The Makoya 7/11 radio show that started six months ago on the Makhado FM frequency, has already produced some excellent results, with listenership figures for the station skyrocketing. The latest RAMS figures show an increase of just over 300% with more than 56 000 listeners tuning into the show every day. This makes it the third-biggest community radio station in the Limpopo Province. The Makoya 7/11 show was launched in November last year as a partnership agreement between the community radio station, Makhado FM, and Zoutnet Publishers. Zoutnet publishes the Limpopo Mirror and Zoutpansberger newspapers which circulate in the northern parts of the Limpopo Province. The Makoya show functions independently from the host radio station, and news and content are compiled by a separate team. The show also boasts its own broadcasting studio and presenters. Every weekday morning at 07:00, the station switches over to the Makoya team and for the next four hours the listeners are treated to a combination of up-to-date news, good music and general gossip and chit-chat. The focus is on entertainment and news that matters to the local listeners. When the show was first aired at the end of 2009, the station had no official figures for listenership. When the October 2009 figures were released, it showed a disappointing 19 000 listeners. The Makoya team brought in a fresh new approach, aimed at “young of heart” listeners who like entertainment as much as they like to know what is happening in the world around them. This approach seems to have worked well and six months later the listenership has trebled. According to the station manager, Ms Thato Ledwaba, the latest RAMS figure is the result of hard work and quality content. “We don’t believe in filling the airwaves with just any content. It must be good, relevant and it must appeal to our listeners,” she said. The show is presented mainly in English, although certain parts such as the daily soccer reports are done in Tshivenda. The music is also contemporary pop music with the chart toppers being played regularly. “The important people are the listeners,” says popular presenter Ngerezah “The Black Diamond” Netshifhefhe. He reckons the success of the show is also due to the lively talk shows early in the mornings. “We try and make that trip to the workplace as enjoyable as possible,” he says. The show is being broadcast on the Makhado FM frequency at 107,3 MHz. every weekday morning from 07:00 to 11:00. The signal reaches areas such as Louis Trichardt, Vleifontein, Elim, Sithumule and Kutama.