nztvdb.tripod.com | Timeline & History

1960's

1 June, 1960	New Zealand�s official Television transmission on Auckland regional station AKTV-2 begins at 7.30pm with a 2 & 1/2 hour opening show. The first show to appear was 'The Adventures of Robin Hood', plus among the first live local performances were 'The Howard Morrison Quartet'. Other programmes to appear on TV's opening night, the first live local item 'On The Doorstep', in which Ian Watkins interviews English ballerina Beryl Grey. Then another imported programme from the USA, The Malls of Ivy. A British documentary called Your Children's Eyes and then the final show for the night - Four Just men, an episode from an American adaptation of the Edgar Wallace novel.
August, 1960	Television licences were introduced, costing 4 pounds
October, 1960	Television transmissions are extended to 5 nights a week
25 Dec, 1960	The Queen's Message is first broadcasted on TV
1961	Television advertising was introduced
April, 1961	Commercial Television begins on AKTV-2
1 June, 1961	Official TV transmissions begin from Christchurch
1 July, 1961	Official TV transmissions begin from Wellington
1962	The talent show Have A Shot begins
March, 1962	Daily News Bulletin is added to the service
1 April, 1962	The New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation comes into existence
31 July, 1962	Official TV transmissions begin from Dunedin
12 Oct, 1962	Angela D'Audney begins her 40 year career in Television on AKTV 2 in Auckland as a Continuity Announcer. And becomes NZ TV's first lady of TV
1963	A pop music show Let's Go begins
	TV's first locally produced drama screens, Alfred Flett's All Earth To Love
May, 1964	What would become New Zealand's longest running overseas show of any kind debuted. The night-time British drama Coronation Street began, and to this day is still rated in the Top 10 shows of the week. It has never been out of the primetime line-up.
1965	The amount of Television licences issued reached 300,000, and the four television stations were broadcasting for 7 nights a week at a total of 50 hours
	Graham Kerr becomes the first tv chef
6 March, 1966	The New Zealand Rural/farming show Country Calendar begins it's life as New Zealand’s longest running local show, making its first broadcast at 7.15pm on 6 March 1966 and is hosted by Fred Barnes. It was broadcasted on the Sunday nights for fifteen minutes. In 1988 the show was extended to 1/2 an hour. In 1996 it was extended to 1 hour, but the following year it was back to a 1/2 hour show. In 2001 the show was one of the first TV shows to be screened in the new Wide-screen format.
November, 1966	C'mon the most famous NZ pop music show of the 60's screens, and is hosted by the late Peter Sinclair, and has launch the career of many local musical artists.
July, 1969	The moon landing is broadcasted but it was delay by a few hours
November, 1969	The Network News was first broadcasted, presented by Dougal Stevenson

1970's

1971	The drama Pukemanu begins
	The Warkworth Satellite Station is opened, providing more upto date news coverage
Sept, 1972	First live All Black rugby game, commentated by Keith Quinn
1973	Angela D'Audney bcomes the first woman to reader the news on tv
	Spot On, a kids magazine show begins its 15 year run.
	The royal wedding of Princess Anne to Mark Phillips becaomes the first live international broadcast
	Television hours are reduced to conserve energy
31 Oct, 1973	Colour Television transmissions begin
December, 1973	The character of Fred Dagg (played by John Clarke) is introduced to NZ viewers
1974	The Christchurch Commonwealth Games Screen on TV One. Due to size of the event, the coverage was broadcasted in both colour and black&white.
	the talent show New Faces begins
February, 1974	Colour Television introduced nation-wide
1975	Ready to Roll, starts, and becomes NZ longest running music chart show. First screening on TV-1 on Saturday night at 6pm
March, 1975	the Avalon Television Centre is opened
1 April, 1975	Television begins
May, 1975	The local night-time soap opera Close to Home begins as NZ first twice weekly soap. It is modelled after the UK soap Coronation Street.
30 June, 1975	TV-2 begins in Auckland and Christchurch, bring completion for the first time. The following weekend, the first Telethon is broadcast raising half a million dollars for St John’s Ambulance.
1976	The popular 70's challenge show, Top Town begins, hosted by Howard Morrison, and Paddy O'Donnell
1977	The Comedy satire series A Week Of It begins launching the carrers of Jon Gadsby and David MacPhail
7 April, 1977	The second longest running local show, the consumer watchdog show Fair Go, is broadcast Live for the first time
1979	Peter Sinclair comperes the long running brain-buster quiz show Mastermind for the first time
	The character of Lynn of Tawa (Ginette McDonald) is introduced for the first time
	Billy T James first appears on TV in Radio Times

