138-464: The Hits is a Hot adult contemporary music radio network , broadcasting to 26 markets across New Zealand . It was set up by Government broadcaster Radio New Zealand in 1993 by consolidating existing stations into a single brand and has been privately owned since 1996. The Hits has had the broadest broadcast reach of any radio network in the country since 1996, and is now available on 40 full-power FM frequencies and 18 iHeartRadio streams. Most of
276-551: A collective decision-making body known as the Cabinet , which is led by the prime minister (currently Christopher Luxon ). A few more ministers (usually junior or supporting) are part of the Executive Council but are outside Cabinet. Most ministers have a portfolio of specific responsibilities such as departments or policy areas, although ministers without portfolio can be appointed. The position of prime minister belongs to
414-446: A general election . Not since 1928 has a government been defeated on a confidence vote and therefore been obliged to resign. The Constitution Act 1986 stipulates that general elections must be held at least every three years, making this the maximum period of time that a government can serve without seeking renewal of its mandate . Upon the dissolution of Parliament (preceding a general election) ministers are no longer members of
552-456: A 7:00 pm to midnight night show. The network broadcasts music, commentary and celebrity interviews. Some hosts have also carried out on-air stunts or recorded parody songs. Jono Pryor , Ben Boyce and Megan Papas host a live network breakfast broadcast from Auckland, currently heard across most markets (excluding Hawke's Bay & Dunedin). News, sport and weather sourced from the NZME newsroom
690-409: A corresponding public service department ( see § Departments ). The most important minister, following the prime minister, is the finance minister , while other high-profile portfolios include foreign affairs , justice , health and education . Traditionally, all members are collectively responsible for the actions taken by Cabinet—typically all Cabinet ministers must publicly support
828-493: A day in all regions except Christchurch, and introduced new network shows for mornings and afternoons. As Christchurch announcers left, their shows were also replaced with network programmes. In 1998 local programming on almost all Classic Hits stations was reduced down to a 4-hour breakfast show between 6 am and 10 am. By using new satellite networking technology, Classic Hits stations were able to have local shows at breakfast time, and have network shows presented from
966-663: A day. In 1995 the night show was moved to Auckland. In July 1996 the New Zealand Government sold off the commercial arm of Radio New Zealand , which included, among other things, the Classic Hits brand. The new owner was The Radio Network , a subsidiary of APN News & Media and Clear Channel Communications , which operated as a division of the Australian Radio Network . The company expanded its reach with new purchases, converting most of its local stations to
1104-470: A desire by some radio stations in the late 1950s and early 1960s to continue playing current hit songs but distinguish themselves from being branded as " rock and roll " stations. Billboard first published the Easy Listening chart July 17, 1961, with 20 songs; the first number one was " Boll Weevil Song " by Brook Benton . The chart described itself as "not too far out in either direction". Initially,
1242-407: A great deal of R&B (without any form of rapping), gospel music , classic soul and dance music (including disco ). Another format, rhythmic AC , in addition to playing all the popular hot and soft AC music, past and present, places a heavy emphasis on disco as well as 1980s and 1990s dance hits, such as those by Amber , and Black Box , and includes dance remixes of pop songs, such as
1380-531: A local breakfast show as well as markets with no local shows. This show is presented from The Hits Wellington studios with the announcer producing a local show for Auckland also. Prior to 2017 the network day shows were hosted by Sarah Gandy from the Auckland studios between 9am-12pm and Dave Fitzgerald from the Christchurch studios between 12 pm and 3 pm. Each of these presenters produced voicetracks for
1518-503: A local breakfast show, initially presented by Sarah Gandy, Sam Wallace and Toni Street . Gandy left the show and was replaced by Laura McGoldrick, with the addition of The Hits’ content director Todd Campbell. From April this became a Network show presented across the North Island. Most shows outside of breakfast are presented from the Auckland studio to markets taking network shows, most announcers based in Auckland produce two voice breaks,
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#17330854579761656-425: A local three-hour breakfast programme or a six-hour daytime programme. An estimated 282,000 people listen to The Hits every week, including 85,000 people in Auckland region. The network targets 25- to 54-year-old homeowners, socially-active parents and price-conscious household shoppers. In April 2014, the network re-branded from Classic Hits to The Hits to attract more younger listeners. Later that year, it came under
1794-510: A local voice break for Auckland mentioning Auckland frequency and region specific information for Auckland and a separate voice break for the rest of the country tailored to a national audience. Local programming: Hayley Bath presents the local day show (from Wellington) between 9 am to 3 pm. Originally Waikato's 1ZH this station was first started in 1949 broadcasting on 1310 AM. The station moved to 1296 AM in 1978. On air names included 1300 1ZH and Hits and Memories 1ZH during
1932-511: A major blow to the AC genre, and there are concerns that the portable people meter , a device being used to determine radio listenership, may be incompatible with AC songs and may not accurately pick up that a person is listening to an AC station because of the pitches and frequencies used in the style. Key AC artists of the early to mid-2010s included Bruno Mars , Coldplay , Adele , Arcade Fire , Meghan Trainor , Maroon 5 and Ed Sheeran , featuring
2070-476: A more conservative music library than hot AC-leaning stations. In particular, Chicago's WLIT did not have its airstaff talk over the beginning and endings of songs (in contrast to the hot AC-leaning WFYR ), and played Bob Seger 's " We've Got Tonite " but not " Old Time Rock and Roll " (which was part of WTMX 's playlist). The director of a soft AC station in Connecticut, WEZN-FM , told Warren that he had barred
2208-659: A more pop-influenced, uptempo style than the typical AC fare of previous years, also featuring production values reminiscent of the Motown sound and the so-called Wall of Sound that dominated the soul-heavy pop charts of the early 1960s, when the Easy Listening chart was first introduced. The earlier years of the decade also saw alternative and indie rock acts such as Wilco , Feist , The 1975 , Imagine Dragons , Mumford & Sons , Of Monsters and Men and The Lumineers quickly becoming AC mainstays, although these were eventually replaced by rhythm-based rock bands such as Panic! at
2346-472: A more uptempo direction. In 2017, Inside Radio reported that soft AC had the third-largest decrease in US stations offering the format over the past decade (at 128), ranking behind only adult standards and oldies —a shift credited to aging demographics and a major boom in the wider-appealing classic hits format (which saw the largest overall increase over the same period). Consultant Gary Berkowitz argued that
2484-450: A new daytime slot. Others kept their breakfast shows, and continued taking network morning and afternoon shows. Stations began taking a single network programme when hosts were away, and many local breakfast co-hosts took on other roles within the company or found other jobs. The network's parent company, The Radio Network, became part of New Zealand Media and Entertainment in October 2014. At
