Big 106.2
Encyclopedia
Big 106.2 or Big FM was a radio station in Auckland
New Zealand
that launched on November 1, 2008 at 9AM, broadcasting on 106.2FM. The original station was started by radio veterans Larry Summerville and Bernie Brown and was owned and operated by Big Radio Limited. The original station played Adult Contemporary music. In April 2010 there were reports that Big FM had been sold to Thane and Richard Kirby for an undisclosed sum. Thane Kirby is the founder of Auckland radio stations, George FM
, UpFM and Base FM and the now defunct TV station ALT TV
. On 1 May 2010 the current format was supposedly dropped and a spoiler format known as Big Time FM was launched. Most of the announcers disappeared from the station around this time as well. The station was planning to launch its new format in June 2010.
Big FM was one of the few stations in New Zealand not owned or operated by New Zealand's two largest radio companies RadioWorks or The Radio Network
, thanks to the limited commercial licence Big FM broadcasted on neither company could purchase the station when it came up for sale.
On June 23, 2010 the station unexpectedly went off the air. No press release was issued as to why the station went off the air and the main indicator that Big FM was no longer operating from a comment left from a Big FM staff member on their Facebook page saying "arghh ** Gurgle gurlge .....gasp - - - splutter..... sssssssss" . The Big FM website was up for a time after it went off-air with no news as to what had been happening, and clicking on the web stream on the page brought up an error.
There were several complaints on Big FM's Facebook page from listeners unhappy at the changes made. The Facebook page was removed in mid-September 2010, while the Big FM website was taken down in early November 2010.
In April 2011, the 106.2FM frequency began transmissions by Hindi radio station Humm FM.
During the period between the 1st of May and June 23 when the station went off the air there were no announcers on the air.
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
that launched on November 1, 2008 at 9AM, broadcasting on 106.2FM. The original station was started by radio veterans Larry Summerville and Bernie Brown and was owned and operated by Big Radio Limited. The original station played Adult Contemporary music. In April 2010 there were reports that Big FM had been sold to Thane and Richard Kirby for an undisclosed sum. Thane Kirby is the founder of Auckland radio stations, George FM
George FM
George FM is an Auckland dance music radio station, owned and operated by MediaWorks from Ponsonby Road headquarters and relayed on Freeview and radio frequencies around New Zealand...
, UpFM and Base FM and the now defunct TV station ALT TV
Alt TV
ALT TV was a New Zealand broadcast, privately owned and operated 24 hour live-to-air music TV, which aired from 2006 to 2009 and was seen on SKY Digital channel 065...
. On 1 May 2010 the current format was supposedly dropped and a spoiler format known as Big Time FM was launched. Most of the announcers disappeared from the station around this time as well. The station was planning to launch its new format in June 2010.
Big FM was one of the few stations in New Zealand not owned or operated by New Zealand's two largest radio companies RadioWorks or The Radio Network
The Radio Network
The Radio Network is the wholly owned New Zealand division of radio company Australian Radio Network, a partnership of Clear Channel and APN News & Media. It is the owner and operator of the Newstalk ZB News service and nationwide Newstalk ZB, Classic Hits, ZM, Coast, Hauraki, Easy Mix, Flava and...
, thanks to the limited commercial licence Big FM broadcasted on neither company could purchase the station when it came up for sale.
On June 23, 2010 the station unexpectedly went off the air. No press release was issued as to why the station went off the air and the main indicator that Big FM was no longer operating from a comment left from a Big FM staff member on their Facebook page saying "arghh ** Gurgle gurlge .....gasp - - - splutter..... sssssssss" . The Big FM website was up for a time after it went off-air with no news as to what had been happening, and clicking on the web stream on the page brought up an error.
There were several complaints on Big FM's Facebook page from listeners unhappy at the changes made. The Facebook page was removed in mid-September 2010, while the Big FM website was taken down in early November 2010.
In April 2011, the 106.2FM frequency began transmissions by Hindi radio station Humm FM.
Announcers
Big FM's original lineup was as follows.- Breakfast 5.30am - 10am: Brent Harbour (now working in radio in DubaiDubaiDubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
) & Lance Dunne (now breakfast host on Times FM) - Daytime 10am - 2pm: Suzy CatoSuzy CatoSusan "Suzy" Cato is an Australian-born New Zealand children's entertainer. She is best-known as the host of several New Zealand children's television programmes, most notably 3pm and Suzy's World...
- Drive 2pm - 7pm: Tony Ujdur
- Nights 7pm - 12am: Nick Robinson
During the period between the 1st of May and June 23 when the station went off the air there were no announcers on the air.