Today FM was a nationwide

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

-based New Zealand talkback,

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the te ...

and

sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

radio network There are two types of radio network currently in use around the world: the one-to-many (simplex communication) broadcast network commonly used for public information and mass media, mass-media entertainment, and the two-way radio (Duplex (teleco ...

owned and operated by

MediaWorks New Zealand MediaWorks New Zealand is a New Zealand-based company specialising in radio, outdoor advertising and interactive media. It is owned by Australian out-of-home advertising company QMS. It operates eight national radio brands, eleven websites and ...

. It was formed by the 2022 rebrand of Magic Talk and competed directly against

NZME New Zealand Media and Entertainment (abbreviated NZME) is a New Zealand newspaper, radio and digital media business. It was launched in 2014 as the merger of APN New Zealand (a division of APN News & Media), the Radio Network (formerly part of ...

station

Newstalk ZB Newstalk ZB is a nationwide New Zealand talk radio, talk-radio network operated by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, NZME Radio. It is available in almost every media market, radio market area in New Zealand, and has news reporters based in m ...

. It was taken off air on 30 March 2023.

History

In November 2021, MediaWorks announced it would replace Magic Talk with a new talk radio network called Today FM.

Newshub ''Newshub'' (stylised as Newshub.) was a New Zealand news service that operated from 1989 to 2024 and served as the local news division of Warner Bros. Discovery New Zealand until its closure. The division, known as ''3 News'' until 2016, had ...

's political editor at the time, Tova O'Brien, was announced as breakfast host, with broadcasters Duncan Garner,

Rachel Smalley Rachel Jane Smalley is a New Zealand television and radio journalist and presenter. From 2013 to 2017 she hosted ''Early Edition'' every weekday morning on Newstalk ZB and wrote regular columns for ''The New Zealand Herald''. Early life Smalle ...

, Polly Gillespie, Leah Panapa, Mark Richardson, Lloyd Burr, Wilhelmina Shrimpton, Nigel Yalden, Robett Hollis, Mark Dye,

Carly Flynn Carly Flynn (''née'' Kirkwood) is a New Zealand journalist and television personality. Personal life Born and raised in Taupō, New Zealand, where both of her parents were English teachers at Tauhara College, Flynn is the eldest of the three ...

, Nickson Clark, Dave Letele and

Dominic Bowden Dominic Joseph Bowden (born 15 December 1977) is a New Zealand television personality, host and voice actor. He is best known as the host of New Zealand reality series including ''New Zealand Idol, Dancing with the Stars (New Zealand TV series), ...

in the lineup. The Today FM brand name has been used in other regions, such as 89.3 Today FM, which was founded as a local station in the Wairarapa by Paul Henry in 1991, and Today 92FM (later Today 99.8FM), which was a local station in Auckland in the 1990s. Henry would later become the "voice" of the new station. Today FM was launched on 21 March 2022 and commenced broadcasting on the former Magic Talk frequencies, plus 90.2 FM in Auckland (moving The Rock to 106.2 FM) and 95.3 FM in Christchurch (moving

Mai FM Mai FM is New Zealand's largest urban contemporary radio network, promoting Māori language and culture and broadcasting hip hop and rhythm and blues. It is located in Auckland, and is available in twelve markets around the country. The network ...

to the low-power frequency of 106.8 FM). The first programme to be aired on the station was ''First Light'', presented by Rachel Smalley. The station was abruptly taken off air on 30 March 2023, just over a year after it launched. During the mid-morning show ''Duncan Garner Today'', O'Brien and other Today FM staff came on air to announce they were being shuttered. Garner and O'Brien went onto criticise station owners Mediaworks, before the show was replaced by music at 9:25 am that morning. At 5:12 pm, a pre-recorded announcement was aired, confirming the closure of Today FM. Staff were told the annual costs of producing the station were around $7.5 million, but that projected revenue would only "land at about $6-6.5 million". Specialty shows that aired on Today FM such as the Rural Exchange show and coverage of the Blackcaps cricket matches continued after the closure on the same frequencies. REX (Rural Exchange) ran at their normal times until they were moved to

Magic Magic or magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces ** ''Magick'' (with ''-ck'') can specifically refer to ceremonial magic * Magic (illusion), also known as sta ...

on 17 April. For the cricket, the New Zealand versus Sri Lanka game on 8 April 2023 was the final match covered.

News bulletins

News and sports bulletins were broadcast live every hour, on the hour, and produced in a shorter, snappier format with headline summaries as the major stories developed. The news was provided by the station's own newsroom with over 20 news and sports journalists, editors and correspondents. Network newsreaders included Carly Flynn (breakfast) and Wilhelmina Shrimpton (drive), with Bridget Hastie,

Geoff Bryan Geoff Bryan (born 24 April 1956) is a New Zealand television broadcaster, currently a newsreader for MediaWorks Radio and one of the breakfast hosts on Magic. Career Bryan was born in Kent, England, and moved with his family to Australia first ...

, Aroha Hathaway, Angie Skerrett, Brin Rudkin, KM Adams and Mel Homer.

Frequencies

Today FM broadcast in 26 markets. Most of Today FM's frequencies were reallocated to other MediaWorks radio stations.

References

External links

Today FM website
{{New Zealand radio networks News and talk radio stations in New Zealand 2022 establishments in New Zealand 2023 disestablishments in New Zealand Radio stations established in 2022