Plains FM 96.9 is Canterbury's community access station, broadcasting from Christchurch since 29 February 1988. Governed by the Canterbury Communications Trust and part-funded by NZ On Air, it is one of New Zealand's twelve access stations: local people and groups make their own programmes, with well over 100 shows a week in 15 or more languages. Based at the Ara campus in central Christchurch, the station gave a voice to migrant and minority communities in many languages during the earthquake recovery, and in April 2025 rebranded as Plains Media to reflect its digital reach.
