| Name |
Owner |
Launch |
Content |
Language |
Notes |
Availability |
| Analogue terrestrial |
Freeview|HD terrestrial |
Freeview satellite |
Sky satellite |
Telstra cable |
| TV One |
TVNZ (govt.) |
1 June 1960 |
General entertainment, news, sport |
English |
New Zealand's first television channel. Was on a local basis until 1969. Amalgamated into one channel on 1 April 1975. |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| TV2 |
TVNZ (govt.) |
1 June 1975 |
General entertainment, comedy, reality and drama |
English |
Started off as South Pacific Television |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| TV3 |
Ironbridge Capital / MediaWorks NZ (corp.) |
26 November 1989 |
General entertainment, news and sport |
English |
Started off as NZ's first private TV network, sold off to Canadian and, later, Australian interests |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| FOUR |
Ironbridge Capital / MediaWorks NZ (corp.) |
6 February 2011 |
General Entertainment (prime time) Children's shows (day time) |
English |
Replaced C4 frequency spots and took some C4 and TV3 programming |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Prime |
SKY Network Television (corp.) |
30 August 1998 |
General entertainment, news and sport |
English |
Started off as an Australian-owned network of regional stations before being sold to Sky TV in 2006 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Choice TV |
Top TV Limited |
April 2012 |
General entertainment, lifestyle, documentaries |
English |
To Launch in Autumn 2012. |
No |
Yes |
No |
No |
Yes |
| TVNZ U |
TVNZ (govt.) |
13 March 2011 |
General entertainment, reality |
English |
|
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| TVNZ 7 |
TVNZ (govt.) |
30 March 2008 |
General entertainment for children, families, News, current affairs and documentaries |
English |
Relaunched on 1 March 2011 |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| C4 |
Ironbridge Capital / MediaWorks NZ (corp.) |
29 June 1997 |
Music |
English |
Launched as TV4 in 1997 screening general entertainment, became C4 in 2003 as a music channel. Available on Freeview only as of 2011 after FOUR replaced C4 frequency spots. |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
| Parliament TV |
Kordia (distributor, govt.) |
9 October 2007 |
Live coverage of the New Zealand parliamentary sessions |
English |
It broadcasts only when parliament is sitting |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Trackside |
New Zealand Racing Board (govt.) |
1992 |
Horse and dog racing |
English |
|
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Māori Television |
Māori Television Service (govt.) |
28 March 2004 |
|
Māori and English |
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Te Reo |
Māori Television Service (govt.) |
2008 |
|
Māori |
It is the only 100% Maori-language channel. |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| CTV8 |
World TV Ltd (corp.) |
13 August 2007 |
Imported general entertainment and news |
Mandarin and Cantonese |
|
Auckland only |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
| TV33 |
TV33 Ltd (corp.) |
1 May 2010 |
Local and international Chinese programming |
Mandarin and English |
|
No |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
| Shine TV |
Rhema Broadcasting Group (corp.) |
1 December 2002 |
Christian programming |
English |
|
Christchurch & Nelson Only |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
The following is a list of free-to-air digital satellite channels available in New Zealand. Most can be received using the standard 60cm satellite dish that is fitted to many houses, together with a standard blind-scan capable set-top box.
