 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "SAfm" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(September 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
.gif) | |
| Broadcast area | South Africa |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 104–107MHzFM[1][2] |
| Programming | |
| Format | News radio,talk radio |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | SABC |
| History | |
First air date | 1936 |
Former names |
|
| Links | |
| Webcast | www |
| Website | www |
SAfm is a national, English-languagepublic radio station inSouth Africa. It has been operated by theSouth African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) since its founding in 1936.[3]
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 ofJohannesburg,Durban, and (later)Cape Town. An Act ofParliament 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 anAfrikaans-language station in 1937, the two stations came to be called theEnglish Service and theAfrikaans Service, respectively. In 1985 the English Service was renamedRadio South Africa; it has had its current name, SAfm, since 1995.[3] The SAfm studio is now in SABC Radio Park, in theJohannesburg suburb ofAuckland Park.[5]
From 1995 to 2003, it gradually reduced the scope of its programming from a general, multi-genreformat to a news andtalk radio format. In 2006, theIndependent Communications Authority of South Africa required SAfm to re-adddrama andchildren's radio programmes, and these are now among the station's offerings.[3] In 2012, SAfm was broadcasting 24 hours per day.[1]
Most SAfm listeners are in age range of 35 to 49, and LSM groups 7–10.[1][3][further explanation needed]
| Month | 7-day | Average 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 |