2622-408: A radio station that everybody goes, 'I'm okay with that'." The increasingly downtempo direction of pop hits in the mid-to-late 2010's also helped to attract additional listeners. Hot AC stations typically keep a larger body of recent hits in rotation than those with rigid, chart-driven formats like CHR and urban contemporary . As these stations' playlists have become concentrated towards airing only
2760-594: A result, almost all of the Act was suspended pending the new Act of 1852. New Zealand was at this time being governed as a Crown colony . Prior to the act, the basic document setting out the governance of New Zealand since the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi was the Charter for Erecting the Colony of New Zealand of 1840. New Zealand was granted colonial self-government in 1853 following
2898-664: A rotation of announcers. Party Mix, a commercial-free, announcer-free party music show, plays on Saturdays and public holidays. The Hits is covered through the Northland region using four frequencies – 95.6FM in the Far North, 106.1FM in the Bay of Islands, 95.6FM in the Mid North and 95.6FM in Whangārei. Originally known as Radio Northland and broadcasting on 1026 and 1215 AM with the call sign 1ZN,
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#17330854579763036-521: A similar "lite" format by choosing certain tracks (both hit singles and album cuts) of popular artists. By the late 1960s hard rock had been established as one of the rock genres leading hard rock and soft rock to became distinct popular forms in the rock scene, and as major radio formats in the US. Soft rock was often derived from folk rock, using acoustic instruments and putting more emphasis on melody and harmonies. Major artists included Carole King , Cat Stevens , James Taylor and Bread . In
3174-421: A similar playlist to hot AC stations, but with a broader rotation of classic hits from past decades. Soft adult contemporary formats have a more conservative sound oriented primarily towards adult women, urban AC focuses on R&B and soul music that appeal to African American adults, and rhythmic AC focuses on dance music and other rhythmic genres. Hot adult contemporary (hot AC) radio stations play
3312-562: A soft AC station before flipping to hot AC the following month. Over time, some stations have gradually adjusted their playlists to include more recurrents from the 1980s and 1970s (although not to the same extent as other "soft oldies" formats, such as MeTV FM , which have also grown in popularity). Meanwhile, some classic hits and mainstream AC stations have increasingly aired songs that had historically been considered staples of soft AC. New Zealand Government The New Zealand Government ( Māori : Te Kāwanatanga o Aotearoa )
3450-617: A stronger lean towards modern rock and pop rock . In the 1990s and early 2000s, modern AC was typically targeted towards women, with Mike Marino of KMXB in Las Vegas describing the format as reaching "an audience that has outgrown the edgier hip-hop or alternative music but hasn't gotten old and sappy enough for the soft ACs." The format typically focused on female rock acts such as Shawn Colvin , Sheryl Crow , Indigo Girls , Jewel , and Sarah McLachlan , and folk rock -influenced bands such as Counting Crows and The Wallflowers . Today,
3588-643: A wide range of popular music that appeals towards the 18–54 age group; it serves as a middle ground between the youth-oriented contemporary hit radio (CHR) format, and adult contemporary formats (such as "mainstream" and soft AC) that are typically targeted towards a more mature demographic. They generally feature uptempo hit music from the last 25 years with wide appeal, such as pop and pop rock songs, while excluding more youth-oriented music such as hip-hop . Older music featured on hot AC stations usually reflects familiar and youthful music that adults had grown up with. Likewise, material from legacy pop acts such as
3726-470: A year after its original release, became a sleeper hit on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 and Hot 100 due in part to strong hot AC airplay). The popularity of the hot AC format prompted many mainstream AC stations to add uptempo music to their playlists, while still maintaining a deeper rotation of older hits than hot AC stations. Modern adult contemporary refers to AC formats with
3864-613: Is a formal body that meets to give legal effect to decisions made by the Cabinet, and to carry out various other functions, such as the making of certain appointments to government agencies and boards. The Executive Council's primary function is to issue Orders in Council , which are legally binding regulations made by the Government. All ministers are members of the Executive Council, and are styled " The Honourable " while in office (or for life if
4002-596: Is a new station created in 1997 to replace Magic 91FM . Other stations in the Classic Hits group began as local commercial stations owned by the Government-owned Radio New Zealand , at a time when the New Zealand Government had a monopoly on the New Zealand radio market. In some regions, the station that would eventually become The Hits, was the only available radio station in that region. By
4140-411: Is accentuated. It is usually melodic enough to get a listener's attention, abstains from profanity or complex lyricism, and is most commonly used as background music in heavily-frequented family areas such as supermarkets , shopping malls , convention centers , or restaurants . Like most of pop music , its songs tend to be written in a basic format employing a verse–chorus structure . The format
4278-519: Is another subgenre of radio programming that is distinct from the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart as it exists today, despite the apparent similarity in name. In response to the pressure on Hot AC, a new kind of AC format cropped up among American radio recently. The urban adult contemporary format (a term coined by Barry Mayo ) usually attracts a large number of African Americans and sometimes Caucasian listeners through playing
The Hits (radio station) - Misplaced Pages Continue
4416-512: Is heard on the hour and half-hour headlines by Megan Papas (Network) and Brin Rudkin (Regional), and traffic reports is broadcast every 15 minutes. Former newsreaders include Alison Leonard (2004–2007), Melanie Homer (2007–2010), Glen Stuart (2011–2014), Ash Thomas (2014–2019) Rachel Jackson-Lees (2020–2022), and Sam Worthington (2022-2023). Local breakfast shows can be heard in Hawke's Bay and Dunedin. Since
4554-607: Is heavy on romantic sentimental ballads which use acoustic instruments such as pianos , saxophones , and sometimes an orchestral set. However, electric guitars and bass are also usually used, with the electric guitar sound relatively faint and high-pitched. Additionally, post-80s adult contemporary music may feature synthesizers (and other electronics, such as drum machines ). An AC radio station may play mainstream music, but it usually excludes hip hop , house/techno or electronic dance music and some forms of dance-pop and teen pop , as these are less popular among adults,
4692-432: Is hosted by Brin Rudkin. Former hosts include Peter Sinclair (1993–1997), Andy Dye (1998–1999), Gael Ludlow (2001–2002), Dene Young (2003–2004), Dave Smart (2004–2007), Will Johnston (2007–2008), Heemi Katene-Hill (2008–2009), Mike Plant (2009) and Estelle Clifford (2009–2021). Saturday Morning Breakfast with Jono & Ben is a replay of their show and Sunday Morning is Best of Brad & Laura. Weekend afternoons feature
