Tshwane University Of Technology Radio Station

Tshwane FM was started as a project by the University’s Department of Journalism. When the station first went on air in March 2004, it operated from the journalism broadcast training studio, which limited broadcasting to just 6 hours a day. In October 2005 the radio station moved into brand-new studios. These enabled us to increase our broadcast hours to 19 hours/day from 6am to 1am.

In 2010, when TUT Top Stereo became Tshwane FM, it also extended its broadcast hours to 24/7. And since then Tshwane FM has become one of the country’s biggest campus-based radio stations!.

Tshwane FM launched under its new name in November 2010 after 5 years as TUT Top Stereo. Along with the name change came a new antenna which gives Tshwane FM a signal output rated at 400W, double the previous output. Tshwane FM’s current signal radius is approximately 50km and covers the whole of greater Tshwane, from Atteridgeville/Laudium in the west to Mamelodi in the east. It also reaches Centurion, Midrand, and parts of northern Johannesburg to the south and Soshanguve to the north.

Tshwane FM backed up its status as one of the country’s leading campus-based radio stations with five nominations (but no wins unfortunately) at the 2017 Liberty Radio Awards. This followed five nominations and two wins at the 2014 MTN Radio Awards. In 2012, in our first go at the awards, “The First Beat” was voted Best Campus Breakfast Show, while Merit Awards went to “The Supersonic Breakfast Show” on Saturdays, “The Bottom Line” weekday mid-morning show, and also for “Best Packaging” for the radio station’s latest set of jingles and promos.

When it first went on air, Tshwane FM’s audience was the students and staff on the main Pretoria West campus of the Tshwane University of Technology, from which the radio station broadcasts on 93.6fm. Tshwane FM now reaches out to all young cosmopolitan listeners within range of its signal. A recent survey indicated that Tshwane FM was the second-most popular of all the country’s radio stations among the youth of Pretoria/Tshwane, the only bigger one being Metro FM which is one of the biggest radio stations in South Africa! Approximately a half of Tshwane FM’s presenters are TUT students for whom Tshwane FM can be a second career option. The other half are not students because we need to ensure that we have presenters available during holiday and exam periods.

Tshwane FM prides itself on its unique music and talk content. The station’s most popular music genres are hip-hop, house and afro-pop, approximately 75% of which are local content and are playlisted by our music committee. Presenters are given considerable freedom to talk about whatever issues they feel are relevant to our listeners. Tshwane FM’s format is 60%/40% music/talk. Our primary broadcast language is English with periodic deliberate switches into the presenters’ home languages. Effectively Tshwane FM broadcasts the way people speak, using English as a basic language of communication, and slipping into home languages when appropriate.

Thanks to the above deliberations, Tshwane FM has now become one of the country’s biggest and best campus-based radio stations!.