    zm (pronounced zed-em) is a new zealand contemporary hit radio network owned by nzme radio. it broadcasts 19 markets throughout mainland new zealand via terrestrial fm, and worldwide via the internet. the network targets the 15â39 demographic specialises in a chart-music playlist of pop, rock, hip hop and dance music. it reaches approximately 378,700 listeners weekly, making it the fourth largest commercial radio station in new zealand. the zm network as it is today was founded in the early 1970s as three separate commercial music stations owned by radio new zealand in auckland, wellington and christchurch. the name is derived from the former callsigns of the stations: 1zm, 2zm and 3zm â z denoting a radio new zealand commercial station and m for music. the stations were carved off to the radio network in 1996, and zm spread across the country, originally as three separate networks before finally merging to form one nationwide network in 2009. the network's head office and main studios are based in auckland, where all of the programming is produced. ==history== the zm name derives from the original 1zm radio station founded by w.w. (bill) rodgers in the late 1920s in manurewa, then a farming village south of auckland, the letter z meant a privately owned (later commercial) station, and the m stood for manurewa. ===early years=== the station was acquired by the nz government and moved 26&nbsp;km north to auckland city, where it shared space in the 1941 art deco broadcasting house studios of 1zb. in april 1944 1zm was handed over to the us afrs military broadcasting service to provide entertainment for us troops on r & r leave in auckland, as part of the aes mosquito network. the american programming, drawn from all three us radio networks (abc, nbc and cbs) and played without commercial adver
Contemporary_hit_radio_stations New_Zealand_radio_networks Radio_stations_in_New_Zealand