History
The History of Easy Mix dates as far back as the 1960s when a company called Radio International started Radio i in Auckland. The station started originally leasing air time on 1ZM as at this point the NZBC had a monopoly on the New Zealand airwaves preventing private broadcasters from operating. Radio i was granted a broadcasting licence in 1970, the same year Radio Hauraki was granted the very first private commercial licence in New Zealand, Radio i originally broadcast on 1590AM in the Auckland region and moved to 1330AM in 1978 and later that year to 1332AM. When the station switched to FM in 1990 the name was changed to Radio i92FM broadcasting on 91.8FM. After 3 months on the air on 91.8FM the station moved to its current frequency on 98.2FM and became Radio i98FM and later Easy Listening i98FM. Easy Listening had several changes of ownership and in 1996 Easy Listening i in Auckland was sold to The Radio Network.
Easy Listening began broadcasting in Hamilton in 1993 when local station Easy Listening 97FM was rebranded as Easy Listening i97FM with the station remaining local until 1995 when programming was replaced with Auckland based programming. In 1996 the station was sold to The Radio Network and at the time in Hamilton the station reverted back to local programming but the format of the station mirrored that of Easy Listening i98FM in Auckland. In 1999 Easy Listening was dropped from the Waikato market and replaced with Newstalk ZB on this frequency.
Easy Listening was started in Hawkes Bay in 1996 when The New Alligator 99-100FM was rebranded as Easy Listening i90FM broadcasting on 90.3FM and 99.9FM, this station was operated as part of a franchise agreement. The station was originally local but shortly after being rebranded local programming was replaced with Auckland based programming. The stations was taken over by the Hawkes Bay Media Group during the middle of 1996 and the 99.9FM frequency was used to start local station Xtreme 100. At the end of 1997 the station reverted back to local programming, ceased using the Easy Listening i name and became Easy Listening 90FM and in 1999 was renamed again to 90.3 Cool FM. In 2000 Independent Radio (formally Hawkes Bay Media Group) was sold to The Radio Network and the station reverted to Easy Listening i90.3FM but now networked from Auckland. On 31 May 2011, the Hawke's Bay station was closed down, and the frequency switched to Newstalk ZB. On 1 March 2012, it returned to Hawke's Bay on 96.7FM, replacing Flava.
Easy Listening launched in Rotorua in late 1996 as Easy Listening i94.3FM and operated as part of a franchise agreement with local Rotorua station Triple X 99FM. The station featured a local breakfast show but outside breakfast programming was networked from Auckland. The station closed down in 1998 but The Radio Network brought Easy Listening i back to Rotorua in 2004 as Easy Listening i95.1FM with all programming now networked from Auckland. On March 31, 2010 The Radio Network sold the 95.1FM frequency and as a result Easy Mix went off the air in Rotorua.
Easy Listening began broadcasting in Tauranga in 2000 as Easy Listening i99FM with all programming networked from Auckland.
Easy Listening also broadcast into Christchurch on 94.5FM (during the mid-1990s) as a completely local station, this station was operated by C93FM Limited and was rebranded as Lite FM in 1998 after C93FM Limited was sold to Radio Otago, this station was eventually rebranded as The Breeze. Easy Listening made a return to Christchurch in 2003 now broadcasting on 1593AM and now as the network based product instead of their own local product, the station was also networked into Dunedin in 2003 on 954AM. Both stations did not perform well and as a result were replaced with Coast in 2004.
The Easy Listening network was rebranded as Viva FM in 2005, and subsequently rebranded in August 2007 as Easy Mix. In 2008 Easy Mix began broadcasting in Wellington, networked from Auckland on 93.5FM.
On June 8, 2012 it was announced that all Easy Mix's FM frequencies would be replaced with Radio Sport on June 22, 2012. This would enable Radio Sport to be heard on FM in many markets where it was previously unavailable.
Some of Easy Mix's music was shifted to Coast FM and Classic Hits FM.
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