MPowerFM is a commercial radio station serving

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...

. Broadcasting from studios in Emalahleni and Nelspruit, MPowerFM went on air in December 2007.MPowerFM Website (About)
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History

MPowerFM was a dream that became a reality in the early part of 2006. With

African Media Entertainment African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

(AME) and Direng, shareholders and owners of various radio stations in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, approaching the

Lowveld Veld ( or ), also spelled veldt, is a type of wide open rural landscape in :Southern Africa. Particularly, it is a flat area covered in grass or low scrub, especially in the countries of South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Botswa ...

Chamber of Business and Commerce to enter into a bid for the tender of the only commercial radio licence to be issued by

ICASA The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) is an independent regulatory body of the South African government, established in 2000 by the ICASA Act to regulate both the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors in the publ ...

. After a lengthy process of acquiring potential local investors, as well as investors from up country, a successful bid was presented to ICASA and won. This resulted in the birth of MPowerFM - the first and only commercial radio station in Mpumalanga.MPowerFM Website (Our History)
/ref> State of the art equipment was installed into their studios, which broadcast across the province on the 7 frequencies made available to them by Sentec. Over the past few years some changes have occurred, with challenges that are faced by many startup companies. From opening the Witbank (

Emalahleni Witbank (), officially Emalahleni, is a city situated on the Highveld of Mpumalanga, South Africa, within the Emalahleni Local Municipality. The name Witbank is Afrikaans for "white ridge", and is named after a white sandstone outcrop where wag ...

) Studio at the Ridge to moving their main studio's to the Grove Shopping Centre in the Riverside Precinct in

Nelspruit Mbombela (also known as Nelspruit) is a city in northeastern South Africa. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga province. Located on the Crocodile River (Mpumalanga), Crocodile River, Mbombela lies about by road west of the Mozambique border, ea ...

. Things have progressed and MPowerFM is fast becoming the heart of Mpumalanga. With great emphasis being placed on supporting charities and communities with specific needs, the radio station continues to strive and meet the expectations of the community at large.

Take over

Mpowerfm was bought out by

Times Media Group Arena Holdings, formerly known as Tiso Blackstar Group, Johnnic Communications, Avusa and Times Media Group, is a media company in South Africa. Avusa means "to rouse feelings, to revive and evoke action". The name was changed in 2007 in order to ...

in December 2013. The radio station now goes by the name RISEfm (www.risefm.co.za)

Coverage Areas & Frequencies

Broadcasting from eMalahleni (Witbank) to all of MpumalangaThe Media Connection (MPowerFM)

Current Presenters

•Shaun Lukhele •Portia Adams •Tony Murrell •Dave Walters •Sasha •Sam Jagger •Celani Dubai •Desire Malunga

Broadcast Languages

*English

Broadcast Time

*24/7

Target Audience

*LSM Groups 7 – 10 *Adults

Programme Format

*80% Music *20% Talk

Listenership Figures

References

External links

MPowerFM Website
* /www.saarf.co.za SAARF Website* /www.sentech.co.za Sentech Website Radio stations in South Africa Mass media in Mpumalanga {{SouthAfrica-radio-station-stub