Classic NZ TV Listings

TV History
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@TelevisionAU @OnAir In January 1992, TVNZ’s Channel 2 (now TVNZ 2) introduced 24 hour television which lasted just three months. It went back to a nightly closedown in April that year.

24 hour television on Channel 2 was reintroduced in May 1993, beginning with Friday and Saturday nights. By mid-1994, it went to Thursday to Sunday nights, and by October 1994 it aired 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

TV One (now TVNZ 1) commenced 24 hour television by screening a direct feed of BBC World (now BBC World News) via satellite in March 1995. This coincided with the launch of Horizon Pacific Television (HPTV), a wholly owned subsidiary of TVNZ; HPTV was made up of four regional stations: ATV (Auckland), Coast to Coast (Waikato/Bay of Plenty), Capital City (Wellington) and Southern (Dunedin).

TV3 (now Three) commenced 24 hour television in April 1995 by filling its overnight downtime with infomercials.

Sky Movies commenced 24 hour programming in February 1992, from Friday at 12 noon until closedown on Sunday. It also aired 24 hours on public holidays, too.

Sky News - a combination of CNN and BBC content via satellite - ran 24 hours a day, seven days a week, since the launch of Sky on Friday 18 May 1990.

Sky Sport commenced 24 hour programming in July 1991; prior to that, it went to air daily from noon to around midnight with live sporting events outside those hours.

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Whilst not officially 24 hours, I am of the understanding that TVOne kept their transmitters running 24/7 with a test pattern or static ID slide playing the audio feed of National Radio from Radio New Zealand overnight until the station started up for the morning. This was in the early 1990’s I do believe.

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Yes, they did. I had a tape from about 1994/5 which showed they played the National Anthem then cut to a static ONE logo, and as you said, relayed the National Programme. Vicki Mackay was on that night on said tape… she’s been kicking around the graveyard shift for decades!

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@OnAir As part of my two-week visit to Auckland, in which I will be spending time with friends and relatives in March/April 2021, I will be able to do more research on classic NZ TV listings.

In fact, some public libraries throughout Auckland have older issues of the NZ Listener and the Takapuna and Waitakere Libraries are among them … I think.

And you can find them on my Facebook page, facebook.com/PatrickTePouNZ. Click “Photos” and you’ll find a series of photos in separate albums. It’s like going back in time to the shows that us as Kiwis used to watch back in the day … especially the years before I was born (in 1989).

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Good on you Paddy, but make sure you spend plenty of time with your friends and relatives first!

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Friday 14 March 1975
from the NZ Herald

Here is a list of programmes broadcast on AKTV2 (Auckland) just a few weeks before the NZBC TV network - which includes WNTV1 (Wellington), CHTV3 (Christchurch) and DNTV2 (Dunedin) - became what was known as TV One on 1 April 1975.

Photo credit: Supplied. I want to apologise for the quality of the picture as it is blurry.

1975-03-14_auck_herald
1975-03-14_auck_herald362×630 42.3 KB

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Sunday 12 September 1993
from the NZ Listener

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“Joh’s Jury” - a feature-length dramatisation of the 1991 perjury trial of former Queensland state Premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen - screened in New Zealand on TV One (now TVNZ 1) on the evening of Sunday 12 September 1993 at 8.40pm.

The made-for-TV movie was originally broadcast in Australia on the ABC about six months earlier (16 February 1993).

Dedicated to @TelevisionAU, @SydneyCityTV & @foxyrover.

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Well he was born in NZ so technically a kiwi :slight_smile:

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and is on youtube now in 13 or 15 parts i think

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@OnAir @TV4 @nztv @medianz On 3 December 1994 Sky launched a general entertainment channel known as Orange. Over the years Orange became what was known as Sky 1, the BOX and, now, Sky 5.

