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History

An early adopter of radio technology, New Zealand saw considerable variation in its radio system over the years, thanks to both political changes and social pressure. For decades the system was dominated by a state-controlled network of stations.

Origins

New Zealand stations began transmitting in the early 1920s and by 1925 there was at least one service in all the major population centers. In 1926, the state began a process that would lead to politics and politicians dominating radio for more than 60 years. That year, the government established the Radio Broadcasting Company (RBC) to provide a national broadcasting service. Its revenue came from a licensing fee paid annually by every owner of a radio receiver. Existing stations not absorbed by the new company were permitted to continue broadcasting, but with heavy restrictions. They became known as "B" stations, in contrast to the RBC's "A" stations.

During these early years, in deference to newspaper proprietors, advertising was prohibited on radio. The state not only controlled the allocation of transmission frequencies but also licensed the right to receive. There was also an informal set of conditions in place based on broadcasters' knowledge that the government frowned upon any form of vulgarity, controversial political or social topics, and direct or indirect criticism of the state. Significant visitors to New Zealand in the early days of broadcasting, including philosopher Krishnamurti and the Canadian politician Major Douglas, were prohibited from broadcasting.

However, the peculiar shape of radio broadcasting in New Zealand was forged in the 1930s. In 1932 the RBC was replaced by a direct government agency, the New Zealand Broadcasting Board. The Board's stations were conservative, and many listeners preferred the more lively and still independent B stations, although these stations were subject to strict government inspection and had no rights to generate revenue from commercial activities. Many of them were able to stay on the air only because they were subsidiary activities of radio and record retailers or were sustained by voluntary work and donations.

The first "personalities" in New Zealand radio were on the B stations. One, a Methodist minister, Colin Scrimgeour, used his religious program to attack the Depression policies of the government, which, in turn, tried to prevent his broadcasting by jamming the station's frequency.

State Control

Ironically, the election in 1935 of the socialist Labour Party to government saw the end of the B stations that had helped Labour to victory. The New Zealand Broadcasting Service (NZBS) was established as a department of state, and it immediately absorbed or closed down all remaining independent radio stations, establishing direct state control of all broadcasting. Negative experiences with the nation's overwhelmingly conservative newspapers encouraged the government to create something unique in the world of broadcasting: a state-owned commercial radio organization. In 1937 the NZBS was split into two divisions, with the A stations remaining noncommercial and somewhat elitist and the B stations forming a popular state-run commercial radio division. The combination of advertising revenue and annual receiver license fees made broadcasting a significant income generator for the government. Broadcasting also became the country's most significant patron of the arts, publishing the country's leading journal of culture, operating the only symphony orchestra, and providing valuable employment for New Zealanders with creative ability.

Postwar Change

A change of government in 1960 saw the first of many attempts to reduce the role of government in broadcasting. Given responsibility for the development of a television service, the NZBS was changed from a state department to a public corporation, although radio remained much as it had been, with bureaucrats remaining in control. The only significant change was the development of a local radio news service, some 40 years after radio began!

However, changes in social taste were not being reflected in radio, and there was strong resistance to the popular music of the 1960s and to other "foreign" influences. This led to the launch in 1967 of a "pirate" radio ship broadcasting from international waters. The success of the pirate Radio Hauraki in capturing the younger radio audience began a process of change that eventually led to the licensing of private radio stations and a reduction of state influence and control.

These changes were not without resistance. During the 1970s there was a rash of legislative changes to broadcasting structures, as first one government and then another tried to maintain control of the airwaves. It was a period of change and tension between broadcasters and politicians. New broadcasting legislation appeared almost annually. Gradually, however, the influence of state broadcasting waned. Over these years, the number of private radio broadcasters rose steadily, from three in 1972, to nine by 1976, and 22 by 1984.

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Modern Radio

Then a new government ushered in a period of radical change. In 1988, New Zealand radio broadcasting was completely deregulated. Frequencies were auctioned, and frequency owners were given trading rights. Deregulation led to a dramatic increase in the number of radio stations, up from 69 in 1988 to 164 in 1993, to nearly 300 in 1999, serving a population of less than 3.5 million. The government sold its commercial radio stations to a consortium of overseas broadcasters in 1994. In 2000, commercial radio in New Zealand consisted of three major ownership groups and a large number of small private operators

However, by 2002 consolidation had reduced the major groups to just two, both controlled by overseas interests. Other radio included two public radio networks, 25 stations dedicated to the indigenous Maori language, and 11 community - access radio stations wholly or partially funded by the state

At the beginning of the century New Zealand's unique and intense relationship with radio is reflected in a number of facts, not the least of which are the large number of radio stations servicing a relatively small population (arguably the greatest number of stations per capita in the world), the time spent listening to radio (with youth time-spent-listening bucking the worldwide trend and actually increasing), and the consequent amount of revenue generated (at times rising to 14 percent of the total national advertising expenditure).

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