If you are travelling over Christmas from town to town, try going up and down the dial to find one of the many locally owned regional or local independent radio stations across the nation.

These stations will have various special Christmas programmes playing on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to enjoy – some of which will have Christmas songs probably not heard on New Zealand radio before.

Some of the special programmes were produced over the last few years by US radio host Archer, who has had various Beatles related programmes heard in New Zealand. The programmes from the Archer Audio Archives are :

A Christmas Media Circus

A Fab Four Christmas

A "Far Out!" Flashback Christmas with Archer & Valerie

A Hand-segued Christmas!

A Reggae Christmas and a Ska New Year

A Vinyl Christmas

Blues For Christmas

Christmas Hits : Artists from A to ... well, Y

Ghosts Of Christmas Past

Some stations are also playing Casey Kasem’s Top 30 All Time Christmas Countdown produced in 2001.

The late Casey Kasem was the host of the popular “American Top 40” programme which was heard in New Zealand on various radio stations in the 1970s and 1980s.

And as well as those programmes The New Zealand Retro Weekly Top 40 Countdown’s Christmas Cracker will also feature on stations across the nation. Hosted by Rob Walker, it’s not the usual countdown show – but a bit of festive fun for Christmas Day.

It will feature a few messages from some of the nearly 40 stations across the nation, and a couple of overseas stations as well, and also a very special Christmas message from New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, which was recorded especially for the programme, and for the stations themselves. There will also be a few other Christmas tid bits throughout the show to enjoy as well.

The New Zealand Retro Weekly Top 40 Countdown with Rob Walker is the most syndicated locally produced music show on New Zealand radio, and has been on air in syndication since May 2018.

The various special Christmas programmes will start at different times on each station on either Christmas Eve and/or Christmas Day. Check with your local radio station on which various programmes will play and when they will be heard.

The stations playing the various Christmas radio specials are (from North to South) :

NORTH ISLAND :

• Magic Music FM - 88.3FM & 107.1FM Whangarei *
  * Not one of the regular NZ RWT40 stations – but will be playing some of the Christmas radio specials.
• Heads FM - 106.4FM Mangawhai & Bream Bay Region (lower Northland)
• Classic Gold - 107.3FM Waiwera
• XS80s - 107.7FM Albany & Rosedale (Auckland) / 95.8FM Takaka / 107.3FM Christchurch (South) / 106.7FM Alexandra / 103.4FM Wanaka / 107.5FM Dunedin
• The Flea FM - 88.2FM Devonport & Auckland Central City / 107.1FM Takapuna & Northern Suburbs
• East FM - 88.1FM Howick / 107.1FM Botany Downs & Flat Bush areas of Auckland
• Panmure FM - 107.0FM Panmure, Mt Wellington, Glen Innes (Auckland)
• V3FM - Pukekohe (Auckland) – ONLINE ONLY
• Radio Hydra – 105.8FM & 106.8FM Piha Beach (Auckland)
• Cambridge Oaks On–Air FM - 88.3FM Cambridge
• Positively Te Aroha Community Radio - 88.0FM Te Aroha
• Positively Morrinsville Community Radio - 87.7FM Morrinsville
• Coromandel's CFM - 95.1FM Whitianga, Tairua, Pauanui, Whangamata, Coromandel / 94.0FM Thames, Hauraki Plains, Parts of Waikato
• 1XX : One Double–X - 90.5FM & 1242AM Whakatane & the Eastern Bay Of Plenty / 92.9FM Ohope Beach
  STATION OF THE YEAR – NON NETWORK : 2021 NEW ZEALAND RADIO AWARDS
• The Pulse - 106.9FM Papamoa
• Kis FM - 107.5FM Taupo
• Small FM - 88.1FM Hastings / 106.7FM Napier
• Central FM - 106.0FM, 105.2FM & 99.4FM Waipukurau, Central & Southern Hawke’s Bay
• The Trunk - 88.0FM Taumaranui
• Coast Access Radio - 104.7FM Kapiti Coast and Horowhenua
• Beach FM - 106.3FM Kapiti, Horowhenua & parts of the Manawatu
• Hutt Radio - 88.3FM Hutt Valley / Eastbourne / Wainuiomata
• The Cheese - 87.9FM Lower Hutt
• Mix FM - 87.9FM Wellington’s Northern Suburbs

SOUTH ISLAND :

• Akaroa World Radio - 90.3FM & 90.9FM - Akaroa & Banks Peninsula
• Compass FM - 104.9FM Rangiora, Kaiapoi, Oxford, Rolleston, Darfield, Waikuku, Pegasus, Culverden / 103.7FM Hamner Springs, Cheviot, Kaikoura
• Just FM - 107.7 Kaiapoi
• South Canterbury's 100.3FM - 100.3FM Timaru
• Radio Twizel - 95.8FM Twizel & MacKenzie County (part of the Classic Gold Network)
• Coast FM - 96.5FM Westport / 99.5FM Grey–Hoki Area / 97.9FM Greymouth / 100.3FM Hokitika / 90.3FM Reefton / 99.3FM Karamea / 87.8FM Murchison / 94.5FM Franz Josef
• Oamaru FM - 91.2FM Oamaru & North Otago
• Whitestone City Music - 107.6FM Oamaru
• Happy Days Radio - 88.3FM Palmerston, Waikouaiti (East Otago), Clinton (South Otago)
• Radio Central - 91.9FM Alexandra, Cromwell, Clyde, Manuherikia / 94.3FM Tevoit Valley / 104.3FM Maniototo / 88.0FM Miller's Flat / 96.0FM Queenstown, Arrowtown, Frankton, Kingston
• The Hawk - 89.5FM Omakau (Central Otago)
• Classic Gold - 107.3FM Alexandra / 88.0FM Clyde
• Radio Wanaka - 92.2FM & 97.0FM Wanaka / 99.1FM Cromwell
• Cave FM - 106.4FM Gore

INTERNATIONAL STATIONS :

• Kia Orana FM - 89.5FM Rarotonga, Cook Islands
• Retro 80's Radio - Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA – ONLINE ONLY

Most of these stations also stream online through the stations' own websites, which you can link to through www.absoundbites.co.nz . And remember –

Travel Local, Buy Local & Listen Local and support these locally owned radio stations that support their local communities.

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