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 ...

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 most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

, 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 ''Ngati'' is a 1987 New Zealand feature film directed by Barry Barclay, written by Tama Poata and produced by John O'Shea. Production ''Ngati'' is of historical and cultural significance in New Zealand as it is the first feature film written an ...

, 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 iwi to broadcast Mai FM in Rotorua on 96.7 FM, over the years the frequency changed to 99.1 and is now broadcasting on 105.5. On 29 February 2008 it was announced that MediaWorks New Zealand 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 Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his d ...

- "

No Role Modelz "No Role Modelz" is a song by American rapper J. Cole, taken from his third studio album, ''2014 Forest Hills Drive''. The song samples "Don't Save Her" by Project Pat, and was produced by Phonix Beats and J. Cole. During the week of December 22, ...

" *2021 - TLC - "

No Scrubs "No Scrubs" is a song recorded by American girl group TLC as the lead single from their third studio album, ''FanMail'', on February 2, 1999, by LaFace Records and Arista Records. The song was written by producer Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, ...

" *2020 - 2pac - " Changes" *2019 - The Notorious B.I.G - " Juicy" *2018 - 2pac - " California Love" *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 - 2pac - " Changes" *2015 - 2pac - " Changes" *2014 - 2pac - " California Love" *2013 - 2pac - " Changes"

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 Hamilto ...

- 105.8 FM * Tauranga - 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 encomp ...

- 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 ...

- 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 Rive ...

- 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