Coast (New Zealand)
Coast is a New Zealand oldies radio network playing a mix of easy listening, pop and R&B music from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and more recent years. The network includes 16 stations in major cities and provincial centres from studios in central Auckland, owned and operated by New Zealand Media and Entertainment (NZME). Its programming includes a live network breakfast programme with Bay of Plenty identity Brian Kelly and a local breakfast programme in Hawera.
The Coast network reaches an estimated 189,000 listeners each week - many of them baby boomers and the parents of adult children. Its format is smooth, with short hourly news bulletins, succinct voice breaks, minimal ad breaks and limited clutter. Its target listener is 40 to 64 years old, has reached their highest-earning potential, owns their own home and spends disposable income on luxury items and travel. The audience is almost equally male and female, with a 52% female skew.
The current Coast format was launched in 2004, and includes music from the likes of Elvis Presley, Simon and Garfunkel, Smokey Robinson, Joe Cocker, Fleetwood Mac, Tony Bennett, Paul McCartney, Barbra Streisand, the Rolling Stones and Elton John. Other unrelated stations also carry the Coast name, including the independently and operated Coast FM network based at Westport on New Zealand's South Island West Coast.Coast Access FM, a community radio station, broadcasts to the Kapiti Coast and Horowhenua.