List of New Zealand television channels
Encyclopedia
Television in New Zealand was introduced in 1960
. Provision was first made for the licensing of private radio and television stations in New Zealand by the Broadcasting Act 1976.
In New Zealand, in addition to a legacy
analogue network, there are three forms of broadcast digital television. Satellite
services provided nationwide by both Freeview and Sky
, terrestrial
DVB-T
service provided in the main centres by Freeview, and cable
service available in Wellington
and Christchurch
from TelstraClear
.
The first nationwide digital TV service was launched in December 1998 by SKY TV
, who had a monopoly on digital satellite TV until the launch of Freeview's nationwide digital Satellite service in May 2007. The Freeview terrestrial service, named Freeview|HD is a high definition
digital terrestrial television
service launched on 14 April 2008. The service currently serves areas surrounding Auckland
, Hamilton
, Tauranga
, Napier
-Hastings
, Palmerston North
, Wellington
, Christchurch
, and Dunedin
. Digital cable television currently operates in Wellington
and Christchurch
on TelstraClear's
cable TV system. High Definition programming is available from Freeview on terrestrial broadcast only and on SKY TV through the MY SKY HDi decoder.
Only a limited range of channels are available in High Definition.
. The annual television licence fee was NZ£4.
Initially, programming was done on a regional basis, with different services broadcasting from the main cities, AKTV2 in Auckland
, being the first, followed by CHTV3 in Christchurch
and WNTV1 in Wellington
in 1961, and finally DNTV2 in Dunedin
in 1962. Today, however, programming and scheduling is done in Auckland where all the major networks are now headquartered
It was not until 1969 that the NZBC's first live network news bulletin was broadcast. In November 1973 Colour Television was introduced and the NZBC Broadcast nationalised in good timing for the 1974 British Commonwealth Games
.
The NZBC had asked the government for the approval of a second TV channel as early as 1964, but this was rejected as the government considered increasing coverage of the existing TV service to be of greater priority. By 1971, however, two proposals for a second channel were under consideration: that of the NZBC for a non-commercial service; and a separate commercial channel to be operated by an Independent Television Corporation.
Although the Broadcasting Authority had favoured the Independent Television bid, the incoming Labour
government favoured the NZBC's application and awarded it the licence without any formal hearings beforehand. (Eventually, Independent Television was awarded NZ$50 000 in compensation.)
in 1976.
In 1978, the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand (BCNZ) was established, and in 1980, TV One and South Pacific (known once again as TV2) were merged into a single organisation, Television New Zealand
(TVNZ).
Rather than continuing to be used to directly fund TVNZ and Radio New Zealand, the licence fee, now called the broadcasting fee was to be used for local content production and the government funding for non-commercial broadcasting in radio and television on a contestable basis. As part of wide ranging reforms in the broadcasting sector, the Labour Government of David Lange
established the Broadcasting Commission, which became known as and finally called New Zealand on Air
.
Restrictions on television advertising were removed in 1989, so that TVNZ channels could show advertisements on Sundays and public holidays. In that year, TV3
became the first privately owned TV station in the country, finally ending the state monopoly. Restrictions on foreign ownership were also removed, and TV3 was subsequently sold to Canada's CanWest. SKY Network Television
, in which TVNZ originally had a small stake, began broadcasting New Zealand's first pay TV service on three UHF channels.
Other free-to-air commercial television operators now include TV3's sister channel FOUR, previously known as C4 and Prime TV. SKY TV remains the dominant pay-TV operator, now operating on satellite, although TelstraClear
also operates cable TV services.
Although TVNZ had to compete with its commercial rivals through the 1990s, it maintained a dominant market position and paid a significant amount of its profits to the Crown in dividends. By 1998–1999, the National Party-led coalition was moving to privatise TVNZ and announced that the broadcasting fee would be discontinued.
Since the 1970s, the licence fee had been capped at NZ$100 a year, and was not allowed to increase with inflation. In real terms, this meant that public funding of broadcasting in New Zealand was greatly reduced by the time of the broadcasting fee's abolition.
However, the 1999 election saw a Labour-led coalition gain office. Over its next two terms, attempts were made to reintroduce public service functions to the sector. In 2003, TVNZ was restructured as a Crown-Owned Company with a public service Charter. The Charter receives a small amount of government subsidy, but TVNZ remains predominantly dependent on commercial revenue and is obliged to continue paying dividends to the Crown.