4830-568: Is known as playing "All The Hits You Know And Love" with a broader playlist from the 80’s to today. The network plays a range of New Zealand music, giving promotion and airtime to Brooke Fraser , Benny Tipene , Lorde , and Avalanche City . However, it has been criticised for giving most of its airtime to American music. The Hits run a standard breakfast, daytime, drive and night schedule with breakfast running between 6:00 am and 9:00 am daytime programming between 9:00am and 3:00pm, drive show between 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm and
4968-408: Is not usually considered a specific genre of music; it is merely an assemblage of selected songs from artists of many different genres . Adult contemporary traces its roots to the 1960s easy listening format, which adopted a 70–80% instrumental to 20–30% vocal mix. A few offered 90% instrumentals, and a handful were entirely instrumental. The easy listening format, as it was first known, was born of
5106-430: Is said to serve " at His Majesty's pleasure ". As per the conventional stipulations of constitutional monarchy , the king and his representative rarely intervene directly in political affairs. Just as the sovereign's choice of governor-general is on the prime minister's advice, the governor-general exercises the executive powers of state on the advice of ministers. For example, the governor-general's power to withhold
5244-424: Is selected on the advice of the prime minister. " Advice " in this sense is a choice without options since it would be highly unconventional for the prime minister's advice to be ignored—a convention that protects the monarchy. As long as the monarch is following the advice of his ministers, he is not held personally responsible for the decisions of the Government. The governor-general has no official term limit , and
5382-458: Is the central government through which political authority is exercised in New Zealand . As in most other parliamentary democracies , the term "Government" refers chiefly to the executive branch , and more specifically to the collective ministry directing the executive. Based on the principle of responsible government , it operates within the framework that "the [ King ] reigns, but
5520-604: Is the head of state under the Constitution Act 1986. The legal authority of the state that is vested in the monarch, known as " the Crown ", which is the source of the executive power exercised by the Government. Sovereignty in New Zealand has never rested solely with the monarch due to the English Bill of Rights 1689 , later inherited by New Zealand, which establishes the principle of parliamentary sovereignty . Nonetheless,
5658-520: The Backstreet Boys , Jason Mraz , John Mayer , and Pink is prominent within the format. The "hot AC" designation began to appear in the 1990s; the term described adult contemporary stations with a more energetic presentation and uptempo sound than their softer counterparts. An early example of the format, Houston's KHMX Mix 96.5 , climbed from 14th place in the market to third in the six months after its launch. The station's format and branding
The Hits (radio station) - Misplaced Pages Continue
5796-519: The Carpenters , Dionne Warwick , Barry Manilow , John Denver , and Olivia Newton-John found it harder to have major Top 40 hits as the 1980s wore on, and due to the influence of MTV, artists who were staples of the Contemporary Hit Radio format, such as Richard Marx , Michael Jackson , Bonnie Tyler , George Michael , Phil Collins , Laura Branigan and Journey began crossing over to
5934-541: The Jonas Brothers and Halsey began to be featured on AC stations more than on top 40 stations. In radio broadcasting, adult contemporary is divided into several sub-formats, each with their own musical direction and demographic targeting. Hot adult contemporary formats generally feature an uptempo rotation of recent hits that appeal to a wide adult audience. A station formatted as "adult contemporary" with no qualifier, also referred to as "mainstream" AC, generally has
6072-535: The Liberal Party and the Liberal Government . The prime minister became the leader and public face of the governing party. The status of the monarch's representative was upgraded from "governor" to " governor-general " in 1917 letters patent . In short, there have been three distinctly different periods of New Zealand government—firstly, the period before responsible government; second, from 1856 to 1890,
6210-557: The National Business Review reported Polly Gillespie and Grant Kereama were planning to move from ZM to a new network breakfast show on Classic Hits. The newspaper's source claimed 20 local breakfast announcers would be made redundant. Polly and Grant had previously worked together on ZM originally to just a local Wellington audience from the 1980s and to a national audience from 2001. On 15 April The Radio Network confirmed Classic Hits would become The Hits, and on 28 April
6348-667: The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 , which was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . Governments were set up at both central and provincial level, with initially six provinces. The provinces were abolished by the Abolition of Provinces Act 1876, during the premiership of Harry Atkinson . For the purposes of the law, the provinces formally ceased to exist on 1 January 1877. The Sewell Ministry constituted
6486-467: The Soul Solution mix of Toni Braxton 's "Unbreak My Heart". In its early years of existence, the smooth jazz format was considered to be a form of AC, although it was mainly instrumental, and related a stronger resemblance to the soft AC-styled music. For many years, George Benson , Kenny G and Dave Koz had all had crossover hits that were played on both smooth jazz and soft AC stations. During
6624-501: The 1940s and early 1950s. After 1965, differences between the Hot 100 chart and the Easy Listening chart became more pronounced. Better reflecting what middle of the road stations were actually playing, the composition of the chart changed dramatically. As rock music continued to harden, there was much less crossover between the Hot 100 and Easy Listening chart than there had been in the early half of
6762-590: The 1960s. Roger Miller , Barbra Streisand and Bobby Vinton were among the chart's most popular performers. One big impetus for the development of the AC radio format was that, when rock and roll music first became popular in the mid-1950s, many more conservative radio stations wanted to continue to play current hit songs while shying away from rock. These middle of the road (or "MOR") stations also frequently included older, pre-rock-era adult standards and big band titles to further appeal to adult listeners who had grown up with those songs. Another big impetus for
6900-453: The 1980s, soft rock songs still enjoyed a mild success thanks to Sheena Easton , Amy Grant , Lionel Richie , Christopher Cross , Dan Hill , Leo Sayer , Billy Ocean , Julio Iglesias , Bertie Higgins , and Tommy Page . No song spent more than six weeks at No. 1 on this chart during the 1980s, with nine songs accomplishing that feat. Two of these were by Lionel Richie, " You Are " in 1983 and " Hello " in 1984, which also reached No. 1 on
7038-675: The 1980s, the soft AC format was positioned as being a more upbeat version of easy listening that would appeal better to a younger audience, mainly by excluding instrumental beautiful music . Easy listening stations had begun shifting to the format out of concern that their existing programming would not appeal to the current generation of listeners. In a 1990 article, James Warren of the Chicago Tribune characterized soft AC stations as being "as middle-of-the-road and unthreatening as modern media get", with personalities that were encouraged to be as inoffensive and "low-profile" as possible, and
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#17330854579767176-511: The 1980s. The station became 98.6 ZHFM on 25 May 1990 when the station switched to FM. The Classic Hits name was actually used on a bumper sticker as well as A Better Music Mix before the station was re branded as Classic Hits ZHFM in 1993. The 98.6 ZHFM frequency can also be heard in Tauranga, the outskirts of Auckland and in a number of places in Northland due to its high power and the high elevation of its transmission site. Mark Bunting joined
