an immediate boost in Chch. Not so much across the country but Simon is beloved in Chch.
Great to see Mai doing well. Swear jar is clearly doing the trick.
#1 music drive station in TÄmaki Makaurau - Mai is absolutely blitzing it on 12.4 (ZBās on 17.2). Thereās then daylight and Breeze on 8.6 (interestingly, Breeze is also 8.6 nationally on drive).
Nationally, Mai has a cume of 470k, less than ZM (500k) and the Edge (484k), but a 5.8 share. ZM is 5.4 and the Edge is 4.5. Maiās TSLs are a credit to their music.
My what a great book for Mai.
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Mai - and perhaps ZB to an extent - benefits greatly from the band expander issue with Japanese imports in NZ.
Not saying Mai isnāt good - it is, well programmed and knows itās target market - but jump in any Uber in Auckland and thereās a 90/10 chance if itās music itās on Mai.
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Seriously, merge TVNZ with RNZ and then youāll get real efficiencies and it would also create a stronger national broadcaster, similar to Australiaās ABC.
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Probably more similar to the SBS business model.
Itās a good suggestion, Iām just not sure how significant the savings would be, but maybe one charter for both would streamline accountability and ānational broadcasterā responsibilities.
Didnt the previous government try to merge the two but it didnt go anywhere is it worth looking at that again???
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I have often posted here about not believing it is a good idea or that the ship has sailed - but given the dramatic changes to the industry in the last 12 months (both in public and private sectors) it is worth a look in a modern, reshaped public broadcaster.
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It was one of the big failures of the Adern govt in my view. It should be looked at as itās crazy not to share studios, offices, and merge the sales, admin and back office sections of both organisations.
In terms of funding and advertising, maybe, but as NZs major public broadcaster , it should be run along the lines of the ABC with both TV, radio and online departments, sharing office space and back end operations.
The Nationals have never been a fan of funding TVNZ and RNZ and especially the disgraceful decision by PM Key to close down TVNZ 6 and 7.
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Labour tried to do it, but they didnāt go thru with it. Much to the delight of those on here
Good point.
Although while Mai may seem to benefit from this in TÄmaki Makaurau, that doesnāt seem to be the case in the rest of the country.
Mai identify as a Maori radio station promoting Te Reo and Maori culture. Maori make up 12.3% of the TÄmaki Makaurau population, while 16.6% are Pacific peoples.
Funnily enough, in the BOP, 36% of the population are Maori and yet in the Rotorua book, Flava outrated Mai 10.7 to 6.4.
So what does this mean?
We probably canāt draw too many conclusions, but itās interesting that Mai arenāt so big in the BOP.
As NgÄti Awa myself, I often find myself listening to Te Arawa FM.
I can understand why Mai doesnāt rate so well in places like the South Islandā¦ but in Rotorua? Or is this all down to demographics? Younger people moving to TÄmaki Makaurau.
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Rotorua itās on an awkward frequency at the high end of the FM band. Flava closer to the middle of the band. These things are weird! And also still relevant until those cars are phased out over time.
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A lot of drive shows outrating their breakfast counterparts.
As a listener of ZMās breakfast, its good to see them above their traditional Mediaworks rival The Edge. But I know they havent been after the same demographics for a while. ZM now competing for listeners from The Edge, More FM and their stablemates The Hits
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