Freeview is New Zealand's free-to-air television platform. It is operated by a joint venture between the country's major free-to-air broadcasters – government-owned Television New Zealand and Radio New Zealand, government-subsidised Whakaata Māori, and the commercially owned Sky Network Television.
It consists of a digital terrestrial television service to around 86% of the population in the major urban and provincial centres of New Zealand, and a satellite television service, covering the whole of mainland New Zealand and the major offshore islands. Both services are HD-capable as of 2025. Freeview uses the DVB-S2 and DVB-T standards on government-provided spectrum.
Additionally, an IPTV service is provided via the Freeview Streaming TV app, available on a range of smart TVs and Android TV devices.
Freeview was launched in May 2007, preparing for analogue switch-off, which began on 30 September 2012 and was completed on 1 December 2013. In 2014, it was estimated that Freeview made up approximately 61.7% of the television share in New Zealand.
Freeview-certified set-top boxes and IDTVs, as well as PVRs, are available at most major retailers. Uncertified equipment can also be used to receive the service, which may have advantages (cheaper, extra features, international channels) and disadvantages (no/limited EPG, no auto-retuning) over certified equipment.
History
On 15 June 2006, New Zealand's Minister of Broadcasting, Steve Maharey announced that Freeview's digital television would broadcast via satellite (DVB-S) from mid-2007 and via terrestrial transmissions (DVB-T) from mid-2008. Freeview's marketing campaign began on 23 April 2007 through a website and through four television advertisements shown on Freeview's shareholders' TV channels, using the slogan "Make bad reception a thing of the past", and showing people using proverbial substitutes for rabbit ears for receiving TV reception. Since 2012, Māori comedian Pio Terei has been the advertising face of Freeview.
It was announced the satellite service (up-linked from the Avalon studios in Lower Hutt), would have up to 18 channels available, with six each assigned to TVNZ and Mediaworks frequencies, and the balance to other networks.
Freeview's satellite service began on 2 May 2007 with five television channels: TV One, TV2, TV3, C4, and Māori Television. Freeview's first digital-only channel, TVNZ Sport Extra temporary channel from TVNZ, began on 18 May 2007, providing coverage of the V8 Supercar racing. The channel has since ceased broadcasting.
The Freeview terrestrial service, originally named "Freeview|HD", officially launched on 14 April 2008. The service initially operated only from Kordia sites for areas surrounding Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Napier-Hastings, Palmerston North, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin. JDA sites were upgraded later with DVB-T QAM modulating multiplexers for non-metro areas.
An IPTV streaming app, Freeview Streaming TV was launched in 2019 by Dish TV. This app was originally locked to devices sold by Dish TV only. From 12 December 2022, the app was made available for many smart TVs running the Android TV operating system, as well as some LG, Samsung and Panasonic TVs running a proprietary operating system.
Services
Virtual channels The Freeview ordering groups broadcasters by how much they pay for government owned Kordia transmission services.