List of Free-to-air satellite channels[1]
| Name |
Content |
Language |
Satellite / transponder / symbol rate |
Minimum dish size / LNB band |
| TV One |
General |
English |
Optus D1 / 12483H / 22500 |
35cm / Ku |
| TV2 |
General |
English |
Optus D1 / 12483H / 22500 |
35cm / Ku |
| TV3 |
General |
English |
Optus D1 / 12456H / 22500 |
35cm / Ku |
| FOUR |
General |
English |
Optus D1 / 12456H / 22500 |
35cm / Ku |
| Prime |
General |
English |
Optus D1 / 12456H / 22500 |
35cm / Ku |
| TVNZ U |
General |
English |
Optus D1 / 12483H / 22500 |
35cm / Ku |
| TVNZ 7 |
General |
English |
Optus D1 / 12483H / 22500 |
35cm / Ku |
| Māori Television |
General |
English, Maori |
Optus D1 / 12483H / 22500 |
35cm / Ku |
| Te Reo |
|
Maori |
Optus D1 / 12456H / 22500 |
35cm / Ku |
| Cue TV |
|
English |
Optus D1 / 12456H / 22500 |
35cm / Ku |
| TV3 Plus1 |
General |
English |
Optus D1 / 12456H / 22500 |
35cm / Ku |
| Parliament TV |
Political |
English |
Optus D1 / 12456H / 22500 |
35cm / Ku |
| SBS One |
News, documentaries |
English, various |
Optus D1 / 12646V / 12600 |
60cm / Ku |
| SBS Two |
News |
English, various |
Optus D1 / 12646V / 12600 |
60cm / Ku |
| SBS HD |
News, documentaries |
English, various |
Optus D1 / 12646V / 12600 |
60cm / Ku |
| Channel 7 |
|
English |
Optus D1 / various / various |
60cm / Ku |
| Channel 9 |
|
English |
Optus D1 / various / various |
60cm / Ku |
| Channel 10 |
|
English |
Optus D1 / various / various |
60cm / Ku |
| BBC World News |
|
English |
Intelsat 5 / 4160H / 26479 |
90cm / C |
| Australia Network |
|
English |
Intelsat 5 / 4160H / 26479 |
90cm / C |
| IRQAA |
|
Arabic |
Intelsat 5 / 4160H / 26479 |
90cm / C |
| Russia Today |
|
English |
Optus D2 / 12734V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| BVN |
|
Dutch |
Optus D2 / 12644V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| NHK World News Television |
|
English |
Optus D2 / 12545V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| RCTI |
|
Indonesian |
Optus D2 / 12608H / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| TV3 |
|
Malaysian |
Optus D2 / 12734V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| MediaCorp TV Channel 5 |
|
English |
Optus D2 / 12734V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| ERT |
|
Greek |
Optus D2 / 12734V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| Kurdsat |
|
Kurdish |
Optus D2 / 12734V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| Kurdistan TV |
|
Kurdish |
Optus D2 / 12608H / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| TVR International |
|
Romanian |
Optus D2 / 12734V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| TRT |
|
Turkish |
Optus D2 / 12644V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| Al Iraqiya |
|
Arabic |
Optus D2 / 12545V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| Duna |
|
Hungarian |
Optus D2 / 12734V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| Abu Dhabi TV |
|
Arabic |
Optus D2 / 12734V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| Al Forat |
|
Arabic |
Optus D2 / 12706V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| Al Hayat |
|
Arabic |
Optus D2 / 12519V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| Salaam |
|
Arabic |
Optus D2 / 12545V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| Oman TV |
|
Arabic |
Optus D2 / 12734V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| Press TV |
|
English |
Optus D2 / 12706V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| DaAi TV |
|
Taiwanese |
AsiaSat 4 / 12430V / 20000 |
90cm / Ku |
| MAC TV |
|
Taiwanese |
Intelsat 8 / 12504V / 3073 |
90cm / Ku |
| Arirang |
|
English, Korean |
Intelsat 8 / 12491V / 4400 |
90cm / Ku |
| Supreme Master TV |
Religious |
English |
Optus D2 / 12519V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| AON |
Religious |
English |
Optus D2 / 12519V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| JCTV |
Religious |
English |
Optus D2 / 12644V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| Trinity |
Religious |
English |
Optus D2 / 12644V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| Church TV |
Religious |
English |
Optus D2 / 12644V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| Smile of a Child |
Religious |
English |
Optus D2 / 12644V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| God TV |
Religious |
English |
Optus D2 / 12644V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| Daystar |
Religious |
English |
Optus D2 / 12644V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| CGNTV |
Religious |
English |
Optus D2 / 12706V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| Inspiration |
Religious |
English |
Optus D2 / 12644V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| Hope TV |
Religious |
English |
Optus D2 / 12706V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| EWTN |
Religious |
English |
Optus D2 / 12644V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| 3ABN |
Religious |
English |
Optus D2 / 12545V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| Aghapy TV |
Religious |
English |
Optus D2 / 12706V / 22500 |
60cm / Ku |
| Telepace |
Religious (Catholic) |
Italian, English |
Optus D2 / 12425H / 22500¾ |
60cm / Ku |
| Tele Padre Pio |
Religious (Catholic) |
Italian |
Optus D2 / 12396H / 22500¾ |
60cm / Ku |
| BYU TV |
Religious (Mormon) |
Multilingual |
NSS-9 / 4185R / 6527½ |
2m / C |
| RFO Wallis & Futuna |
General |
French |
NSS-9 / 3922R / 2895 |
1m / C |