Here are the listings for Orange’s second week on air, 10-16 December 1994 (courtesy of NZ Listener):

Saturday 10 December 1994
10.00am Mother’s Day
10.30 Parents’ Survival Guide
11.00 Jones & Jury
11.30 Alice
Noon Kate & Allie
12.30 Three’s Company
1.00 The Love Connection
1.30 Supermarket Sweep
2.00 Play Your Cards Right
2.30 Prisoner
3.00 Growing Pains
3.30 Maniac Mansion
4.00 Full House
4.30 Children’s Ward
5.00 Road to Avonlea
6.00 Planet Fashion
6.30 The Real World
7.00 Dead at 21
7.30 Degrassi High
8.00 Tilt 23½
8.30 Miami Vice
9.30 WCW Worldwide
10.30 Tour of Duty
11.30 Classic Hits (music videos; continues to 10am)

Sunday 11 December 1994
10.00am Mother’s Day
10.30 Growing Up Together
11.00 Jones & Jury
11.30 Alice
Noon Kate & Allie
12.30 Three’s Company
1.00 The Love Connection
1.30 Supermarket Sweep
2.00 Play Your Cards Right
2.30 Prisoner
3.00 Growing Pains
3.30 Maniac Mansion
4.00 Full House
4.30 Children’s Ward
5.00 Road to Avonlea
6.00 Planet Fashion
6.30 Banjo Paterson’s “The Man from Snowy River”
7.30 Movie: Paradise (1991) (GY)
9.20 The Russ Abbot Show
9.50 Remington Steele
10.50 The She-Wolf of London
11.40 Classic Hits (music videos; continues to 10am)

Monday 12 December 1994
10.00am Mother’s Day
10.30 Growing Up Together
11.00 Jones & Jury
11.30 Alice
Noon Kate & Allie
12.30 Three’s Company
1.00 The Love Connection
1.30 Supermarket Sweep
2.00 Play Your Cards Right
2.30 Prisoner
3.00 Loving
3.30 The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd
4.00 Rolonda
5.00 Cartoon Classics
6.00 The Love Connection
6.30 Brookside
7.00 Real Stories of the Highway Patrol
7.30 The Comedy Company
8.00 Sledge Hammer!
8.30 Blue Thunder
9.30 The Kids in the Hall
10.00 Let the Blood Run Free
10.30 Night Court
11.00 SCTV Network
11.30 Classic Hits (music videos; continues to 10am)

Tuesday 13 December 1994
10.00am Mother’s Day
10.30 Growing Up Together
11.00 Jones & Jury
11.30 Alice
Noon Kate & Allie
12.30 Three’s Company
1.00 The Love Connection
1.30 Supermarket Sweep
2.00 Play Your Cards Right
2.30 Prisoner
3.00 Loving
3.30 The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd
4.00 Rolonda
5.00 Cartoon Classics
6.00 The Love Connection
6.30 Brookside
7.00 Real Stories of the Highway Patrol
7.30 They Came from Outer Space
8.30 Bodies of Evidence
9.30 China Beach
10.30 Night Court
11.00 SCTV Network
11.30 Classic Hits (music videos; continues to 10am)

Wednesday 14 December 1994
10.00am Mother’s Day
10.30 Growing Up Together
11.00 Jones & Jury
11.30 Alice
Noon Kate & Allie
12.30 Three’s Company
1.00 The Love Connection
1.30 Supermarket Sweep
2.00 Play Your Cards Right
2.30 Prisoner
3.00 Loving
3.30 The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd
4.00 Rolonda
5.00 Cartoon Classics
6.00 The Love Connection
6.30 Brookside
7.00 Real Stories of the Highway Patrol
7.30 Battlestar Galactica
8.30 I Witness Video
9.30 American Detective
10.30 Night Court
11.00 SCTV Network
11.30 Classic Hits (music videos; continues to 10am)

Thursday 15 December 1994
10.00am Mother’s Day
10.30 Growing Up Together
11.00 Jones & Jury
11.30 Alice
Noon Kate & Allie
12.30 Three’s Company
1.00 The Love Connection
1.30 Supermarket Sweep
2.00 Play Your Cards Right
2.30 Prisoner
3.00 Loving
3.30 The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd
4.00 Rolonda
5.00 Cartoon Classics
6.00 The Love Connection
6.30 Brookside
7.00 Real Stories of the Highway Patrol
7.30 Police Rescue
8.30 Medics
9.30 Close to Home
10.00 Relative Strangers
10.30 Night Court
11.00 SCTV Network
11.30 Classic Hits (music videos; continues to 10am)

Friday 16 December 1994
10.00am Mother’s Day
10.30 Growing Up Together
11.00 Jones & Jury
11.30 Alice
Noon Kate & Allie
12.30 Three’s Company
1.00 The Love Connection
1.30 Supermarket Sweep
2.00 Play Your Cards Right
2.30 Prisoner
3.00 Loving
3.30 The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd
4.00 Rolonda
5.00 Cartoon Classics
6.00 The Love Connection
6.30 Brookside
7.00 Real Stories of the Highway Patrol
7.30 ENG
8.30 Movie: Shattered (1991) (RP13)
10.05 The Kids in the Hall
10.35 Night Court
11.05 SCTV Network
11.35 Classic Hits (music videos; continues to 10am)

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I was thinking, ‘oh, how quaint’, but then I noticed NightCourt… I’d completely forgotten about that sitcom!