1980's

15 Feb, 1980	South Pacific Television (TV2), Ends with a two hour farewell show at 10pm.
16 Feb, 1980	Television New Zealand is created, combining both TV One & TV2, under one company
1981	Landmarks, a classic 10-part documentary series about NZ debuts.
	The police drama Mortimer's Patch begins
	Sitcom Gliding On begins
May, 1981	The long running kids morning weekend show What Now? begins on TV One
1982	The first attempt at private Television begins with a 2 hour magazine show from 10am to Noon on TV One with the short-lived Good Morning show.
February, 1983	Te Karere, the long running Maori news programme begins on TV2 at 5.55pm (4 minutes), but by the 1990's was extended to between 10-20 minutes on TV One.
September, 1983	Close to Home Ends after 8 years and 818 episodes
February, 1984	Teletext is introduced
1 June, 1985	TV One broadcasts a 3 & 1/2 show celebrating 25 years of TV, 7.30pm
1986	The first attempt to broadcast 24 hours on weekends is scrapped at the last minute dew to a recording industry strike
1987	The fashion drama Gloss begins its 3 year run on TV2
February, 1987	The Judy Bailey/Richard Long news readering partnership on the TV One news begins
1 July, 1988	Commercial TV goes 7 days a week, expect Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and Christmas Day
25 Dec, 1988	Spot On ends after 15 years with a special ‘This is your life’ show
1989	TVNZ appoints its first foreign correspondents Susan Wood and Liam Jeory
	the funding agency NZ on Air is formed
	The Broadcasting Standards Authority is formed
3 April, 1989	One Network News moves to 6pm timeslot from today. Holmes, a current affairs show hosted by Paul Holmes, begins it's long run at 6.30pm with the famous Dennis Conner interview. and at 7pm the new game show Sale of the Century debuts.
26 Nov, 1989	After ten years private television arrives in this country in the form of TV3. The channel begins with a two hour opening show previewing the channel's up-coming programmes

1990's

1990	TVNZ becomes a State Owned Enterprise
5 Feb, 1990	The TVNZ Television centre in Auckland is opened by Queen Elizabeth II
May, 1990	SKY TV, the first pay television network in this country begins. The first choice of channels on offer are CNN, HBO, and a sports channel.
1991	24 hour weekend television on Tv2 begins
	Can-west take over ownership of TV3
May, 1992	The defunct music channel, Max TV channel begins in Auckland.
25 May, 1992	The first attempt at a five night a week soap opera Shortland Street begins at 7pm on TV2
August, 1992	RTR Countdown (Ready to Roll) ends it’s 17 year series on TV2
19 Oct, 1994	The last screening of the Goodnight Kiwi as tv2 goes 24/7
20 Oct, 1994	TV2 begins 24 hour broadcasting 7 days a week
Feb, 1995	TV One begins 24 hour broadcasting 7 days a week, TV One News goes for 1 hour, 7 days a week.and also introduces BBC World overnight
March, 1995	Horizon TV (4 regional channels) begins.
1996	The 10,000th One Network News is Broadcasted
July 1996	Tv One introduces brand new logo on the same day as the Atlanta Olympics begin
29 June, 1997	The TV3's second private channel TV4 begins with ear-biting Boxing live at 1pm
3 July, 1997	MTV Europe begins broadcasting replacing Horizon TV, lasting 11 months, and is the only free to air MTV in the world
1998	Auckland's Public Access channel Triangle TV begins
June, 1998	The Good Morning Show is first cyber-casted on the Internet, and thats a NZ first
30 Aug, 1998	Prime TV begins at 6.30pm, first with 'The Two Fat Ladies'
31 Dec, 1999	TV One, broadcasts a record-breaking thirty hour Millennium show ‘One New Zealand Challenge’, capturing New Zealand at the start of the new century. and One Network News is renamed simply One News

2000's

5 Feb, 2000	Ready to Roll is reborn as RTR 2000, on Saturday night at 6pm on TV2 and continues screening till December 2003.
2 June, 2000	Shortland Street celebrates it's 2000th Episode.
5 June, 2000	‘one turns 40’, a two hour Documentary on 40 years of TV One, screens at 8.30pm
July, 2000	The Licece fee is abolished
8 Aug, 2001	Peter Sinclair, a favourite icon on New Zealand television, died this morning, he was 62. (pictures below) 'C'mon', 1968 Peter, 2001
6 Feb, 2002	Angela D'Audney, New Zealand's first woman of broadcasting dies of a Brain Tumour, she was 57. Her Career in Television spanned four decades, with her first appearance being on 12 October 1962. Her last official television appearance hosting a show was in May 2001, as the fill-in host of the Good Morning show. (pictures below) Angela, AKTV 2, 1962 'Today Live', June 2001
3 March, 2002	Prime TV is re-launched after going into partnership with Channel Nine Australia.
3 April, 2002	Fair Go celebrates 25 years on Television with a special 1 hour show
25 May, 2002	Shortland Street celebrates 10 years on the air, and is New Zealand's longest drama series.
March, 2003	The TVNZ charter comes in affect, with lots of changes to come ahead
4 Oct, 2003	TV4 is re-launched as a music channel called C4, with a Top 100 Videos of all time show
19 Dec, 2003	The Judy Bailey/Richard Long news readering partnership on the TV One news ends, as well as April Iremeria the 6pm One News sports presenter finishes after 10 years
23 Dec, 2003	Jim Hickey presents his last weather report on TV One News after 16 years
February 2004	New Zealand Idol begins and runs till May
28 March, 2004	Maori Television begins daily transmissions at 6am with a 5 hour live launch show from its tv studios, inside and outside, plus a sampling of its programmes.
2 April, 2004	Current Affairs show Holmes celebrates 15 years on air with a 1/2 hour special look back at 7pm tonight
29 May, 2004	National Anthem, a 24 hours live New Zealand music concert celebrating NZ Music month airs on TV2 from 7pm, and is broadcasted from the four main centres
June, 2004	Shortland Street airs it's 3000th Episode.
16 Oct, 2004	C4 Celebrates it's 1st Birthday with a party at the St James in Auckland, and asks viewers to send them a birthday card for a chance to win tickets to see top new zealand music acts live at the party.