Pretoria radio stations delivered standout performances at the 2025 Telkom Radio Awards, proving once again that Gauteng’s capital is home to some of South Africa’s most dynamic and influential broadcasters.

From campus radio excellence to community and commercial triumphs, stations with strong listenership in Pretoria dominated several key categories, underscoring the region’s growing impact on the national radio landscape.

Held on December 6 at the Sandton Convention Centre, the awards recognised achievement across more than 70 categories, honouring the best in news, sport, music programming, on-air talent, and station imaging.

While national broadcasters claimed many top prizes, it was Pretoria stations such as Tshwane FM 93.6, Tuks FM, GROOTfm 90.5, Jacaranda FM and Impact Radio 103 FM that commanded attention with category wins and standout performances.

Tshwane FM 93.6 emerged as one of the evening’s biggest local successes, securing five awards, including the Station of the Year title in the Campus category.

The station also won Best Talk Show for The Creative Hub, Best Night-Time Show for Geek Wave, Best Sport Show for Tshwane FM Sports Centre, and Best Breakfast Show Presenter for Master Vee.

The wins reinforce the reputation of Tshwane FM, which is stationed at the Tshwane University of Technology, as a hub of young broadcasting talent in the capital.

GROOTfm 90.5 continued its strong performance in South African community broadcasting with an extensive list of achievements.

Awards included Afternoon Drive Presenter for Jacques (Doepie) du Preez, Breakfast Show Presenter for Charonike Nel, Content Producer for Annelie Bouwer, Daytime Show for Lunch Punch presented by Francois van Rensburg, and Sports Presenter for Arnold Geerdts.

Nel also earned recognition as News Bulletin Reader, marking a first for the station. In the station initiative categories, GROOTfm 90.5 received the Community Project award for the #GROOTskool campaign (Project Manager: Sonet Stofberg), and also claimed the title of Community Station of the Year 2025.

This marks the station’s third Station of the Year award in four years, an achievement the team describes with gratitude and pride as they continue to compete against the country’s top community broadcasters.

“The GROOTfm 90.5 team celebrates every team member, every nomination and every winner. Also, the team behind the scenes, from the sales and implementation team to the technical and management team, GROOTfm 90.5’s listeners, clients, and above all, our Heavenly Father. This unforgettable moment would not be possible without everyone’s buy-in,” said station spokesperson Sonet Stofberg.

Jacaranda FM, with its strong listenership base in Pretoria, also delivered a strong performance with three major wins.

These included Best Breakfast Show Presenter for Martin Bester, Best Afternoon Drive Show for The Drive with Rob and Roz, and Best Multi-Channel Promotion for the Dad Band initiative on the Breakfast with Martin Bester show.

The station had entered the awards with 12 nominations, highlighting its ongoing strength across entertainment, news, podcasts and station imaging.

Impact Radio 103FM, Pretoria’s well-known Christian and community station, also made its mark. The station was recognised as a finalist in multiple categories, and as a winner in the categories for community stations for Breakfast Show for The Morning Drive and Music Show for Impact 103 Top 20 of 2024.

Tuks FM was mentioned several times in the winners list as a finalist, and won in the campus category for Afternoon Drive Presenter (Zanele Ndala), Afternoon Drive Show with Nomalanga Langa, and the category for Campus Breakfast Show for the Breakfast Show with Neliswa.

With Tshwane FM and Tuks FM excelling in youth broadcasting, GROOT FM claiming top honours in the community sector, Jacaranda FM performing strongly in commercial radio, and both Impact Radio 103FM featuring prominently in community radio, Pretoria’s radio landscape once again demonstrated its depth and diversity.

This year’s awards highlighted both individual achievement and the capital’s wider influence, underscoring Pretoria’s position as a major force in South African radio.

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