7314-499: The 1980s. The growth of AC was a natural result of the generation that first listened to the more "specialized" music of the mid-late 1970s growing older and not being interested in the heavy metal and rap/hip-hop music that a new generation helped to play a significant role in the Top 40 charts by the end of the decade. Mainstream AC itself has evolved in a similar fashion over the years; traditional AC artists such as Barbra Streisand ,
7452-671: The 1990s and early 2000s such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera were added to the rotation of most AC stations. As trap music and similar styles of hip-hop began dominating top 40 stations during the last years of the 2010s, AC stations began picking up rhythmic artists like Rihanna , Lady Gaga , Ellie Goulding , Taio Cruz and Pitbull as well as EDM artists like Avicii , Daft Punk , Calvin Harris , David Guetta and Tiesto . Meanwhile, younger artists like Camila Cabello , Justin Bieber , Selena Gomez , Ariana Grande , Nick Jonas and
7590-475: The 1990s, to improve their appeal among changing demographics, some soft AC stations began to widen their playlist to include selections from contemporary acts with 80s, & 90s, musicians & bands such as Bon Jovi , Bryan Adams , Celine Dion , Roxette , Mariah Carey , Eric Clapton , Phil Collins , Elton John , Cher , Whitney Houston , Journey , and Queen . On the other hand, by 1996, New York's WLTW had begun to phase out its softer music in favor of
7728-588: The 2000s, country music / countrypolitan musicians such as Kelly Clarkson , Clay Aiken , Billy Joel , Garth Brooks , Shania Twain , LeAnn Rimes and Carrie Underwood scored hits on soft AC, particularly in Southern states. A popular trend in the late 1990s and 2000s was remixing dance music hits into adult contemporary ballads, especially in the US, (for example, the "Candlelight Mix" versions of " Heaven " by DJ Sammy and Yanou , "Listen To Your Heart" by D.H.T. , and " Everytime We Touch " by Cascada ). Key to
7866-556: The 2000s, the AC market gained an increased presence in the music industry, as its radio formats were popular nationwide—Smooth jazz and "Urban AC" stations were ubiquitous in the East Coast, while Soft rock and "adult standards" stations were common in the Midwest, and pop-oriented "Hot AC" and "world music"/Hispanic AC stations were easily found in the West Coast and the "Sun Belt". This led to
8004-536: The AC chart during this time. In 1996, Billboard created a new chart called Adult Top 40 , which reflects programming on radio stations that exists somewhere between "adult contemporary" music and "pop" music. Although they are sometimes mistaken for each other, the Adult Contemporary chart and the Adult Top 40 chart are separate charts, and songs reaching one chart might not reach the other. In addition, hot AC
8142-425: The AC charts with greater frequency. Collins has been described by AllMusic as "one of the most successful pop and adult contemporary singers of the '80s and beyond". However, with the combination of MTV and AC radio, adult contemporary appeared harder to define as a genre, with established soft-rock artists of the past still charting pop hits and receiving airplay alongside mainstream radio fare from newer artists at
8280-447: The AC charts. In addition to Celine Dion , who has had significant success on this chart, other artists with multiple number ones on the AC chart in the 1990s include Mariah Carey , Phil Collins , Michael Bolton , Bryan Adams , Whitney Houston and Shania Twain . Newer female Adult album alternative singer-songwriters such as Sarah McLachlan , Natalie Merchant , Jewel , Melissa Etheridge and Sheryl Crow also broke through on
8418-427: The Cabinet as a legal entity; it exists solely by constitutional convention. Its decisions do not in and of themselves have legal force; however, it serves as the practical expression of the Executive Council, which is New Zealand's highest formal governmental body. The prime minister is responsible for chairing meetings of Cabinet. The governor-general will appoint as prime minister the person most likely to receive
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#17330854579768556-433: The Cabinet that outlines the Government's policy and legislative proposals. A few other ministers serve in the Executive Council but outside of Cabinet. Since the introduction of MMP, governments have been formed following agreements between a major party and smaller support parties. In such arrangements, government ministers from the support parties are often ministers outside Cabinet. Non-Cabinet ministers may also be from
8694-596: The Classic Hits Community Radio Network . The station used to have its own local breakfast show, but in 2012 this was replaced with the Waikato breakfast show hosted by Mark Bunting with local advertising. Following the rebrand to The Hits the station now has the same programming as Waikato The station still has a local office located on Bridge Street in Tokoroa. Local programming: Blair Dowling presents
8832-478: The Classic Hits Auckland studios with local advertisements, weather forecasts and breakouts at other times of the day. The local stations remained commercially viable in otherwise unviable markets and the network was able to invest in its brand and programmes. The company was able to leverage its reach for national advertising clients, including agency campaigns. At this stage Classic Hits 98FM in Christchurch
8970-517: The Classic Hits brand. The new business controlled 60% of the radio advertising market in November 1998 and more than half the market in 2002. However, in response to increased competition and falling market share, it looked for ways to cut costs. In its early years Classic Hits broadcast live local programmes in every region from Monday to Saturday, taking Auckland network programmes at night and on Sundays. In 1998 it reduced local programming to four hours
9108-580: The Constitution Act describes the monarch as the " Sovereign ". In many areas, the Crown possesses a body of powers known as the royal prerogative . For example, the Royal Assent (the monarch's approval) is required to enact laws and the royal sign-manual gives authority to letters patent and orders in council . The royal prerogative also includes summoning and dissolving the Parliament in order to call an election , and extends to foreign affairs:
9246-535: The Coromandel region, Thames 106FM, Paunui, Tairua, Whangamatā 100.3FM and Whitianga 106.9FM. Originally 1ZD Radio B.O.P. broadcasting on 1008 AM. The station moved to 95.0FM around 1990 becoming 95 B.O.P. FM. The station was rebranded as Classic Hits in 1993. The Hits 98.6FM Hamilton can also be heard in Tauranga. The station is located on Cameron Road in Tauranga City. Local programming: Samantha Weston presents
9384-729: The Disco , Neon Trees , X Ambassadors , Sheppard , Bastille , American Authors , Fitz and the Tantrums , Foster the People , Twenty One Pilots , Walk the Moon and Milky Chance . During the middle of the decade, newer artists such as CeeLo Green , OneRepublic , Rachel Platten , Christina Perri , Andy Grammer , James Bay , Sara Bareilles , Shawn Mendes , Sia , Sam Smith , Gavin Degraw , Charlie Puth and Colbie Caillat as well as acts that were popular in
9522-842: The FM stations as Classic Hits. The Classic Hits stations originally retained their heritage identity until 2009, and used a uniform green diamond logo until June 2011. The first group of the stations adopted the brand in late 1993 or early 1994. Waikato's 1ZH became Classic Hits ZHFM, Bay of Plenty's 1ZD Radio BOP became Classic Hits BOP FM, Rotorua's Geyserland FM became Classic Hits Geyserland FM, Radio Taranaki became Classic Hits Taranaki FM, and Hawke's Bay's Bay City Radio became Classic Hits Bay City Radio. Similar names were adopted by Radio Northland , Radio Nelson , South Canterbury's Radio Caroline , Dunedin's 4ZB and Southland's 4ZA .. Wellington Goldtime Oldies B90FM and Christchurch's Goldtime Oldies B98FM also rebranded as Classic Hits but retained
