Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic featured franchises for the first time, with the overall aim of increasing the public profile of the sport in New Zealand. The inaugural competition was contested between ten teams, including the Waikato Wildcats and the Bay of Plenty Magic. At the end of the first season both teams finished at the bottom of the ladder, with the Wildcats 9th and the Bay of Plenty Magic last. Both teams decided to merge for the 1999 season: a new franchise was developed adopting the team name from Bay of Plenty and the colours of Waikato, becoming the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic. Bay
Radio Bay of Plenty 1XX, under sponsorship from Moro chocolate bar manufacturer Cadbury. The 1XX programme was played on Cadbury Moro FM between 11pm and 6am the next morning. The complete transition to FM broadcasting was made on 12 December 1988. Announcer Terry Casserly had to ad-lib during the opening broadcast, when a live cross to company chairman Ross Neiderer was lost to dead air. The 90.5 FM from Mount Putauaki was the most powerful FM signal in the Bay of Plenty and was used as the station's main frequency, with a simulcast on the station's previous AM frequency. Another frequency on 93.0 FM