It can apply to NZ On Air (funded directly from the government since 2000) for support in local content initiatives, such as drama and comedy, funding of programming for minority groups such as gay, Christian and rural New Zealanders, The funding of Maori programming has since passed to Te Mangai Paho
the Maori broadcasting commission.
In 2004, the Maori Television Service
was established to promote Maori language and culture. MTS is funded partly through direct government funding and partly through commercial advertising, but is eligible for contestable programming funds from Te Mangai Paho.
In 2006, the Government announced the introduction of two new non-commercial digital television services operated by TVNZ, offering drama, arts, documentary and children's programming calledTVNZ 6
& TVNZ 7. In 2011 the children's channel, TVNZ 6
was shut down, leaving New Zealand with no free to air children's television.
digital television
and digital radio
to New Zealand. The Freeview service is available via satellite
throughout New Zealand. Freeview's terrestrial service, Freeview| HD, is a high definition
digital terrestrial television
service available to 75 percent of the country's population, using DVB-S
and DVB-T
standards on government provided spectrum.
Analogue switchoff
in New Zealand is planned for when 75 percent of households have access to digital television, or 2012, whichever is sooner. A tentative date will be set when digital uptake reaches 60% (55% reached as of November 2008). A major benefit of digital television is the ability to overcome the poor reception caused by New Zealand's rugged topography
.
It was estimated that on 31 December 2008, 198,938 Freeview certified set-top boxes and IDTVs
had been sold since the platform's launch (146,416 Freeview, 52,522 Freeview| HD). It is estimated that Freeview is in 12,6% of New Zealand homes (roughly 420,000 people). This makes it New Zealand's third largest television platform, and New Zealand's second largest digital platform. Freeview-certified set-top box
es and PVR
s are available at most major New Zealand retailers. Cheaper, uncertified equipment can also be used.
Over a dozen regional television stations in New Zealand are grouped by the Regional Broadcasters Association.
in addition to the standard 60 cm satellite dish that is fitted to many houses.
Timeline of the introduction of television in countries
This is a list of when the first publicly announced television broadcasts occurred in the mentioned countries. Non-public field tests and closed circuit demonstrations are not included....
. Provision was first made for the licensing of private radio and television stations in New Zealand by the Broadcasting Act 1976.
In New Zealand, in addition to a legacy
Legacy system
A legacy system is an old method, technology, computer system, or application program that continues to be used, typically because it still functions for the users' needs, even though newer technology or more efficient methods of performing a task are now available...
analogue network, there are three forms of broadcast digital television. Satellite
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
services provided nationwide by both Freeview and Sky
SKY Network Television
Sky Network Television Limited , , is a New Zealand pay television service. On 30 June 2011, Sky had 829,421 subscribers, which comprises:*808,617 digital subscribers*20,840 other subscribers...
, terrestrial
Terrestrial television
Terrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...
DVB-T
DVB-T
DVB-T is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Terrestrial; it is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in the UK in 1998...
service provided in the main centres by Freeview, and cable
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
service available in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
and Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
from TelstraClear
TelstraClear
TelstraClear is New Zealand's second-largest telecommunications company and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telstra Corporation , with around 400,000 customers....
.
The first nationwide digital TV service was launched in December 1998 by SKY TV
SKY Network Television
Sky Network Television Limited , , is a New Zealand pay television service. On 30 June 2011, Sky had 829,421 subscribers, which comprises:*808,617 digital subscribers*20,840 other subscribers...
, who had a monopoly on digital satellite TV until the launch of Freeview's nationwide digital Satellite service in May 2007. The Freeview terrestrial service, named Freeview|HD is a high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...
service launched on 14 April 2008. The service currently serves areas surrounding Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, Hamilton
Hamilton, New Zealand
Hamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's fourth largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato Region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland...
, Tauranga
Tauranga
Tauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty region, in the North Island of New Zealand.It was settled by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as a city in 1963...
, Napier
Napier, New Zealand
Napier is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about About 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighboring cities are often called "The Twin Cities" or "The Bay Cities"...
-Hastings
Hastings, New Zealand
The city of Hastings is a major urban settlement in the Hawke's Bay region of the North Island of New Zealand, and it is the largest settlement by population in Hawke's Bay. Hastings city is the administrative centre of the Hastings District...
, Palmerston North
Palmerston North
Palmerston North is the main city of the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is an inland city with a population of and is the country's seventh largest city and eighth largest urban area. Palmerston North is located in the eastern Manawatu Plains near the north bank...
, Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, and Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
. Digital cable television currently operates in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
and Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
on TelstraClear's
TelstraClear
TelstraClear is New Zealand's second-largest telecommunications company and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telstra Corporation , with around 400,000 customers....
cable TV system. High Definition programming is available from Freeview on terrestrial broadcast only and on SKY TV through the MY SKY HDi decoder.
Only a limited range of channels are available in High Definition.
History
Full-time television broadcasting was first introduced in New Zealand in 1960 and transmitted from the NZBC's existing 1YA radio broadcasting facility at 74 Shortland Street in Auckland, now home to The University of Auckland's Gus Fisher GalleryGus Fisher Gallery
The Gus Fisher Gallery is part of The University of Auckland’s National Institute of Creative Arts and Industries , and is located in The Kenneth Myers Centre, an historic building restored in 2000 with the help of the gallery's patron, Gus Fisher .It is operated by the Centre for New Zealand Art...
. The annual television licence fee was NZ£4.
Initially, programming was done on a regional basis, with different services broadcasting from the main cities, AKTV2 in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, being the first, followed by CHTV3 in Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
and WNTV1 in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
in 1961, and finally DNTV2 in Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
in 1962. Today, however, programming and scheduling is done in Auckland where all the major networks are now headquartered
It was not until 1969 that the NZBC's first live network news bulletin was broadcast. In November 1973 Colour Television was introduced and the NZBC Broadcast nationalised in good timing for the 1974 British Commonwealth Games
1974 British Commonwealth Games
The 1974 British Commonwealth Games were held in Christchurch, New Zealand from 24 January to 2 February 1974. The bid vote was held in Edinburgh at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games....
.
The NZBC had asked the government for the approval of a second TV channel as early as 1964, but this was rejected as the government considered increasing coverage of the existing TV service to be of greater priority. By 1971, however, two proposals for a second channel were under consideration: that of the NZBC for a non-commercial service; and a separate commercial channel to be operated by an Independent Television Corporation.
Although the Broadcasting Authority had favoured the Independent Television bid, the incoming Labour
New Zealand Labour Party
The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....
government favoured the NZBC's application and awarded it the licence without any formal hearings beforehand. (Eventually, Independent Television was awarded NZ$50 000 in compensation.)
Reorganisation
The introduction of a second TV channel in 1975, also saw the reorganisation of broadcasting in New Zealand. The NZBC was dissolved in April of that year, with the two television channels, Television One and TV2, run separately from one another. TV2 was renamed South Pacific TelevisionSouth Pacific Television
South Pacific Television was a television channel in New Zealand, which operated between 1976 and 1980.- The Early Days :The channel, then known as TV 2, first went to air on June 30, 1975...
in 1976.
In 1978, the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand (BCNZ) was established, and in 1980, TV One and South Pacific (known once again as TV2) were merged into a single organisation, Television New Zealand
Television New Zealand
Television New Zealand, more commonly referred to, and stylized as TVNZ, is a government-owned corporation television network broadcasting in New Zealand and parts of the Pacific. It operates TV1, TV2, TVNZ7, TVNZ Heartland, TVNZ U and new media services....
(TVNZ).
Commercialisation
In 1988, following major economic reforms to the state sector, the BCNZ was dissolved. TVNZ and RNZ became separate 'State-Owned Enterprises' (SOEs) which would have to compete commercially and return dividends to the Crown.Rather than continuing to be used to directly fund TVNZ and Radio New Zealand, the licence fee, now called the broadcasting fee was to be used for local content production and the government funding for non-commercial broadcasting in radio and television on a contestable basis. As part of wide ranging reforms in the broadcasting sector, the Labour Government of David Lange
David Lange
David Russell Lange, ONZ, CH , served as the 32nd Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1984 to 1989. He headed New Zealand's fourth Labour Government, one of the most reforming administrations in his country's history, but one which did not always conform to traditional expectations of a...
established the Broadcasting Commission, which became known as and finally called New Zealand on Air
New Zealand On Air
NZ On Air is an independent New Zealand broadcast funding agency. It is an autonomous crown entity separate from central Government and governed by a Board of six appointed by the Minister of Broadcasting...
.
Restrictions on television advertising were removed in 1989, so that TVNZ channels could show advertisements on Sundays and public holidays. In that year, TV3
TV3 (New Zealand)
TV3 is a New Zealand commercial television network, owned by MediaWorks New Zealand. Launched on 26 November 1989, the first private television network in New Zealand...
became the first privately owned TV station in the country, finally ending the state monopoly. Restrictions on foreign ownership were also removed, and TV3 was subsequently sold to Canada's CanWest. SKY Network Television
SKY Network Television
Sky Network Television Limited , , is a New Zealand pay television service. On 30 June 2011, Sky had 829,421 subscribers, which comprises:*808,617 digital subscribers*20,840 other subscribers...