9660-638: The Hot 100. In 1989, Linda Ronstadt released Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind , described by critics as "the first true Adult Contemporary album of the decade", featuring American soul singer Aaron Neville on several of the twelve tracks. The album was certified Triple Platinum in the United States alone and became a major success throughout the globe. The Grammy Award -winning singles, " Don't Know Much " and " All My Life ", were both long-running No. 1 Adult Contemporary hits. Several additional singles from
9798-479: The House of Representatives; however, they can remain members of the Executive Council "until the expiration of the 28th day after the day on which that person ceases to be a member of Parliament". Also known as " ministers of the Crown ", these are members of Parliament who hold ministerial warrants from the Crown to perform certain functions of government. This includes formulating and implementing policies and advising
9936-424: The House. The Government is required by convention and for practical reasons to maintain the support, or confidence, of the House of Representatives. It also requires the support of the House for the maintenance of supply (by voting through the government's budgets ) and in order to pass primary legislation . By convention, if a government loses the confidence of the House then it must either resign or call for
10074-401: The New Zealand Government. The official website of the New Zealand Government uses the web address beehive.govt.nz . The first New Zealand Constitution Act was passed in 1846, though Governor George Grey was opposed to its implementation, specifically the proposed division of the country into European and Māori districts, and stated that settlers were not ready for self-government. As
10212-534: The Nineties to the Seventies". In 1998, the Auckland and Wellington stations followed suit and a shared network playlist was rolled out. Classic Hits was the station of the "Hits of the 70s, 80s and 90s" from 1998, and the station of the "Hits of the 70s, 80s, 90s and Today" from 2000. The network dropped music from the 1970s in 2005, becoming the station of "80s, 90s and Whatever". It added more current hits in 2007, becoming
10350-574: The Royal Assent to bills of parliament has been rendered ineffective by the convention. Under the conventions of the Westminster system , the Government is accountable to the House of Representatives, the democratically elected component of Parliament , rather than to the sovereign. This is called responsible government . For example, ministers are required to be members of the House, and they make statements and take questions from other members in
10488-585: The actions of their department, being answerable to the House of Representatives. This principle is called individual ministerial responsibility . The wider state sector also includes about 2,800 Crown entities (including some 2,600 school boards of trustees), 17 state-owned enterprises , three officers of Parliament, and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand . There are two main tiers of elected local authorities— regional councils and territorial authorities —in some places merged into unitary authorities . While
10626-490: The air after a dispute with their employer and in March 2017 their departure from The Hits was confirmed at the conclusion of their contract that same month. The recently launched Auckland breakfast show consisting of Sarah Gandy, Toni Street and Sam Wallace were confirmed to take over the network breakfast timeslot on March 26, 2017. In February 2020 an announcement was made that Jono Pryor and Ben Boyce (Jono and Ben) would replace
10764-730: The brand (among others) being adopted by competitors such as Entercom . Industry analyst Sean Ross argued that older demographics were becoming more lucrative due to changes in listening habits among younger audiences, which prefer digital platforms such as music streaming services over linear terrestrial radio, and also noted how mainstream AC was dependent on the Top 40 charts to break new songs. Current soft AC stations have continued to feature recurrents such as Michael Bolton , Celine Dion , Elton John, Fleetwood Mac , Hall & Oates , and Whitney Houston, while contemporary musicians such as Adele and Michael Bublé have also become modern fixtures of
10902-427: The change took effect. The Classic Hits brand ended at midnight the previous evening, and The Hits brand was used from breakfast that morning. The first song played under the new format was Best Day of My Life by American Authors . Polly Gillespie and Grant Kereama took over the network breakfast programme. Most stations discontinued their local breakfast shows in favour of the new show, moving breakfast announcers to
11040-427: The confidence of the House of Representatives to lead the Government. In practice, the appointment is determined by size of each political party , support agreements between parties, and leadership votes in the party that leads the Government. The prime minister then advises the governor-general to appoint other ministers. Each minister is responsible for the general administration of at least one portfolio , and heads
11178-744: The country. A new Southern Lakes station was introduced in Queenstown in 2005, and the Radio Waitomo station in Te Kūiti closed down. In 2008, stations dropped heritage titles from their names. In 2009, a network breakfast show was introduced for King Country and for other markets when local hosts were away. In 2010, the King Country station was scrapped and local weekend breakfast shows were replaced with network shows. In late 2010, highlights of Christchurch and Wellington breakfast shows began to be broadcast during
11316-428: The current hits at a given time, hot AC airplay can build and sustain a song's popularity over a long-term period. This effect has been credited in helping build an audience for early singles from new acts such as Adele , Rachel Platten (" Fight Song ", which gained prominence for its use during Hillary Clinton 's 2016 US presidential election campaign ), and Max Schneider (whose 2016 single " Lights Down Low ", over
11454-438: The current network breakfast with Toni Street and Sam Wallace moving to Coast . Jono and Ben previously hosted the drive show on The Edge and between 2012 and 2018 Jono and Ben had their own TV show self titled TV show Jono and Ben on TV3 . Classic Hits was named for its classic hits format, and the original Auckland station promoted itself as "The best of the 1960s, 1970s and the 1980s". When other stations started joining
11592-409: The day. South Canterbury's Radio Caroline left Classic Hits to join the new network. Other stations included Lakeland FM, Whanganui's River City Radio , Tokoroa's Radio Forestland , Radio Wairarapa , Marlborough's Radio Marlborough , the West Coast's Radio Scenicland and Ashburton's 3ZE . In 2001 the stations were rebranded as Classic Hits, giving Classic Hits the broadest reach of any station in
11730-417: The decisions of Cabinet. However, since the introduction of the mixed-member proportional (MMP) electoral system in 1993, processes were developed to allow different parties within a coalition cabinet to " agree to disagree " on some issues. The legislative agenda of Parliament is determined by the Cabinet. At the start of each new parliamentary term, the governor-general gives an address prepared by
11868-460: The disc made the AC Top 10 as well. The album won over many critics in the need to define AC, and appeared to change the tolerance and acceptance of AC music into mainstream day to day radio play. The early 1990s marked the softening of urban R&B in the shape of new jack swing, at the same time alternative rock emerged and traditional pop saw a significant resurgence. This in part led to a widening of
