NZME tops Tauranga radio

Tauranga announcer Will Johnston's show on The Hits has been named as one of the most popular in new survey results. Photo/File

Tauranga's most popular radio broadcasters have been revealed, with an easy listening station named number one.

Results from the 2017 GfK independent radio survey were released this week showing that NZME continues to grow its audience in Tauranga, holding top spots in news, sports and entertainment.

NZME radio stations Coast, Flava, Newstalk ZB, Radio Hauraki, The Hits and ZM have grown in listeners and market share from last year. A particular highlight was Coast, dominating the 55+ demographic and seeing an increase of 1,200 listeners from the last survey, to become the number one station in Tauranga.

The easy listening station has 24,500 Tauranga listeners, and ZM was a close second with 24,100 listeners. Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking holds the number one Breakfast show.

Local Will Johnson, The Hits announcer and Radio Awards Finalist, has seen an increase in share in weekdays 9am-12pm.

Bay of Plenty general manager Greg Murphy said he was thrilled with NZME's performance in Tauranga.

"NZME stations including Coast, Flava, Newstalk ZB, Radio Hauraki, The Hits and ZM have grown in both listeners and market share, which is an incredible result. Stand outs include Mike Hosking having the number one breakfast show, and ZM being both the most listened to station for the 25-54 demographic and number one amongst main grocery shoppers with kids.

"NZME is continuing to provide the best in news and entertainment in Tauranga."

Nationally, NZME radio stations have all gained more new listeners according to the survey.

NZME's chief commercial officer Laura Maxwell said the company and its partners added an additional 150,000 new listeners. This was an overall market share increase of 1.9 per cent for NZME and Partners.