TV

New Zealand has the following terrestrial channels:

• TV One
• TV2
• TV 3
• Prime
• C4
• Maori TV

TV One and TV2 are both run by TVNZ, the largest television company in the country. There used to be a fifth general entertainment channel but they stopped airing regular programmes around 5 years ago, rebranded as C4 and now offer music videos and music related programmes. Prime is the newest channels. Maori TV, funded by the New Zealand government, was launched in 2004 and was designed to promote Maori language and culture through broadcasting.

In addition to the terrestrial channels they are introducing a new Freeview digital service and there is also satellite television provided by Sky TV.

Radio

Radio New Zealand is the country’s public radio broadcaster, similar to BBC radio in the UK. It is a crown entity and controlled and funded by the government. It has two main channels, Radio New Zealand National and Radio New Zealand Concert. RNZ National offers a range of news, current affairs and arts programmes. RNZ Concert is a music channel playing classical music and jazz.

In addition to these state run stations New Zealand also has a range of commercial stations offering music to meet all tastes.

Newspapers

New Zealand newspapers differ from those in the UK as all the papers are regionally based. They are sold nationally and include all the national news but their main focus, advertising etc. is in a certain area. There are 4 main papers:

The New Zealand Herald (Auckland)

The Dominion Post (Wellington)

The Press (Christchurch)

The Otago Daily times (Dunedin)

A range of other smaller regional papers can be found around the country.