by Alison Brown alison.brown@dailypost.co.nz
Rotorua radio listeners can taste a new station from today.
Flava, a station playing hip-hop and R&B; music, went to air officially at 6am on the 89.6FM frequency.
The station is based in Auckland but for the next couple of weeks its breakfast
show, featuring TV personality Stacey Morrison and actor Dave Fane, is broadcasting from Rotorua to celebrate its local launch.
Today they broadcast from McDonald's restaurant on Fenton St.
Rotorua is the fourth city on the Flava's network, following launches in Auckland, Tauranga and Hawke's Bay.
Flava belongs to The Radio Network stable of stations and targets young urban audiences.
The network's Rotorua general manager, Aaron Gillions, said the station was a fresh, new sound for listeners by filling a gap in the local radio market.
Today's launch was the start of an expansion for The Radio Network in Rotorua, with Coast, a station popular with baby boomers, due to launch in two weeks on 96.7FM.
The network decided to launch the stations after securing two Rotorua commercial frequencies when they came up for auction in May.
Meanwhile, Gospel FM (Good News Community Radio), which has previously broadcast on the 89.6FM frequency, can still be heard by tuning in to its new 88.3 frequency.