, in which TVNZ originally had a small stake, began broadcasting New Zealand's first pay TV service on three UHF channels.
Other free-to-air commercial television operators now include TV3's sister channel FOUR, previously known as C4 and Prime TV. SKY TV remains the dominant pay-TV operator, now operating on satellite, although TelstraClear
TelstraClear
TelstraClear is New Zealand's second-largest telecommunications company and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telstra Corporation , with around 400,000 customers....
also operates cable TV services.
Although TVNZ had to compete with its commercial rivals through the 1990s, it maintained a dominant market position and paid a significant amount of its profits to the Crown in dividends. By 1998–1999, the National Party-led coalition was moving to privatise TVNZ and announced that the broadcasting fee would be discontinued.
Since the 1970s, the licence fee had been capped at NZ$100 a year, and was not allowed to increase with inflation. In real terms, this meant that public funding of broadcasting in New Zealand was greatly reduced by the time of the broadcasting fee's abolition.
However, the 1999 election saw a Labour-led coalition gain office. Over its next two terms, attempts were made to reintroduce public service functions to the sector. In 2003, TVNZ was restructured as a Crown-Owned Company with a public service Charter. The Charter receives a small amount of government subsidy, but TVNZ remains predominantly dependent on commercial revenue and is obliged to continue paying dividends to the Crown.
It can apply to NZ On Air (funded directly from the government since 2000) for support in local content initiatives, such as drama and comedy, funding of programming for minority groups such as gay, Christian and rural New Zealanders, The funding of Maori programming has since passed to Te Mangai Paho
Te Mangai Paho
Te Māngai Pāho is a New Zealand Crown Entity responsible for promotion of Māori language and culture by providing funding for Māori language programming on radio and television....
the Maori broadcasting commission.
In 2004, the Maori Television Service
Maori Television
Māori Television is a New Zealand TV station broadcasting programmes that make a significant contribution to the revitalisation of the Māori language and culture . Funded by the New Zealand Government, the station started broadcasting on 28 March 2004 from a base in Newmarket.Te Reo is the...
was established to promote Maori language and culture. MTS is funded partly through direct government funding and partly through commercial advertising, but is eligible for contestable programming funds from Te Mangai Paho.
In 2006, the Government announced the introduction of two new non-commercial digital television services operated by TVNZ, offering drama, arts, documentary and children's programming calledTVNZ 6
TVNZ 6
TVNZ 6 was a digital-only, commercial-free television channel operated by Television New Zealand. It was available in 60.3% of New Zealand homes on the Freeview and SKY Television Digital platforms...
& TVNZ 7. In 2011 the children's channel, TVNZ 6
TVNZ 6
TVNZ 6 was a digital-only, commercial-free television channel operated by Television New Zealand. It was available in 60.3% of New Zealand homes on the Freeview and SKY Television Digital platforms...
was shut down, leaving New Zealand with no free to air children's television.
Freeview
Freeview is a non-profit organisation providing free-to-airFree-to-air
Free-to-air describes television and radio services broadcast in clear form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription or one-off fee...
digital television
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
and digital radio
Digital radio
Digital radio has several meanings:1. Today the most common meaning is digital radio broadcasting technologies, such as the digital audio broadcasting system, also known as Eureka 147. In these systems, the analog audio signal is digitized into zeros and ones, compressed using formats such as...
to New Zealand. The Freeview service is available via satellite
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
throughout New Zealand. Freeview's terrestrial service, Freeview
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...
service available to 75 percent of the country's population, using DVB-S
DVB-S
DVB-S is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Satellite; it is the original Digital Video Broadcasting forward error coding and demodulation standard for satellite television and dates from 1994, in its first release, while development lasted from 1993 to 1997...
and DVB-T
DVB-T
DVB-T is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Terrestrial; it is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in the UK in 1998...
standards on government provided spectrum.
Analogue switchoff
Digital television transition
The digital television transition is the process in which analog television broadcasting is converted to and replaced by digital television. This primarily involves both TV stations and over-the-air viewers; however it also involves content providers like TV networks, and cable television...
in New Zealand is planned for when 75 percent of households have access to digital television, or 2012, whichever is sooner. A tentative date will be set when digital uptake reaches 60% (55% reached as of November 2008). A major benefit of digital television is the ability to overcome the poor reception caused by New Zealand's rugged topography
Geography of New Zealand
The geography of New Zealand encompasses two main islands and a number of smaller islands, located near the centre of the water hemisphere. New Zealand varies in climate, from cold and wet to dry and to subtropical in some areas...
