- South Pacific Television
South Pacific Television was a television channel in
New Zealand , which operated between1976 and1980 .The Early Days
South Pacific Television first went to air on
June 30 ,1975 . It was the second television network to be established in the country that year, after Television One went to air onApril 1 , replacing the former New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (NZBC)'s TV service.In its first week, the network held New Zealand's first Telethon in aid of the St John's Ambulance. It raised $593,878.
The network could only be picked up in Auckland and Christchurch when the channel first went to air, but it was limited in Christchurch due to a faulty transmitter. It was another three months before the Waikato and Bay Of Plenty got coverage and by late November, the channel was available in Wellington before spreading throughout the rest of the country.
The Second Year
In
1977 , broadcasting hours were cut on both channels and as a result South Pacific Television lost sixteen hours of broadcast time a week, forcing the channel to begin its broadcasting day at 3pm.Network funding was cut for Television One and handed over to South Pacific in a move that bewildered some over at Television One. The effects of the cuts saw programme output on South Pacific increase.
The End Is Near
It was decided in
1979 by the National Government that the channels would be amalgamated under an administration which would end the competition that reared its head in1975 .South Pacific Television ended transmission on
February 14 1980 with a two hour farewell special.The next day,
February 15 1980 , Television One and South Pacific Television were dissolved and became Television One and Television Two, under the newly formedTelevision New Zealand .External links
* [http://www.tvnz.co.nz TVNZ]
* [http://corporate.tvnz.co.nz/tvnz_detail/0,2406,111544-247-252,00.html TVNZ - History of Television in NZ]
* [http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=dFdpNTpR6Hw Clip of the network ident]
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