iHeart Radio to stream Radio New Zealand

State-owned broadcaster Radio New Zealand is now being broadcast on iHeart Radio.

In a release, Radio NZ chief executive Paul Thompson says the new partnership will provide the broadcaster with a younger audience.

“iHeartRadio New Zealand has over 300,000 registered users, with 56% of them under 35 years of age.”

Radio NZ runs three stations – Radio NZ National, Radio NZ Concert and Radio NZ International.

The broadcaster, which is given a government budget of approximately $39 million annually, will maintain its standalone app.

NZME, which publishes the New Zealand Herald and owns The Radio Network, operates iHeart Radio locally.

RAW DATA: iHeartRadio NZ To Stream Radio New Zealand

Radio New Zealand is joining the iHeartRadio New Zealand platform, further strengthening its position as the country’s leading digital streaming offering. NZME’s Group Strategy and Operations Director, Carolyn Luey says with Radio New Zealand recognised for its high quality and diverse programming, the partnership adds even greater depth to the existing local selection of stations.

“Radio New Zealand offers great stations and content which will now be available via iHeartRadio. Radio New Zealand’s popular programmes including Morning Report, Checkpoint, Afternoons with Simon Mercep, Saturday Morning with Kim Hill and Sunday Morning with Wallace Chapman will all be carried by iHeartRadio as part of the new initiative, enhancing our offering.”

iHeartRadio New Zealand is a core part of  NZME’s portfolio and Luey believes the Radio New Zealand stations will complement NZME Radio’s current station offering.

“Radio New Zealand provides a non-commercial offering which is very different to NZME’s stations in the commercial market. The agreement includes live stations from three networks, Radio New Zealand National, Radio New Zealand Concert and Radio New Zealand International. They join terrestrial stations as well as digital only stations such as the New Zealand Top 40, Country Nation and Kiwi Kids.”

CEO of Radio New Zealand, Paul Thompson emphasised the value of the initiative in bringing Radio New Zealand’s unique brand of journalism and diverse programming to a wider audience. 

“iHeartRadio New Zealand has over 300,000 registered users, with 56% of them being under 35 years of age. This provides Radio New Zealand access to a younger audience by delivering high quality content to new audiences.  We see adding our stations across multiple platforms as a significant enhancement of our services and partnerships such as this with iHeartRadio are a great way of distributing that content.”     

The Radio New Zealand stations are available now on iHeartRadio.