RadioWorks in north

By DITA DE BONI

RadioWorks New Zealand yesterday settled the purchase of 11 radio frequencies from the Northland Radio Company.

The price was not released, although RadioWorks said goodwill of approximately $1.2 million would be written off in this financial year, consistent with its policy of writing off goodwill as it occurs.

Last August, RadioWorks wrote off $14.4 million in goodwill from the purchase of Radio Otago.

Northland Radio's most prominent Northland stations - KCC FM and Magic FM - compete for a slice of an annual market estimated to total $4.5m.

Northland is New Zealand's ninth-largest radio market. RadioWorks will be one of only two major operators, the other being the TRN network with about 50 per cent of the market.

The purchase brings the number of RadioWorks owned and operated community stations to 22. It also owns four network brands: Radio Pacific, Solid Gold, The Rock and The Edge. Only Pacific is heard in Northland at present, but the company hopes to bring one or two of its music stations into the north.