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947

Johannesburg
Broadcast area	Gauteng (Terrestrial FM) Africa (DStv Channel 879)
Frequency	94.7 MHz
Programming
Format	Contemporary
Ownership
Owner	Primedia (private)
Sister stations	94.5 Kfm Radio 702 CapeTalk
History
First air date	1 September 1964
Links
Webcast	Live stream
Website

947 (formerly 94.7 Highveld Stereo) is a radio station that broadcasts on the 94.7FM frequency from Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.

Current on-air lineup

History

The station first went on the air on 1 September 1964, as the first SABC regional FM service, Radio Highveld. At that time the station broadcast hourly news bulletins and easy listening music. In September 1996 the SABC sold Radio Highveld to private enterprise.

Today this station, along with a number of other radio stations in South Africa, is owned by Primedia.

On 1 September 2014 the station decided to drop the logo that they have been using for over a decade. The station is also no longer known as Highveld Stereo as the name changed to being just 947.

According to the latest BRC RAM figures shows that 947 has crossed the milestone of 1 million listeners per week. The survey indicated that 947 has 1,055,000 listeners, up from 704,000 year-on-year – a huge leap and one that makes 947 the biggest regional station in Gauteng.

Format and programming

According to SAARF, 947 (formerly 94.7 Highveld Stereo) is ranked as South Africa's 15th most listened to radio station, with an average weekly listenership of 1.2 million people.

The target listener demographic is aimed at 25- to 40-year-olds, and as such the station tends to play contemporary "soft" rock, and current pop hits, but has moved away from playing the classic hits, which was consistent with their format up until a programming overhaul in 2010.

947 plays South African Music that record companies push, although the station has refused on many occasions to play any Afrikaans music. Other services to listeners include news bulletins and traffic reports for Johannesburg and Pretoria, although the frequency of these reports have often been criticised by listeners as being too frequent and annoying.

Breakfast show history

Rude Awakening

Once Radio Highveld was sold by the SABC, the "Rude Awakening" took over from the Mike Mills Show as the station's breakfast show. The show ran from 1997 to 2010 and featured Jeremy Mansfield as the anchor host, supported by (among others) Sam Cowan, Paul Rotherham, Graeme Joffe, Harry Sideroppolis, and Darren Simpson. In July 2010 Mansfield was stated that "The show needs to move forward and I don't see a role for myself in the new product offering. Management and the board have asked if I would assist with off air initiatives, which I am happy to do for the foreseeable future." The format of the new breakfast show remained largely unchanged with the rest of the original team remaining as is.

Breakfast Xpress

On 2 August 2010, the station revamped the morning show by renaming it Breakfast Xpress and appointing Darren Simpson as the new front-man in place of Jeremy Mansfield. The show has been criticised for its childish nature, unprofessionalism, and poor production. The show became infamous for Whackhead's pranks which aired daily on the show. In 2017, Simpson announced that he would be leaving the breakfast show in order to spend more time with his family, but that he would nonetheless still host the station's drive-time show. This left listeners feeling confused and betrayed when they discovered that Simpson was to be the new host of sister station KFM's Breakfast Show and stepping away from the afternoon drive show on 947.

947 Breakfast Club

On 2 March 2017 it was announced that Anele Mdoda will be taking over the Breakfast show from 3 April 2017 with her existing crew – Alex Caige, Thembekile Mrototo, and Cindy Poluta – they welcomed a brand new member to the team: Frankie du Toit.

Anele and the Club

In November 2020, 947 announced that its morning drive show has rebranded to Anele and the Club on 947. The station has also announced that the programme's new pay-off line is 'Joburg's Most Fun Breakfast Show'.

Other presenters

Sam Cowen

Sam Cowen was co-host of the morning show The Breakfast express weekdays on 947. After leaving the breakfast Express, she took over the afternoon slot on 702. After a short stint as host of the afternoon show, she was replaced by Azania. She left radio. Cowen co-authored, with Lee van Loggerenberg, The Irreverent Mother's Handbook (Cape Town: Oshun Books, 2009, ISBN 978-1-77020-085-2).

In 2014, Cowen completed the 7.5 kilometre swim to Robben Island in what was the coldest recorded water temperature ever for this route for first time swimmers.

Legal actions

Zuma vs. Highveld

In response to Darren Simpson's parody of South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma's ongoing rape trial of 2006 –for which Zuma was acquitted– Zuma filed a defamation lawsuit on 30 June 2006, for the sum of R 5 million. Zuma originally filed for R 2 million, but this was upped when Highveld Stereo re-broadcast the allegedly offensive skit.

702 and 94.7 vs. Forum of Black Journalists

In early 2008 Highveld together with their sister station Radio 702 submitted a complaint to the South African Human Rights Commission after the Forum of Black Journalists refused white journalists entry to a lunch with ANC President Jacob Zuma.

Broadcast time

• 24/7

Listenership figures

See also

• Primedia
• 94.7 Cycle Challenge
• Jacob Zuma
• Independent Communications Authority of South Africa
• Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa

References

1. "MediaLibrary's History of SA Media...Media Sector...Broadcast". IBIS Media Data Services (Pty) Ltd. Archived from the original on 8 June 2008. Retrieved 19 November 2008.
2. Alexander, Mary. "South Africa's radio stations". SAinfo. Archived from the original on 17 October 2008. Retrieved 19 November 2008.
3. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 October 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
4. "The Media Online". 41.215.233.179:8080. Archived from the original on 5 July 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
5. "Whackhead has own breakfast menu". News24. 29 July 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
6. "My Christmas Wish". News24. 26 November 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
7. "Anele and Whackhead switch spots on 947". Channel. 9 February 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
8. "KFM line-up shuffle shocks". Channel. 19 May 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
9. "After 14 years Darren Simpson leaves 947 to focus on KFM". Channel. 4 December 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
10. "Anele and The Club on 947 announce a rebrand". Media Update. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
11. "Sam's profile on Highveld Stereo". Africa on Air, A Division of New Primedia (Pty) Ltd. Archived from the original on 27 May 2008. Retrieved 12 August 2008.
12. "Sam Cowen Completes Gruelling Swim To Robben Island". SA Breaking News. Archived from the original on 31 July 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
13. "Zuma to sue SA media for libel". BBC. 4 July 2006. Retrieved 19 November 2008.
14. Swart, Werner (3 July 2006). "Zuma sues media". The Citizen. Archived from the original on 9 January 2008. Retrieved 19 November 2008.
15. "In respect of its public hearing relating to the Forum of Black Journalists and the issue of exclusive organisations" (PDF). Primedia Broadcasting. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2008.
16. The Annual Guide to Radio in South Africa (AdVantage 2012). Media 24. 2012. Archived from the original on 23 May 2013.
17. SAARF RAMS (Presentations)

External links

• Highveld Stereo Webpage
• Mark Pilgrim's website
• 94.7 Highveld Stereo Live Streaming
• SAARF Website
• Sentech Website
• 947 Live Stream + songs played

26°06′08″S 28°03′22″E / 26.102123°S 28.056134°E / -26.102123; 28.056134

• Radio stations in Johannesburg
• Radio stations established in 1964