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Saturday 11 February 1995
from the NZ Listener

TV One
8.00am eTV
8.00 Marketing
8.30 TV Learning Skills
9.00 Troubleshooter (Final) (Rpt, G)
9.40 The Bicycle (Final) (Rpt, G)
10.00 One World of Sport: Cricket
New Zealand v West Indies - second test, day two, live from the Basin Reserve, Wellington
6.00pm One Network News
6.30 Talk to the Animals (Final) (G)
7.30 Murder, She Wrote (PGR)
8.35 Casualty (AO)
9.35 Lovejoy
10.45 Film on One: Yanks (1979) (Rpt, AO)
1.15am Closedown

TV2
6.05am Super Mario (Final) (Rpt, G)
6.30 Mighty Max (G)
7.00 Bobby’s World
7.30 Sonic the Hedgehog
8.00 What Now (1995 series return)
With Fiona Anderson and Anthony Samuels. Includes:
8.10 Taz-Mania (G)
9.00 Eek! The Cat (Rpt, G)
10.00 X-Men (Rpt, PGR)
11.00 Coca-Cola Chart
Noon Saturday Cinema: Where the River Runs Black (1986) (PGR)
1.55 Beverly Hills 90210 (Rpt, PGR)
2.55 Parker Lewis Can’t Lose (G)
3.25 Noel’s Addicts (G)
4.00 Thunderbirds (Rpt, G)
5.00 Happy Days (Starting today) (Rpt, G)
5.30 Dave’s World (G)
6.00 Hangin’ with Mr Cooper (G)
6.30 Full House
7.00 Step by Step
7.30 Baywatch (PGR)
8.00 Lotto (Live draw)
8.05 Baywatch (continued)
8.35 Saturday Night at the Movies: Cry-Baby (1990) (AO)
10.15 2 Sports Action: Rugby League
1995 Tooheys Challenge - Bulldogs v South Queensland Crushers, live
12.30am The Saturday Late Movie: Fandango (1985) (Rpt, AO)
2.10 Movie: Zapped Again (1990) (Rpt, AO)
3.55 Road to Hollywood (Rpt, AO)
4.45 Turning Point (Rpt, PGR)
5.35 Behind the Scenes: “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein” (PGR)
5.55 Max Out (G) (Continues to 6.25am)

TV3
6.30am The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show
7.00 Disney Adventures
7.00 DuckTales (G)
7.30 The Little Mermaid (G)
8.00 Bonkers (G)
8.30 Goof Troop (G)
9.30 Beetlejuice (G)
10.30 Infomercials
Noon Movie: The Enforcer (1951) (B&W) (Rpt, PGR)
2.00 Disney Presents: The 100 Lives of Black Jack Savage (PGR)
3.00 Sable (PGR)
4.00 Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis Season: Hollywood or Bust (1956) (G)
6.00 3 National News
6.30 Bruce Forsyth’s Generation Game (G)
7.45 Family Night at the Movies: Benji the Hunted (1987) (G)
9.30 The Greatest Fashion Show on Earth (G)
11.30 Late Movie: After Dark My Sweet (1990) (AO)
1.50am Home Shopping
3.50 Closedown

HBO
7.00am For the Love of Benji (1977) (G)
8.30 Grampire (1991) (GY)
10.00 Super Mario Bros (1993) (GA)
11.45 The Wind and the Lion (1975) (GY)
1.40pm Salmonberries (1991) (GA)
3.15 Distant Home (1993) (G)
4.45 The Guns of Navarone (1961) (GY)
7.30 HBO Video Jukebox: Aerosmith Special
8.30 Cadbury Saturday Premiere: Mad Dog and Glory (1993) (RP16)
10.15 Sneakers (1992) (GA)
12.30am The Babe (1992) (GA)
2.20 Kickboxer III: The Art of War (1993) (RP16)
3.50 Monsieur Hire (1989) (GA)
5.10 Duplicates (1992) (GA) (Continues to 6.45am)

