TVNZ: Full Funeral Service Available Online

TVNZ: Full Funeral Service Available Online

The full 4-hour coverage of the State funeral of Sir Edmund Hillary is now available online on tvnz.co.nz for those who were unable to watch during the day.

Footage broadcast earlier in the day including the transfer of his casket from Holy Trinity Cathedral to the neighbouring St Mary's Church is also available.

A replay of the ceremony will be broadcast from 9am to midday on Sunday on TV ONE.

As well, a DVD of the funeral is being produced and is expected to be in retail stores within a month.

TVNZ says figures on the numbers who watched the funeral live on TV ONE are unlikely to be available before tomorrow morning, but peak viewership online on tvnz.co.nz, where the ceremony was streamed live, reached a record 4500 connections in New Zealand and overseas. Approximately 1200 were international viewers.

TVNZ received a message of thanks from Scott Base in Antarctica, where the funeral coverage was shown on three screens and Base personnel were joined by New Zealanders and Americans from neighbouring McMurdo Station.

Late this afternoon a steady stream of emails was arriving from international and domestic viewers, expressing thanks for the opportunity to share an event of such emotional significance.

One message from Greece said: "I'm so far away from home on this day but being able to join in the country's mourning and celebration of Sir Ed's life has been a gift; deeply moving and deeply important."

ENDS

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