SAfm

SAfm is a national, English-language public radio station in South Africa. It has been operated by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) since its founding in 1936.[3]

For the regional radio station in Adelaide, Australia, see SAFM.

SAfm
Broadcast areaSouth Africa
Frequency104–107 MHz FM[1][2]
Slogan"South Africa's News and Information Leader"
Programming
FormatNews radio, talk radio
Ownership
OwnerSABC
History
First air date
1936
Former names
  • "A" Programme
  • English Service
  • Radio South Africa
Links
Webcastwww.antfarm.co.za/clients/safm/safm_22.asx
Websitesafm.co.za

SAfm was the SABC's first radio station, and the country's first public radio station. From 1924 to 1936, the only radio service in South Africa was a privately owned station called JB, which broadcast to the cities of Johannesburg, Durban, and (later) Cape Town. An Act of Parliament in 1936 made official the conversion of JB into a public broadcaster.[4]

In its early days as a public radio service, the station was called the "A" Programme. When the SABC started an Afrikaans-language station in 1937, the two stations came to be called the English Service and the Afrikaans Service, respectively. In 1985 the English Service was renamed Radio South Africa; it has had its current name, SAfm, since 1995.[3] The SAfm studio is now in SABC Radio Park, in the Johannesburg suburb of Auckland Park.[5]

SAfm broadcasts 24 hours per day.[1] From 1995 to 2003, it gradually reduced the scope of its programming from a general, multi-genre format to a news and talk radio format. In 2006, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa required SAfm to re-add drama and children's radio programmes, and these are now among the station's offerings.[3]

Audience

Most SAfm listeners are in age range of 35 to 49, and LSM groups 7–10.[1][3]

Estimated number of listeners[6]
Month7-dayAverage Monday–Friday
May 2013 645,000 281,000
February 2013 566,000 263,000
December 2012 517,000 218,000
October 2012 516,000 218,000
August 2012 550,000 219,000
June 2012 540,000 221,000

See also

References
  1. The Annual Guide to Radio in South Africa (AdVantage 2012). Media 24. 2012.
  2. "SABC public broadcasting stations". Brand S.A country portal. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  3. "About SAfm: Station Profile". safm.co.za. SAfm. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  4. du Plessis, D. F. (2000). "The South African Advertising Scene § Electronic Media". Introduction to Public Relations and Advertising. Juta and Company. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-7021-5557-4. OCLC 45558082 – via Google Books.
  5. "Contact Us". safm.co.za. SAfm. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  6. "SAARF RAMS (Presentations)". saarf.co.za. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013.

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