In 1989 Auckland's Classic Hits moved to FM, becoming Classic Hits 97FM. Classic Hits unofficially began in Auckland in 1987 when 1ZM (also known as 1251ZM at the time) changed music format to play ' classic hits' music and branding was changed to Classic Hits Twelve Fifty One. The Hits was originally known as Classic Hits up until April 2014. Later that year, it came under the ownership of New Zealand Media and Entertainment. In April 2014, the network re-branded from Classic Hits to The Hits to attract more younger listeners. The network targets 25- to 54-year-old homeowners, socially-active parents and price-conscious household shoppers. Īn estimated 282,000 people listen to The Hits every week, including 85,000 people in Auckland region. Despite a major reduction in local programmes since 1993, most stations still have a local three-hour breakfast programme or a six-hour daytime programme. John 'Boggy' McDowell was an announcer on the Southland station for 33 years.

Many have given a platform to broadcasting names like Selwyn Toogood, Paul Holmes, Peter Sinclair, Jenny-May Clarkson (nee Coffin) and Jason Gunn. Most of the individual stations started out as local AM stations owned by state broadcaster Radio New Zealand.

The Hits has had the broadest broadcast reach of any radio network in the country since 1996, and is now available on 40 full-power FM frequencies and 18 iHeartRadio streams. It was set up by Government broadcaster Radio New Zealand in 1993 by consolidating existing stations into a single brand and has been privately owned since 1996. The Hits is a Hot adult contemporary music radio network, broadcasting to 26 markets across New Zealand.

Iheartradio 70s and 80s