Hot 102.7FM flies the SA flag on world stage with global recognition

After initially being nominated in seven categories, four of the station’s entries made it through to the final stage and were awarded ‘finalist’ status – the only South African radio station to feature at the New York Festivals Radio Awards and confirmation of the world-class quality of the Hot 102.7FM entries, placing it alongside the likes of global heavyweights such as the BBC, Al Jazeera, Radio-Canada, RTE Radio 1 – Ireland, Sirius XM (USA), Sky (UK), and Virgin Radio UK.

A lot of hard work has gone into crafting the sound and overall offering of Hot 102.7FM and to be recognised on the world stage is just great affirmation of the path the station is on...

The four finalists were: Joburg’s Hottest Breakfast Show, for ‘Best Music/Personality Show’ in the Morning Drive/Afternoon Programming category; the Hot 102.7FM station sound for ‘Best Station ID Imaging’; and two entries from the News department – ‘Best News Documentary/Special’ for the ‘Jenny Boekwurm’ series and ‘Best News Special Report’ for ‘The Bully Chain’.

‘Jenny Boekwurm’ featured interviews with the nominees in the Sunday Times Literary Awards, involving literary journalist Jenny Crwys-Williams, whilst ‘The Bully Chain’ saw a month dedicated to dissecting the topic of bullying by telling stories from both the sides of the victim and the perpetrator.

“We’re blown away by this global recognition, but it’s no more than my team deserve,” says Lloyd Madurai, managing director of Hot 102.7FM. “A lot of hard work has gone into crafting the sound and overall offering of Hot 102.7FM and to be recognised on the world stage is just great affirmation of the path the station is on, which includes building a loyal listenership and delivering results for our commercial partners.”

The New York Festivals Radio Awards honours radio content in all lengths and formats and across all platforms, from radio stations, networks, and independent producers from around the globe. Embracing all aspects of the radio and audio industries, the categories “mirror today's global trends and encourage the next generation of storytellers by recognising innovators in 14 category groups”.

Those groups are: News Programs, News Reports/Features, Documentary, Entertainment, Talk Programs, On-Air Talent, Craft, Programming Format, Morning Drive/Afternoon Programming, Promotion Spots/Opens & IDs, Digital, Audio Books, Podcasts and Student.

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The entries were judged online by the New York Festivals Radio Awards Grand Jury and the award winners announced at a virtual event in Las Vegas.

“The New York Festivals Radio Awards are regarded as the ‘Oscars of the radio industry’, which makes this so much more meaningful,” says Madurai. “To be recognised and honoured by global heavyweights in the world of radio says so much about what we’ve built here at Hot 102.7FM and the quality of the radio product we’ve taken to market, since launching in 2021.”

The New York Festivals Radio Awards honours come barely two years after Hot 102.7FM launched as a new Johannesburg-based commercial radio station in July of 2021, with the station going on to receive 13 nominations at the 2022 SA Radio Awards, where it walked away with the coveted ‘My Station – Most Votes’ award. This, barely a month after being named the winner in the ‘Best Local Radio Station’ category at the Best of Joburg Readers’ Choice Awards 2022.