Radio Cook Islands (630 AM) is a private national Cook Islands radio station. Headquartered in

Avarua Avarua (meaning "Two Harbours" in Cook Islands Māori) is a town and district in the north of the island of Rarotonga, and is the national capital of the Cook Islands. The town is served by Rarotonga International Airport (IATA Airport Code: R ...

, the station broadcasts throughout the country, including

Rarotonga Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 13,007 of a total population of 17,434. The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings a ...

, the Northern Cook Islands, and the

Southern Cook Islands The Cook Islands can be divided into two groups: the Southern Cook Islands and the Northern Cook Islands. The country is located in Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand. From March to Decembe ...

. 80% of its programming is broadcast in Cook Islands Māori, with the remaining 20% in English. Radio Cook Islands was established in the 1970s by the

Government of the Cook Islands The Cabinet of the Cook Islands is the policy and decision-making body of the executive branch of the Cook Islands Government. It consists of the Prime Minister and a number of other Ministers, who are collectively responsible to Parliament. Leg ...

. The station was privatized in 1996, but reverted to government control in December 1998. In March 1999, Elijah Communications, a subsidiary of the Pitt Media Group, acquired the station from the government. Elijah Communications introduced new programming, as well as reformed the station's finances, by 2000. In 2019, the Cook Islands government asked the station to reactivate its backup AM transmitter over concerns that some parts of the country might lack a radio signal during cyclone season. The late broadcaster Tony Hakaoro hosted the popular afternoon talk show, "Karangaranga," on the station.

References

External links

Radio Cook Islands history"Radio Cook Islands - The Voice of the Nation" official Facebook
{{CookIslands-stub Radio stations in the Cook Islands Mass media in the Cook Islands