Tomorrow sees the launch of the first “broad-appeal” free-to-air TV station in more than a decade in New Zealand. And Choice TV is taking a slightly different approach to its programming by featuring shows based around a different theme each night—and trying to align sponsors with them.
Choice TV, which is owned by Top Shelf, the company behind shows like Target, Road Madness, What’s Really In Our Food? and Media 7, will broadcast 24 hours a day, seven days a week and it will be available to all households with either a Freeview box (channel 12) or a Freeview-capable TV in areas of the country that are covered by Kordia transmitters (at the moment that’s around 80-85 percent of the country). It will also be available on Igloo.
Monday night is Our World with shows like The Vanishing Antarctic and travel-related programming; Tuesday is Property and Design with programmes like Superior Interiors with Kelly Hoppen; Wednesday is The Great Outdoors, catering for blokes with motoring shows and fishing shows like Fishing Expedition Amazonia; Thursday is food with the likes of Luke Nguyen’s Greater Mekong; Friday is Home and Garden with shows like Ty Pennington’s Home for the Brave; and the weekends are all about entertainment, kicking off this Saturday night will be the highly-regarded BBC action drama The Deep, which attracted five million viewers in the UK.
“The majority of programmes being screened have never seen here before and I’m confident there will be a show for everyone,” says Choice TV programmer Julia Baylis. “There’ll be shows for homeowners and gardeners, passionate cooks, travel nuts and even the testosterone charged men who love their cars, hunting and fishing. And on the weekends, we’re going to be catering to those people who look forward to some laughter, tears and excitement on the box.”
According to the NBR, JetStar has been signed as a major run-of-station advertiser. Refresh Renovations is sponsoring the property line-up, Holden is running ads on Wednesday, and Yates is attached to Friday. Channel manager Alex Breingan, who has worked as manager of Sky TV’s Food TV and Living Channel, told the NBR Choice TV was “targeting 25-to-54 year-olds, with a slight female skew”.