12006-511: The early 1970s, softer songs by The Carpenters , Anne Murray , John Denver , Barry Manilow , and even Barbra Streisand , began to be played more often on "Top 40" radio. Top 40 radio stations played the Top 40 hits regardless of genre. As the texture of much of the music played on Top 40 radio began to soften, the Hot 100 and Easy Listening/AC charts became more similar. Easy Listening radio began playing songs by artists who had begun in other genres, such as rock and roll or R&B . Much of
12144-492: The early 1990s, Radio New Zealand had switched most of their stations to FM but retained the stations original AM frequency for coverage in areas where the FM frequency could not be reached or for listeners with an AM only radio. The AM frequency was utilised for talkback and specialist shows in addition to the regular programming on the FM frequency. To cut costs and prepare the stations for commercial sale, Radio New Zealand began rebranding AM stations to Newstalk ZB and rebranding
12282-501: The end of 2016 Fairfax Media reported an article to say Polly and Grant had been axed from their morning show in favour of an Auckland-based show presented by Sam Wallace and Toni Street. The article initially failed to mention the change only affected Auckland and that Polly and Grant would continue presenting their breakfast from Wellington to those markets already taking the Polly and Grant show. In February 2017 Polly and Grant were taken off
12420-412: The evolution of the AC radio format was the popularity of easy listening or " beautiful music " stations, stations with music specifically designed to be purely ambient . Whereas most easy listening music was instrumental, created by relatively unknown artists, and rarely purchased (especially as singles, although Jackie Gleason 's beautiful music albums sold well in the 1950s), AC was an attempt to create
12558-405: The first responsible government , with control over all domestic matters other than native policy. Formed in 1856, it lasted from 18 April to 20 May. From 7 May onward, Henry Sewell was titled " colonial secretary ", and is generally regarded as having been the country's first prime minister. The first ministry that formed along party lines did not appear until 1891, when John Ballance formed
12696-477: The first schedule to the State Sector Act 1988 . Staffed by around 45,000 public servants, they provide the government of the day with advice and deliver services to the public. Since the 1980s, the public service has been marketised . Each department is headed by a chief executive who answers to a government minister for that department's performance. In turn, a minister bears the ultimate responsibility for
12834-437: The format during the 2010s. These developments helped to expand the popularity of the format among younger listeners such as millennials ; Nielsen Audio ranked hot AC as the third most-popular format among millennials, behind pop and country music . Of the format's expanding demographic reach, WOMX-FM program director Dana Taylor stated that hot AC stations "may not be the radio station that everybody agrees on, but it's
12972-540: The format is fairly uncommon, with KTCZ in the Minnesota Twin Cities and KMXP in Phoenix, Arizona being some of the few modern AC stations left. The Soft adult contemporary format typically targets women 25–54 and at-work listening. Soft AC playlists are generally conservative in comparison to hot AC, focusing on pop and power ballads , soft rock , and other familiar, light hits. Upon its establishment in
13110-529: The format until the early 1970s), new age songs and most pre-1964 artists were gradually phased out from AC radio throughout the early to mid-1990s. Unlike the majority of 1980s mainstream singers, the 1990s mainstream pop/R&B singers such as All-4-One , Boyz II Men , Christina Aguilera , Backstreet Boys and Savage Garden generally crossed over to the AC charts. Latin pop artists such as Lynda Thomas , Ricky Martin , Marc Anthony , Selena , Enrique Iglesias and Luis Miguel also enjoyed success in
13248-590: The format. In addition, the soft AC sound has diversified to include more songs that are "safe and universal" but not necessarily "soft", with Ross presenting examples such as Simple Minds ' " Don't You (Forget About Me) ", the retroactively-defined genre of yacht rock , and noting that KSWD in Seattle—one of the stations that had launched in the soft AC "boom" of the late-2010s—had featured dance- and synth-pop songs such as " Poker Face ", " Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) ", and " Uptown Funk " in its final days as
13386-545: The government rules, so long as it has the support of the House of Representatives ". The Cabinet Manual describes the main laws, rules and conventions affecting the conduct and operation of the Government. Executive power is exercised by ministers , all of whom are sworn into the Executive Council and accountable to the elected legislature , the House of Representatives. Several senior ministers (usually 20) constitute
13524-591: The governor-general acts on the advice of the prime minister in appointing ministers. In New Zealand, the term Government can have a number of different meanings. At its widest, it can refer collectively to the three traditional branches of government—namely, the executive branch , legislative branch (the King-in-Parliament and House of Representatives ) and judicial branch (the Supreme Court and subordinate courts). Each branch operates independently of
13662-461: The governor-general. Before 1996 nearly all ministers were members of the Cabinet, but since the introduction of proportional representation , which has led to complex governing arrangements, there are currently three categories of minister: ministers in Cabinet, ministers outside Cabinet, and ministers from supporting parties. The Executive Council, established under the Letters Patent 1983 ,
13800-498: The hits had become established. An article on MTV 's website by Corey Moss describes this trend as: "In other words, AC stations are where pop songs go to die a very long death. Or, to optimists, to get a second life." As adult contemporary has long characterized itself as family-friendly, "clean" versions of pop songs began appearing on the AC chart, as were the cases of " Perfect " by P!nk , and " Forget You " by Cee Lo Green , both in 2011. AC radio's shift into more mainstream pop
13938-474: The individual stations started out as local AM stations owned by state broadcaster Radio New Zealand. Many have given a platform to broadcasting names like Selwyn Toogood , Paul Holmes , Peter Sinclair , Jenny-May Clarkson (nee Coffin) and Jason Gunn . John "Boggy" McDowell was an announcer on the Southland station for 33 years. Despite a major reduction in local programmes since 1993, most stations still have
14076-408: The late 2000s, certain pop songs began entering the AC charts instead, generally after having recently fallen off the Hot 100. Adrian Moreira, senior vice president for adult music for RCA Music Group , said, "We've seen a fairly tidal shift in what AC will play". Rather than emphasizing older songs, adult contemporary now began playing many of the same songs as top 40 and adult top 40 , but only after
14214-407: The late-1970s. This led to specialized radio stations that played specific genres of music, and generally followed the evolution of artists in those genres. On April 7, 1979, the Easy Listening chart officially became known as Adult Contemporary, and those two words have remained consistent in the name of the chart ever since. Adult contemporary music became one of the most popular radio formats of
