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Revision as of 07:09, 31 July 2006 by 144.132.94.203 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)- This article refers to the defunct New Zealand radio station. For other uses, see Other Channel Z's
Channel Z was an alternative music radio station broadcasting in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, New Zealand. In early 2005 the station was relaunched as Kiwi FM and only plays New Zealand music.
The Birth of Channel Z
Channel Z appeared on the air in Wellington, New Zealand, in mid August, 1996. Its founding programme director was John Diver. Channel Z was part of the More FM Group of stations, later to become the CanWest-owned RadioWorks Group. Early presenters included: Martin Devlin, John Diver, James Coleman, and Olivia.
Talkback
Talkback was a tradition on Channel Z. The very first talkback show on Channel Z - "Talk" - featured James Coleman and John Diver, together hosting a show that featured, among other things, "Cornish Hour", which began with the two hosts talking in Cornish accents. Cornish Hour - sponsored by the fictitious shortbread company, "McAndrews" - seldom ran longer than a few minutes and was in part inspired by the British motion picture, Blue Juice. After the departure of Martin Devlin, and James Coleman's move to the breakfast programme, "Talk" was hosted by John Diver and night-host Olivia. "Talk" aired on Sunday nights between 20:00 and 00:00.
Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury hosted the Auckland version of Talkback up until the end of 2005. Bomber's show had features that dealt with legal and health advice, promoted human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and World Vision, as well as poking fun at conservative groups and views.
Ironically, the date that Kiwi FM launched (February 6, 2005) was the date that Talkback was supposed to return for 2005... but it never did. Later in 2005, Martyn Bradbury (without the alias 'Bomber') joined Radio Live to host a weekly late night talk show on Sunday Night. This show, however, was quite different to the Channel Z based talkback show.
Later Years
In 1998, long time presenter, Pheobe Spiers and breakfast hosts Jon Bridges and Nathan Rarere joined the station. Channel Z Christchurch was launched in 1999, with Willy Macalister presenting a local daytime show, Melanie Wise on the night time show and networked mornings and drive shows. In 2001, major changes to Channel Z were made including the abolishment of local shows in both Wellington and Christchurch and everything being networked from Auckland. This was obviously not a positive move, especially for Wellingtonians (where Channel Z began). Jon & Nathan's breakfast show was also later canned in favour of a new show featuring James Coleman on his own, with Bomber and Clarke Gayford moving from Nights to Drive.
The End
In January 2005, Channel Z announced it was to relaunch as Kiwi FM, playing 100% New Zealand music on February 6, 2005. This announcement came with mixed views with skeptism that it would not work.
Other Channel Z's
Channel Z was the title of a song by the B-52's about a fictional radio station whose motto is ‘‘Channel Z: All static, All day, Forever!’’
Channel Z GmbH is a film production, HD post-production and visual effects company in Germany. The company did the screen design for the final draw for the 2006 World Cup in Germany for the ARD (Erstes Deutsches Fernsehen).
See also
External links
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