Mai FM is New Zealand's largest

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban conte ...

radio network, promoting

Māori language Māori (), or ('the Māori language'), also known as ('the language'), is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. Closely related to Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan, and ...

and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

and broadcasting hip hop and

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

. It is located in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, and is available in ten markets around the country. The network targets 15- to 34-year-olds, and reaches an estimated 382,300 different listeners each week.

History

Mai FM began broadcasting to Auckland in July 1992. It was run by one of the largest Maori tribes in New Zealand, Ngati Whatua, and Mai Media. Between 1996 and 2005 Mai FM also operated a second station, Ruia Mai, on 1179 AM in Auckland with all programming in the Māori language. From 1996 to 2001 Mai FM could be heard in Christchurch on 90.5 FM, due to an agreement between Ngati Whatua and Kai Tahu iwi. The Christchurch station was originally 90.5 Tahu FM, with local on air talent, and formatted with the Mai FM Auckland music. In late 2001 the joint agreement ended and the Mai FM branding of the station in Christchurch ceased, reverting to its original name of Tahu FM. In 1996 Ngati Whatua also came to an agreement with the

Te Arawa Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori iwi and hapu (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the Arawa migration canoe (''waka'').MediaWorks New Zealand MediaWorks New Zealand is a New Zealand-based company specialising in radio, outdoor advertising and interactive media. It is jointly owned by U.S. company Oaktree Capital Management and out-of-home advertising company QMS. It operates nine n ...

had bought the station and would take it over on 31 March 2008. Since the MediaWorks' takeover there has been significant programming and branding changes as well as the creation of the Mai FM network.

Programming

Mai FM is a networked station with all shows and music broadcasting from its Auckland studios. The Mai Hot 1000 The Mai Hot 1000The Mai Hot 1000
/ref> is one of the station's annual countdown features. The chart order, including which artists and songs feature, is voted by listeners on the station's official website. The countdown runs on weekdays over a three-week period started in 2013 as The Mai Hot 500 according to their official Instagram page. It was renamed The Mai Hot 900 in 2014 and expanded by 300 songs in 2020. Then in 2022 it had 200 songs removed due to the launch of The Mai Hip Hop 100 and The Mai RnB 100 Countdowns.

Winners

*2022 - J. Cole - " No Role Modelz" *2021 -

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

- " No Scrubs" *2020 -

2pac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

- "

Changes Changes may refer to: Books * ''Changes'', the 12th novel in Jim Butcher's ''The Dresden Files'' Series * ''Changes'', a novel by Danielle Steel * ''Changes'', a trilogy of novels on which the BBC TV series was based, written by Peter Dickinson ...

" *2019 - The Notorious B.I.G - " Juicy" *2018 -

- "

California Love "California Love" is a song by American rapper 2Pac featuring fellow American rapper-producer Dr. Dre and American singer Roger Troutman. The song was released as 2Pac's comeback single after his release from prison in 1995 and was his first sing ...

" *2017 - Bone Thugs N Harmony - "

Tha Crossroads "Tha Crossroads" is a song written and performed by hip hop group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, released as a single in April 1996. The song is dedicated to the group's mentor, the late gangsta rap icon Eazy-E, and other family members. The song was ...

" *2016 -

- "

" *2015 -

- "

" *2014 -

- "

" *2013 -

- "

Stations

Frequencies

These are the frequencies for Mai FM: * Whangarei - 107.3 FM (low power) *

- 88.6 FM *

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

- 105.8 FM *

Tauranga Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...

- 96.6 FM *

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

- 105.5 FM * Gisborne - 89.3 FM *

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region i ...

- 105.5 FM * Manawatu - 97.0 FM *

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

- 100.5 FM *

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

- 106.8 FM (low power)

References

External links

Mai FM official website
{{Radio in New Zealand Māori culture in Auckland Radio stations in Auckland New Zealand radio networks Urban contemporary radio stations Māori mass media Radio stations established in 1992