14352-516: The local day show between 9 am to 3 pm. The Hits Coromandel is the most recent station in the network which launched in December 2017. Prior to this, the station was called Sea FM and was an independently run station which merged with NZME in 2017. The station initially retained a local daytime show, however this ended in February 2018. The station broadcasts on the following frequencies across
14490-404: The local weekday show between 9 am and 3 pm. Will Johnston now hosts the local weekend show on Saturday's from 9 am - 12 pm. Adult contemporary music#Hot adult contemporary Adult contemporary music ( AC ) is a form of radio -played popular music , ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad -heavy music of the 1980s to
14628-756: The major governing party, as has been the case in recent governments. Ministers outside the Cabinet have the same overall duties and responsibilities as their senior colleagues inside Cabinet. The current ministry , since November 2023, is the National Party government led by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon , forming a coalition with ACT New Zealand and New Zealand First . The table below lists all ministers, as of 25 June 2024 . Notes New Zealand's public service includes 32 core government institutions—most have ministry or department in their name, e.g. Ministry for Culture and Heritage , or Department of Internal Affairs —which are listed in
14766-427: The market, not only allowing to cater to more niche markets, but it also became customary for artists to make AC-friendly singles. At the same time, the genre began adopting elements from hard rock as tastes were shifting towards louder music, while AC stations in general began playing more rock acts. "Softer" features such as light instrumental music (carried over from the beautiful music format—many AC stations carried
14904-414: The music recorded by singer-songwriters such as Diana Ross , James Taylor , Carly Simon , Carole King and Janis Ian got as much, if not more, airplay on AC stations than on Top 40 stations. AC stations also began playing softer songs by Elvis Presley , Linda Ronstadt , Elton John , Rod Stewart , Billy Joel , and other rock-based artists. Soon after, the adult contemporary format began evolving into
15042-408: The negotiation and ratification of treaties, alliances, international agreements, the right to declare war and peace , and the deployment and armament of defence forces. The king rarely personally exercises his executive powers; since the sovereign does not normally reside in New Zealand, he appoints a governor-general to represent him and exercise most of his powers. The person who fills this role
15180-462: The network from 1993, they continued to create their own playlists. Regional stations retained a broad range of music, using the slogan "All the Hits from the 1960s to the 1990s". The Wellington and Christchurch stations played only music from the 1960s and 1970s, using the taglines "Good Time Oldies" and A Better Music Mix". In 1996, regional stations dropped music from the 1960s and adopted the slogan "From
15318-712: The network show as well as a local Auckland show with Dave Fitzgerald also providing local voicebreaks for Christchurch. Murray Lindsay hosted the daytime show for 16 years, from 1997 to 2012. The Hits Drive Show is hosted by Matty McLean and PJ Harding. The show was previously hosted by Pat Courtenay (1998–1999), Andrew Dickens (1999–2000), Grant Bailey (2000–2003), Mark Bunting (2003–2007), Jason Reeves (2007–2010), Jason Gunn (2012–2013), Justin Brown (2014), Guy Parsons (2014), Stacey Morrison and Paul Flynn (2015–2019), Stacey Morrison, Mike Puru and Anika Moa (2019–2021), and Brad Watson and Laura McGoldrick (2022-2023). The Hits Night Show
15456-459: The networked breakfast was put in place of this show. The station is located on Hardley Street in Hamilton Central. Local programming: Blair Dowling presents the local day show between 9 am to 3 pm. Originally known as 1ZO or Radio Forestland on 1413 am in the 1980s and 1990s, then 'Classic Hits Radio Forestland' before switching to FM in 2006. The station was part of
15594-429: The others in an arrangement described as " separation of powers ". More commonly, the term is used to refer specifically to the executive branch. The largest party or coalition in the House of Representatives, with a sufficient number of MPs to win crucial parliamentary votes, will form a Cabinet —this is the sense intended when it is said that a political party "forms the government". The Constitution Act 1986 ,
15732-451: The ownership of New Zealand Media and Entertainment . The Hits was originally known as Classic Hits up until April 2014. Classic Hits unofficially began in Auckland in 1987 when 1ZM (also known as 1251ZM at the time) changed music format to play " classic hits " music and branding was changed to Classic Hits Twelve Fifty One. In 1989 Auckland's Classic Hits moved to FM, becoming Classic Hits 97FM. The ZM station that exists in Auckland today
15870-447: The period in which responsible government begins; and the third period starting with the formation of political parties in 1891. By convention, a distinct government is named after the largest party that leads it. The New Zealand Government is formally styled [His] Majesty's Government in the Seal of New Zealand Act 1977 . This is a reference to the monarch, King Charles III , who
16008-540: The person who commands the confidence of the majority of members in the House of Representatives. The position is determined also by several other factors, such as support agreements between parties and internal leadership votes in the party that leads the Government. The prime minister and other ministers are formally appointed by the governor-general (who is the King's personal representative in New Zealand). By convention,
16146-738: The presence of numerous genres on the AC charts, often crossing to the "pop" charts, winning over many critics in the need to define AC, and increased the tolerance and acceptance of AC music into mainstream day-to-day radio play. Josh Groban 's single " You Raise Me Up " and Michael Bublé 's cover of "Fever" are often cited as key examples of the high production values and ballad-heavy sound that defined 2000s-era AC, often dubbed as "jazz-pop", heavily carrying classical, jazz and traditional pop influences. Artists such as Nick Lachey , James Blunt , Jamie Cullum , John Mayer , Jason Mraz , Norah Jones , Diana Krall , Amy Winehouse and Susan Boyle also achieved great success during this period. During most of
16284-448: The present day, with varying degrees of easy listening , pop , soul , R&B , quiet storm and rock influence. Adult contemporary is generally a continuation of the easy listening and soft rock style that became popular in the 1960s and 1970s with some adjustments that reflect the evolution of pop/rock music. Adult contemporary tends to have lush, soothing and highly polished qualities where emphasis on melody and harmonies
16422-405: The prime minister recommends it), except for the prime minister, who is entitled to be styled " The Right Honourable " for life. Although not a member of the Executive Council, the governor-general usually presides at Council meetings. Cabinet ( Māori : Te Rūnanga ) is the senior decision-making body of the Government. Constitutional law, such as the Constitution Act 1986, does not recognise
16560-411: The principal part of New Zealand's constitution, locates the executive government in the Executive Council , which also includes ministers outside Cabinet. The Executive Wing of Parliament Buildings , commonly called the " Beehive " because of the building's shape, houses many government offices and is also where the Cabinet meets. Thus the name Beehive is sometimes used metonymically to refer to