Orange
7.00am The Juice Chart Show
10.00 Mother’s Day
10.30 Parents’ Survival Guide
11.00 Jones & Jury
11.30 Alice
Noon Kate & Allie
12.30 Three’s Company
1.00 The Love Connection
1.30 Supermarket Sweep
2.00 Play Your Cards Right
2.30 Prisoner
3.00 Growing Pains
3.30 Maniac Mansion
4.00 Full House
4.30 Children’s Ward
5.00 Road to Avonlea
6.00 Planet Fashion
6.30 Tilt 23½
7.00 The Real World
7.30 Degrassi High
8.00 Dead at 21
8.30 Miami Vice
9.30 WCW Worldwide
10.30 Tour of Duty
11.30 The Juice Late Night, followed by The Juice Night Train (Continues to 7am)

CTV
4.45pm Teletext
5.00 Farming Canterbury (G)
6.00 Canterbury Draught 2 on 2 (G)
6.30 Lean Beef and Lamb Cuisine (G)
7.00 CTV’s World: Newsweek (G)
8.00 Robin of Sherwood (PGR)
9.00 The ECM Music Show (G)
10.00 Vid-X-Press (G)
10.30 Blue Comic (AO)
11.00 Closedown

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@OnAir @nztv @TV4 @foxyrover I have some notes to share with you.

I have just got a message from a media librarian at TVNZ in Wellington through Messenger. His name is Mark Hutchings, and he has spotted my name around various New Zealand television history forums and Wikipedia articles about classic New Zealand made programmes from back in the day.

He has been scanning classic television listings from the NZ Listener as part of his own research, using microfilms at the National Library in Wellington. Throughout the coming weeks, he will be file transferring the PDF files (which cannot be sent as normal email attachments) to me and I’ll be sharing some more classic listings with you on Media Spy. He has the 1978-1998 listings and intends to finish the rest of the 1970s off in about a month.

What do you think?

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I think given he is doing the leg work that you be sure he is happy for you to share his findings here

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Great!!

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Thanks @TelevisionAU @OnAir

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It would be interesting to see some early TV2/SPTV era television listings.

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Hopefully not by microfiche… man that’s tedius work!

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Wow! More old listings. Give him thanks from all of us!

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Today’s TV: Wednesday 1 March 1978
from the NZ Listener

TV One
Noon News
12.05 The Young and the Restless
12.30 Forearmed
12.35 Beauty and the Beast
1.00 The Bob Crane Show (Rpt)
1.25 Days of Our Lives
2.20 Play School
2.50 Peyton Place (Rpt)
3.15 Nice One
3.20 The Wonderful World of Brother Buzz (Rpt)
3.45 Sally and Jake
3.55 Nice One
4.00 International Cricket
New Zealand v England - second test, day five, direct from Christchurch
6.00 Hogan’s Heroes (Rpt)
6.30 News
Includes regional news from Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin
7.00 Angels (Double episode)
8.00 Three’s Company
8.30 Lou Grant
9.30 News
9.40 The Company Man
10.30 International Cricket
New Zealand v England - second test, day five, highlights
11.00 News and Weather
Followed by Closedown

South Pacific Television (SPTV)
3.00pm Search for Tomorrow
3.25 Chic Chat, followed by Romper Room
3.55 Wait Till Your Father Gets Home
4.25 Clutch Cargo (Rpt)
4.30 Hey Hey It’s Andy, followed by Laramie (Rpt)
5.30 Gidget (Rpt)
6.00 News at Six
6.30 Six-Thirty Special: Circus Spectacular
7.30 The Squirrels
8.00 Movie (The John Wayne Season): The Undefeated (1969) (Rpt)
10.10 Late Edition News
10.20 The Commanders (Rpt)
Followed by Closedown

All programmes on TV One and SPTV were broadcast in colour, unless otherwise specified. Special thanks to Mark Hutchings, a senior researcher at the Wellington-based TVNZ Digital Production Library, for allowing me to download the classic NZ TV listings from 1978-1998 using microfilms at the National Library.

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