Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman
Minister of Broadcasting
18 May 2009 Media Statement

New Zealanders' Fifty Year Love Affair with Television

Today is a milestone in New Zealand broadcasting history. Fifty years ago, on 18 May 1959, weekly scheduled test programmes gave New Zealanders their first taste of television, says Minister of Broadcasting, Dr Jonathan Coleman.

Transmission was limited to Auckland and to only two hours a week on Monday nights.

“There was no money for new programmes, so in addition to test patterns, Auckland viewers enjoyed clips from old National Film Unit newsreels and whatever free content the then New Zealand Broadcasting Service could beg, borrow or steal."

These early experiments continued successfully, and on 28 January 1960 the government announced that it had decided to introduce television as an entertainment medium to New Zealand.

“There have been dramatic changes in television broadcasting over the last fifty years.

“I think it would be fair to say that the average television viewer in 1959 would be utterly amazed by the quantity, quality, range and accessibility of the content New Zealanders of the 21st century take for granted. Today we can watch high definition, colour programmes across multiple channels, both free-to-air and pay, 24 hours a day. We can ‘time-shift’ to watch content when it suits us, skip advertisements, pause to let the cat out, mute the boring bits, add captions, and pre-record all our favourite programmes at the push of a button."

Just as television has changed beyond imagining in the last fifty years, digital convergence between the internet, telecommunications and broadcasting mean that changes are likely to be even more speedy and profound over the next fifty years.

ENDS

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