.
It was estimated that on 31 December 2008, 198,938 Freeview certified set-top boxes and IDTVs
Integrated Digital Television
An Integrated Digital Television set is a television set with a built in digital tuner, be it for DVB-T, DVB-S, DVB-C, DMB-T/H, ATSC or ISDB. Most of them also allow reception of analogue signals . They do away with the need for a set top box for converting those signals for reception on a...
had been sold since the platform's launch (146,416 Freeview, 52,522 Freeview
Set-top box
A set-top box or set-top unit is an information appliance device that generally contains a tuner and connects to a television set and an external source of signal, turning the signal into content which is then displayed on the television screen or other display device.-History:Before the...
es and PVR
PVR
PVR may refer to:*Peak Vehicle Requirement, the number of public transport vehicles required to operate the highest frequency service on a route*Penn Virginia Resources, a mining company* Personal video recorder, also known as a digital video recorder...
s are available at most major New Zealand retailers. Cheaper, uncertified equipment can also be used.
Regional channels
New Zealand's deregulated broadcasting environment has led to many regional stations (either non-commercial public service or privately owned) that broadcast only in one region or city. These stations mainly broadcast free to air on UHF frequencies, however some are carried on subscription TV. Content ranges from local news, access broadcasts, satellite sourced news, tourist information and Christian programming to music videos.Over a dozen regional television stations in New Zealand are grouped by the Regional Broadcasters Association.
Free-to-air Satellite channels
Many digital channels are broadcast into New Zealand via satellite. These include Freeview, Sky Television, and many Australian and other channels. Most can be received using a standard blind-scan capable set-top boxSet-top box
A set-top box or set-top unit is an information appliance device that generally contains a tuner and connects to a television set and an external source of signal, turning the signal into content which is then displayed on the television screen or other display device.-History:Before the...
in addition to the standard 60 cm satellite dish that is fitted to many houses.
Pay television channels
New Zealand has a number of television channels that are, or have been, only available on pay television networks.- SKY Network Television: In 1990, SKY Network TelevisionSKY Network TelevisionSky Network Television Limited , , is a New Zealand pay television service. On 30 June 2011, Sky had 829,421 subscribers, which comprises:*808,617 digital subscribers*20,840 other subscribers...
(then unrelated to its UK namesakeBritish Sky BroadcastingBritish Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
) launched three pay-TV channels offering movies, sport and news on UHF these overtime expanded to five. In 1998 it launched a multichannel digital satellite TV service. - World TV: a Digital Broadcasting Media company, which broadcasts widely on Chinese TV and Radio shows and some on Korean and one channel on Japanese in New Zealand. WTV signals can only be received by Digital Set-top boxes serviced by SKY TV.
- TelstraClearTelstraClearTelstraClear is New Zealand's second-largest telecommunications company and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telstra Corporation , with around 400,000 customers....
: currently operate a cable television network in Wellington, Kapiti and Christchurch. Customers can subscribe to plans incorporating between 25 and 48 channels. Most content is offered on behalf of SKY Network TelevisionSKY Network TelevisionSky Network Television Limited , , is a New Zealand pay television service. On 30 June 2011, Sky had 829,421 subscribers, which comprises:*808,617 digital subscribers*20,840 other subscribers...
however some channels such as TBNTrinity Broadcasting NetworkThe Trinity Broadcasting Network is a major American Christian television network. TBN is based in Costa Mesa, California, with auxiliary studio facilities in Irving, Texas; Hendersonville, Tennessee; Gadsden, Alabama; Decatur, Georgia; Miami, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Orlando, Florida; and New...
, Discovery Travel and AdventureTravel ChannelThe Travel Channel is a satellite and cable television channel that is headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, US. It features documentaries and how-to shows related to travel and leisure around the United States and throughout the world. Programming has included shows in African animal safaris,...
and Deutsche welleDeutsche WelleDeutsche Welle or DW, is Germany's international broadcaster. The service is aimed at the overseas market. It broadcasts news and information on shortwave, Internet and satellite radio on 98.7 DZFE in 30 languages . It has a satellite television service , that is available in four languages, and...
are broadcast exclusively through TelstraClear.
See also
- List of free-to-air TV channels in New Zealand
- List of New Zealand television series
Further reading
- Horrocks, Roger & Nick Perry. 2004. Television in New Zealand : Programming the Nation. Auckland, N.Z. : Oxford University Press