Broadcast area New Zealand Format Dance radio Webcast Live Stream | First air date 1998 Owner MediaWorks New Zealand | |
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Frequency Auckland 96.6 FM
FM: Various
Freeview: Channel 70 | ||
George FM is a New Zealand dance music radio station, owned and operated by MediaWorks from Ponsonby Road headquarters and relayed on Freeview and radio frequencies around New Zealand. Its seventy-five regular presenters and additional guest presenters host the station's twenty-four-hour mix of house, breaks, drum and bass, dubstep, electro, soul, downbeat, jazz, funk, indie electronica, hip-hop and other dance and electronica music.
Contents
The network was set up as a volunteer-run low power station based in a Grey Lynn spare bedroom in 1998. It became a commercial station with paid staff by 2003, began to be relayed to other centres in subsequent years, became a Freeview station on 1 May 2008 and was bought out by MediaWorks on 16 February 2009. It continues to retain a laid-back style: news is limited to informal news, weather, traffic and surf reports hourly during breakfast and drive shows and the choice of music and presenting style is entirely that of programme hosts.
Breakfast
The George FM Breakfast is hosted by Clint Roberts, Pax Assadi and Kara Rickard. It was previously hosted by Nick Dwyer and Dean Campbell between 2009 and 2013, Clarke Gayford and Aroha Harawira in 2014, then by station co-founder Thane Kirby in 2015 and 2016. Kimbra has guest-hosted the programme on a number of occasions, and PNC, Scribe and David Dallas performed a live freestyle rap on the show in 2012.
In 2013, New Zealand artists were invited to cover popular George FM tunes in a regular Friday on-air and online video feature called 'Damn! I Wish I Was Your Cover', akin to Like a Version on Triple J. The segment featured Ruby Frost covering Disclosure's White Noise, Tahuna Breaks covering Daft Punk's Get Lucky, Anna Coddington covering Major Lazer's Get Free, Six60 covering Rudimental's Feel The Love, Tali covering Kendrick Lamar's Swimming Pools, and Lips covering Kavinsky's Nightcall.
Weekdays
The Grind is currently hosted by General Lee 10am - 3pm. Former hosts include Aroha, station music director Dean Campbell, with Key To The Groove with Bevan Keys airing on Friday mornings. The George Selectah afternoon programme was hosted by Australian-born DJ Dan Aux and the Shapeshifter Selectah with Sambora and P Diggs airs on Fridays.
Drive
Dan Aux & Gracie Taylor have hosted the drive programme since 2015, replacing a previous 2009 to 2014 drive programme with Thane Kirby and Kara Rickard. Sam Hill co-hosts the show on Friday afternoons. Gracie Taylor began a Hiatus in January 2016 to handle her addiction with Ugg Boots and Starbucks coffee, and it ain't over yet.
Weeknights
George FM broadcasts two-hour specialist music shows every evening from 6:00pm to 12:00am. Monday night shows include multi-genre show People of Paris, trap and drum and bass programme Labour of Love with Ben Walker, and hip-hop show Urbanology with Substance. Tuesdays are given over to the multi-genre Sniffers, the house, techno and bass programme Nuff Said with Tommy Flower, and the multi-genre The Black Club. Wednesday includes the house music show Signature Sounds, electronic specialists The Beat Mafia, and multi-genre Umami Radio with DJ iWan.
Thursday's schedule features more genre-specific shows - Big Bad Heavy Radio showcases bass music, Silk Cuts in Session is dedicated to UK garage, and the late-night Olly Thomas show is dedicated to dance music. Friday nights are focused on dance and dance-pop - with OurHouse with Tim Phin, Knight Rider Grant Marshall, and the acid house and electronic show All Gone Pete Tong.
Weekends
Saturday's line up includes two-hour genre-specific shows from 10.00am. Morning Sickness with Tali showcases new dance-pop, Key to the Grove with Bevan Keyes features a dance mix, The Dose is dedicated to soul and funk music, The Saucer with Sam E is downtempo, and The Uptown Boogie is a specialist weekly hip-hop show. Saturday night's playlist is exclusively dance, with Mike Ross, The Hype and Heldeep with Oliver Heldens.
The Sunday schedule includes multi-genre shows like Ear Shot with Cian, Logg Cabin Radio and Sunday Sweetmix. George FM's long-running soul music Sunday flagship, Chocolate Sundae with Gene Rivers, broadcasts in the late afternoon. The Sunday night schedule features the multi-genre Bahaco and hip-hop show The Melting Pot.
Stations
George FM broadcasts a network programme on full-power FM radio stations and low-power FM relay frequencies. It also broadcasts via the Freeview platform.
It was previously available on low-power frequencies in Whangarei, Rotorua, Taupo, Napier, New Plymouth, Whanganui, Wellington, Te Anau, Dunedin and Invercargill. The network has moved to full-power stations in Wellington and Dunedin, has retained low-power relays in Hamilton, Tauranga and Christchurch, and has set up new full-power stations in Nelson and Queenstown. It has dropped low-power frequencies in other centres.