16698-487: The reading of top-of-hour news headlines, so that listeners wouldn't be tempted to tune away to an all-news station to learn more. Soft AC stations tend to be more selective in their music libraries than other adult contemporary stations, preferring proven songs over current hits. Upon the onset of the format's popularity, core artists typically included singers such as Nat King Cole , Perry Como , Neil Diamond , Barry Manilow , Johnny Mathis , and Barbra Streisand . By
16836-453: The rebrand to The Hits in 2014 most markets initially ran a local 6 hour daytime show between 9am and 3pm, in some cases the local show is spread across two markets, for example the same announcer presents a local show for Taupō and Rotorua. Local content has since been reduced across the network with some stations receiving only network content. Between 9am and 3pm a network daytime show presented by Hayley Bath can be heard in markets that have
16974-539: The reformed Fleetwood Mac , whose Rumours (1977) was the best-selling album of the decade. By 1977, some radio stations, notably New York's WTFM and NBC -owned WYNY , and Boston's WEEI , had switched to an all-soft rock format. As Softrock 103 , WEEI was famous for its promotional campaigns, featuring slogans such as " Joni , without the baloni." and " The Byrds , without the nyrds." However, different forms of popular music targeted to different demographic groups, such as disco vs. hard rock , began to emerge in
17112-549: The soft AC format had become increasingly irrelevant in comparison to mainstream and hot AC, due to PPM markets preferring uptempo music. At the same time, however, soft AC began to experience a resurgence. In April 2016, iHeartMedia flipped its San Francisco classic soul station KISQ to soft AC as The Breeze ; as of November 2018, it was the top station in the Bay Area. The trend continued into 2017 and 2018, with iHeartMedia extending its Breeze brand to other soft AC flips, and
17250-450: The sound that later defined it, with rock-oriented acts as Chicago and the Eagles , becoming associated with the format. In addition, several early disco songs, did well on the Adult Contemporary format. Soft rock reached its commercial peak in the mid-to-late 1970s with acts such as Toto , England Dan & John Ford Coley , Air Supply , Seals and Crofts , Dan Fogelberg , America and
17388-454: The station in 2000 as the breakfast host, and moved to Classic Hits Auckland to present the Drivetime show over the entire Classic Hits network between 2003 and 2006. He moved back to the Waikato breakfast show in 2007. Mark Bunting continued presenting breakfast following the rebrand to The Hits but was later fired when it was announced he would be moving to opposition The Breeze in Waikato. and
17526-512: The station moved to 96FM in Whangārei during the late 1990s. The station is located on Bank Street, Whangārei. Local programming: Charmaine Soljak presents the local weekday show between 9 am and 3 pm. The Hits 97.4 is the flagship of the brand. The majority of the network announcers are based here. The station is located at new NZME Radio headquarters in Graham Street in central Auckland . Since February 2017 The Hits has run
17664-554: The station of the "80s, 90s and now". It dropped more music from the 1980s in 2011, becoming the station of the "80s, 90s, today". Since 2014, the network has had a hot adult contemporary playlist mostly from the 2000s and 2010s. It used the tagline "All the Hits, All the Time" in 2014, followed by "All Your Favourite Hits" in 2015 then "90's Till Now" from 2016. Many of its tracks are from top 40 stars, like Coldplay , Taylor Swift , Ed Sheeran , Sam Smith and Bruno Mars . Today, The Hits
17802-463: The stations oldies format playing music from the 1960s and 1970s, all other Classic Hits stations at the time were playing music from the 1960s to current 1990s hits. Programming remained local on all stations between 6 am and 7 pm with a networked night show originally based in Hamilton and with Hamilton advertising, at this stage Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch were still local 24 hours
17940-400: The success of AC in the 2000s was the 25–34 demographic which had outgrown the pop music offerings of the time, most new rock became too alternative and harsh for AC radio and most new pop was now influenced heavily by dance-pop , hip-hop and electronic dance music . At the same time, the music industry also began to focus on older audiences and markets generally considered "niche". During
18078-410: The target demographic . AC radio often targets the 25–44 age group, the demographic that has received the most attention from advertisers since the 1960s. A common practice in recent years of adult contemporary stations is to play less newer music and more hits of the past, even some songs that never even charted the AC charts. This de-emphasis on new songs slows the progression of the AC chart. Over
18216-504: The time. The amount of crossover between the AC chart and the Hot 100 has varied based on how much the passing pop music trends of the times appealed to adult listeners. Not many disco or new wave songs were particularly successful on the AC chart during the late 1970s and early 1980s, and much of the hip-hop and harder rock music featured on CHR formats later in the decade would have been unacceptable on AC radio. Although dance-oriented, electronic pop and ballad-oriented rock dominated
18354-421: The vocalists consisted of artists such as Frank Sinatra , Doris Day , Johnny Mathis , Connie Francis , Nat King Cole , Perry Como , and others. The custom recordings were usually instrumental versions of current or recent rock and roll or pop hit songs, a move intended to give the stations more mass appeal without selling out . Some stations would also occasionally play earlier big band -era recordings from
18492-522: The weekend breakfast timeslot. Classic Hits Southland retained a local breakfast show with an unpaid announcer, and Dunedin produced a highlights show. In 2012 local breakfast shows were cut back one hour, and the networked morning and afternoon shows were shortened to make way for a new drive show with Jason Gunn and Dave Fitzgerald from the Christchurch studio. The remaining local Saturday breakfast shows in Manawatū and Southland were also cut. On 4 April 2014
18630-401: The years, AC has spawned subgenres including "hot AC" (or "modern AC"), "soft AC" (also known as "lite AC"), " urban AC " (a softer type of urban contemporary music ), " rhythmic AC " (a softer type of rhythmic contemporary ), and " Christian AC " (a softer type of contemporary Christian music ). Some stations play only "hot AC", "soft AC", or only one of the variety of subgenres. Therefore, it
18768-417: Was a result of the changes on the broadcasting landscape following the 2005–2007 economic downturn and eventual recession , as advertisers preferred more profitable chart-based formats, which meant the demise of many AC-based formulas, primarily those aimed at older audiences, with tastes changing towards more modern music among all age groups. Diminishing physical record sales throughout the 2010s also proved
18906-565: Was exempt from these changes and continued to run local shows 24 hours a day. Local content was also retained in Auckland as network presenters began presenting separate voice breaks for local Auckland listeners. Also in 1998 all of The Radio Network's remaining local stations formed the Community Radio Network . Each station retained its local brands and breakfast shows, but took network programmes from Lakeland FM in Taupō at other times of
19044-482: Was widely replicated by other stations. Many hot AC outlets are among the top stations in their respective market. Initially focused more on pop rock, the format has evolved to reflect changes in the composition of this audience; by the mid-2000s, the format had evolved to include more uptempo pop music, while alternative and indie rock crossovers (such as Foster the People , Imagine Dragons , Lovelytheband , and Twenty One Pilots ) became more prevalent within
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