2ZB
| City | Wellington |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1035AM - 2ZB 90.0FM - B90FM 89.4FM - B90FM (Kapiti) |
| Format | Adult contemporary |
| Language(s) | English language |
| Transmitter coordinates | 43°45′25″S 167°04′32″E / 43.7570198°S 167.0755804°ECoordinates: 43°45′25″S 167°04′32″E / 43.7570198°S 167.0755804°E |
| Owner |
Radio New Zealand until 1996 The Radio Network after 1996 |
2ZB was a radio station based in Wellington, New Zealand. This station was run by Radio New Zealand (formally the NZBS/NZBC/BCNZ) and eventually spawned a second FM station called B90FM. Today 2ZB and B90FM are part of a nationwide networks Newstalk ZB and The Hits respectively.
The station was started by Radio New Zealand (which at the time was known as the National Broadcasting Service) in 1937 originally broadcasting on 980AM. The station was branded from the stations callsign 2ZB. ZB stations were assigned to the four main regions in New Zealand, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. While content was local some network shows were heard such as Aunt Daisy up until 1963. In 1978 the station moved to 1035AM after New Zealand changed from 10 kHz spacing on the AM band to 9 kHz spacing.
In early 1991 2ZB began broadcasting on 89.8FM and also extended programming to the Kapiti region broadcasting on 89.4FM. The station continued to broadcast on 1035AM.
By 1993 Radio New Zealand had moved most of their local AM radio stations around the country to an FM frequency and in most cases each station continued to broadcast on the original AM frequency. At this point a decision was made network Auckland's Newstalk 1ZB station across the country utilizing the AM frequencies once used by the local station. In 1993 the 2ZB 1035AM frequency became Newstalk ZB, the Wellington station continued to run local programming throughout the day and some of the 2ZB announcers remained with Newstalk ZB Wellington into the late 2000s. At the same time 2ZB on 89.8FM was relaunched as Goodtime Oldies B90FM, this station was similar to Christchurch radio station Goodtime Oldies B98FM.
In 1993 Radio New Zealand consolidated their local FM stations into a single brand called Classic Hits taking on similar branding to Classic Hits 97FM in Auckland. As part of the rebrand most stations adopted the heritage name into the station, for Goodtime Oldies B90FM the station became known as Classic Hits B90FM. A similar move was made in Christchurch with Goodtime Oldies B98FM becoming Classic Hits B98. Unlike other stations rebranded as Classic Hits, the Christchurch and Wellington stations played music from mostly the 1960s and 1970s, originally Classic Hits stations in other markets played music from the 1960s to the 1990s.
...
Wikipedia