Coast (radio station)

Coast originally started in Hawke's Bay in 2002, as a local station. The history of this station dates back to 1995 as The Wireless Station broadcasting on 1530 AM and playing music from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. The Wireless Station was started/operated by The Wireless Station Ltd for three years from November 1995 and was then leased or sold to Hawke's Bay Media Group in 1998 and re-branded as Goodtime Gold, playing music from the 1960s and 1970s. In 1999 it was renamed simply Gold 1530.

Gold 1530 was leased (or sold) to The Radio Network in 2000 and was re-branded as Jammin' Oldies 1530 AM or JO 1530 in June 2000. In 2002 the station became the very first station under the Coast[6] brand name and in 2004 Coast began producing their programme from Auckland networked back to Hawke's Bay on 1530 AM (then on 1584 AM from 2011), and later to the rest of New Zealand.

The final re-branding of the station was to the current name Coast 1530[6]. In 2004 the station became voice tracked from Auckland in preparation for its launch in the Auckland market on 26 April 2004. The network expanded beyond Auckland and Hawke's Bay to other markets later in the year.

The network rose to third place in the Auckland radio survey ratings in 2006, just two years after it began. Then programme director Mike Regal credited the station's success to serving the baby boomer gap in the market that had previously been ignored by marketers, advertisers and media companies. He said the station was a fine balancing act between being neither a station for the young or a station for seniors. "We don't want to be too cool and hip with it and risk alienating people, but on the other side we didn't want to sound too old either," he told the New Zealand Herald.

Classic album tracks from the likes of Frank Sinatra and Dusty Springfield have been a cornerstone of the network's playlist. Regal said tracks might have seemed "daggy" to some people, but they were songs people over 30 years old would know, recognise and sing at a karaoke bar.[7]

In 2011 the original 1530 AM frequency leased by The Radio Network and used to start the first Coast Station in Hawke's Bay was returned to its original owners and is being used to once again broadcast The Wireless Station[6], with a format of music from the 1930s to the 1970s.

In a radio survey in late 2014, Coast recorded more than 105,000 listeners in Auckland each week and a 7.8 percent market share, putting it on the top six highest-rating radio stations in the highly competitive Auckland radio market. The network has been even more successful in the Bay of Plenty, maintaining a number one ratings spot, with 23 thousand listeners and 15 percent market share, since breakfast host Brian Kelly moved from local station Classic Hits in 2011.[8]

In late 2018 and early 2019 Coast migrated to FM in a number of markets where coverage had previously on been only available on AM - including Hawke's Bay, Whangarei, and Taranaki.

A live network breakfast programme with Jason Reeves and Bernadine Oliver-Kerby commenced in January 2018. A local Tauranga/Coromandel/Thames breakfast show is hosted by Bay of Plenty identity Brian Kelly, the former host of the Coast network breakfast show. Kelly has been with what is now New Zealand Media and Entertainment since 1970, having worked as a programme trainee and sports broadcasting before hosting the local Bay of Plenty's Classic Hits breakfast programme for 33 years. He continues to live in the region, where he remains well known for his support of motorsport and his commentaries and Bay of Plenty Times columns on music and locals issues.[9][10]

The station's foundation breakfast host was well-known veteran announcer Mike Oliver, who left in early 2011 before passing away from illness in 2014. Oliver had previously worked as a host on Radio Liberty and a voice over artist on Prime TV.[11][12]

For a period, Hāwera had its own local breakfast show called The 1557 Breakfast. This show was originally aired on Newstalk ZB in the Hāwera region when Newstalk ZB used the 1557 AM frequency. After Newstalk ZB in Hāwera changed to frequency 1278 AM, the show was dropped and replaced with the Auckland-based programme, but it was later picked up by Coast. The 1557 AM frequency in Hāwera has since been reassigned to Hokonui.

Lorna Subritzky has hosted the weekday time slot on Coast since 2015. The former Easy Mix breakfast host also serves as a traffic presenter for Newstalk ZB [13][14] During more than 25 years in the media industry, she has appeared on Shortland Street and Interrogation and a host of advertisements and advertorials like Family Health Diary.[15] Founding daytime host Jacqui Taite left the station at the end of 2011. Gael Ludlow filled the role in 2012 and Murray Lindsay hosted in 2013. During 2014, the station ran with a day show hosted by Nik Brown.[16]

Drive, the afternoon show on Coast, was hosted by Murray Lindsay until late 2016, formerly the long-running day time host of Classic Hits.[17] Drive was hosted by Rick Morin until 2012.[16] During 2013 Southland radio identity John "Boggy" McDowell hosted the drive show after a 33-year stint as host of Southland's Classic Hits 4ZA since 1979. The move had been prompted by a desire for more leisurely mornings and the chance to broadcast to a national audience. He told The Southland Times certain things had "fallen into place that made it a perfect time to move to a new time slot". However, despite dropping his Southland nickname "Boggy", McDowell was moved to Gore's Hokonui radio station in 2014, swapping places with Nik Brown.[18][19][20]

Radio presenter Jason Reeves became the drive show host in early 2017, replacing Murray Lindsay. Jason "JT" Tikao took over in January 2018 when Jason Reeves moved to breakfast. In January 2019 Melanie Homer joined JT on Coast afternoon drive, moving from her long-time Mix on air role.

Rick Morin hosts Coast's Night Show between 7pm - 11pm.[21] Before 2013 the night programme was automated.[16]

Brian Kelly hosts Saturday mornings, and Saturday Night Fever plays automated on Saturday night. Tracey Donaldson hosts Sunday mornings.

Overnight and during weekend nights the station is automated.[22][23]

Coast has news, sports, traffic and weather bulletins from the NZ Herald newsroom at the start of every hour, followed by music, comments from the announcers on the music being played and issues of the day.

During breakfast Coast has half-hourly news and sports updates and quarter-hourly news teasers.

During weekend days, there are hourly news and sports updates and weather forecasts.[26]

Coast regularly runs competitions and is famous for Coast Stars where listeners win cash by identifying the "stars" saying "Love the music - Coast".

Coast's network stream is also available on the iHeartRadio website and app.[2][26]