Fledgling North West commercial radio station spreads its wings

lesego.makgatho@inl.co.za

IF there’s a radio station that ought to remind you of the massive growth of the airwaves in South Africa, it’s got to be YOU FM.

The commercial radio station based in Rustenburg in the North West turns two tomorrow, Monday, November 15. 2021. and is striving to make a difference to the people of the North West region whilst also making inroads into Tshwane, Gauteng.

Speaking to the Sunday Independent, Head of Sales at the station, Nnete Mabitsela said there were the station had lined up a few things in terms of getting a new mix of talent to coincide with its growth and reach.

“We’ve got new presenters who are going to be doing shows across the board. As a young radio station, we are trying to re-energise the brand by bringing in new talent and a new voice,” said Mabitsela.

The station will bring in new presenters to ensure they have a fresh blend of people that not only represent the North West but are also able to cover the entire Tshwane area, which is an exciting prospect as the station will be extending its reach to the metropolitan area.

YOU FM is the only commercial radio station broadcasting from the North West province. In its short existence, it has positioned itself as a strong, fresh and premium radio brand broadcasting in Tswana and English on the frequencies 89.8-103.9.

The station has a footprint in Rustenburg (89.8) Klerksdorp (97.0) Zeerust (93.5) Potchefstroom (99.4) Mahikeng (91.8) Vryburg (97.3) Taung (91.9) and Garankuwa (103.9).

“We’re quite excited about this new breed that is coming in and what the brand is about to do. We’ve taken a thorough, strategic approach to how we’re going about changing things for our second year anniversary, ” Mabitsela.

YOU with the Boys - a breakfast show, is our flagship programme. The trio are like the big brother to our character type of listener. They are three guys who come on in the morning and serve that happy pill to our listeners. They focus on addressing gender-based violence and youth development,” said Mabitsela.

The show comprises of presenters Kamogee, Patcash and Sbi who carry a trendy, chivalrous, fun, informative and distinctive programme in the morning, covering a broad range of topics such as business and money matters, GBV (gender-based violence), and more.

Mabitsela added that the station had been steadfast in providing compelling content, programming, features and news to keep listeners informed and entertained. YOU FM is the entertainment plug for great music, pop culture events and lifestyle trends in the province, he said.

It targets an urban individual (SEM 4-10) aged 25-44. They are sophisticated, tech-savvy, well informed, open-minded, grounded, appreciate their culture and have a global view.

Regarding their ratings, Nnete said there hadn’t been a measurement of the numbers since 2020. In March last year YOU FM had 109 000 listeners and about a week ago or so they got a rating of about 107 000 listeners.

“Be that as it may, it is data that is available to us and we are hoping to engage with our marketing department on how we can improve our rating. Our ratings are concentrated on the metros and we don’t operate in the metros, we operate in the major towns and our biggest listeners are from Potchefstroom, Klerksdorp and Taung. And we now want to break into the Pretoria market,” he said.

While the age group of the presenters is across the generational gap, Mabitsela said the station is female inclined as, “we’ve got women hosting the drive-time show. We’ve got a mix of young talent that this coming through and are maturing into their responsibilities.

“A major part of what we are going for is improving the product offering and embarking on infrastructure build projects. We believe that radio is a combination of art and science and we want to make sure that even our programming is a reflection of that, while also telling our story and remaining true to our principles of being listener-led.

:We are constantly looking at establishing an emotional connection with the listeners - forever being “In Tune with You,” he said.

Sunday Independent