Higher viewership nationwide
original nationwide (that were analogue simulcast): TVNZ 1 (4 regions, selected HD, timeshifted, government-owned) TVNZ 2 (selected HD, timeshifted, government-owned) Three (selected HD, timeshifted) Bravo (timeshifted and Sky transponder on satellite) Whakaata Māori (government subsidised, selected HD) Sky Open (selected HD and Sky transponder on satellite)
Digital only: TVNZ Duke (selected HD, timeshifted) Rush (selected HD) Te Reo (government subsidised, streaming only) Eden (selected HD) HGTV Al Jazeera
Lower viewership nationwide
All Kordia and JDA national sites: Shine TV (with satellite and streaming coverage) Firstlight TV (with satellite coverage) Hope Channel (with satellite and streaming coverage) CH200 (terrestrial only)
Kordia metro terrestrial sites:Terrestrial coverage is limited to Kordia sites in Auckland, Waikato, Tauranga, Hawke's Bay, Manawatu, Kapiti, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin Trackside 1 and 2 (selected HD, streaming coverage) Parliament TV (with satellite and streaming coverage, government subsidised) Channel 33 Streaming coverage only: Juice TV
Locally inserted terrestrial only
Source:
Kordia local terrestrial site only: Apna Television (Auckland) Channel 39 (Dunedin)
JDA local terrestrial site only: Television Hawke's Bay (Hawke's Bay) Wairarapa TV (Wairarapa)
Higher priority nationwide radio Satellite and Kordia terrestrial sites only Radio New Zealand National (government subsidised) Radio New Zealand Concert (government subsidised)
Lower priority nationwide radio Radio Aotearoa
Local independent non-Freeview terrestrial only
Auckland Sky Tower JDA site:Formerly on UHF-50 (706 MHz), these channels were forced off this frequency on 1 December 2013. These channels returned in early 2014 with a infill for the far northern Auckland community close to the Whangaparāoa Peninsula on UHF-26 (514 MHz). DTV channels above 698 MHz should never have been allocated due to the planned reallocation of the 700 MHz spectrum for LTE mobile networks. SCTV (Korean Christian) V1 (Korean movies) V2 – YTN (Korean commercial news) K-POP (Korean music videos) V4 – CNC (Chinese state news in English) V5 – NHK World (Japanese state news and documentaries in English) V6 – Arirang TV (Korean documentaries in English) V7 – Zee TV (Indian entertainment) V8 – Republic TV (Indian commercial news)
Mainland TV 1 and 2 (previously simulcast on analogue) local news (looped video) VOA (rebroadcast) VOA Music Mix (rebroadcast) 45 South TV for Oamaru from Cape Wanbrow owned site @ 34 (578 MHz)
MHEG Interaction Channel MHEG-IC channels are from LCN 200 to 299. From 2011 it is mandatory for all TVs over and PVRs to include IP-based MHEG Interaction Channel. it is optional on receivers to ensure that a lower-cost option is available as New Zealand heads towards DSO.
In October 2014, Worldnet TV launched the first commercial MHEG-IC channel in New Zealand and was added to JDA regional sites as an MHEG-IC application on LCN 250 which includes seven live streams. As of 29 October 2014, live channels include NHK World, Arirang TV, MBC, Yonhap, MBN, HiTV+ and BTN.
Metadata Freeview has its own eight-day electronic programme guide (EPG), named Freeview EPG; TVNZ's Teletext service was also available until it was discontinued in April 2013. The EPG via the satellite service provides an eight-day schedule with programme details on both a traditional EIT and MHEG-5 application, whereas the EPG via the terrestrial service has limited programme details via the traditional EIT with full details available only via the MHEG-5 application.
For all certified NZ Freeview (also all Australian "Freeview EPG" branded) receivers to activate the MHEG-5 EPG, the receiver must remap the remote control's guide button to be an extended function key for use by MHEG-5 applications which are normally limited to the four coloured buttons for launching functions. This is more common on terrestrial than on satellite due to the differences in launch dates. Receivers that do this make the traditional EIT function useless, which is why independent local broadcasters (such as the Hawke's Bay's TVHB) have to pay Freeview to include their scheduling details within the Freeview guide. Broadcasters within the UK do not have this problem as they only use the traditional EIT with MHEG-5's use limited to interactive services such as the Red Button Teletext replacement and internet streaming services.
During the third week of December 2014, TVNZ tested using the same Huffman look-up tables the BBC implemented to force viewers to use approved Freeview receivers that restrict HD recording and viewing. The Huffman tables are being used to compress the EIT text used for terrestrial schedule event names and descriptions. From March 2015, TVNZ began compressing the EIT schedule again. Compressing the EIT text in the schedule would not achieve the same receiver use given the terrestrial EIT only has limited programme details. Receivers that do not use the BBC huffman tables will either display no details or display garbage characters.
The assigned identifiers managed by TVNZ and Kordia on behalf of Freeview are as follows:
H.222 Program IDs (aka Service IDs) 10xx – TVNZ provided satellite channels 12xx – TVNZ provided terrestrial channels 13xx – Sky Free provided terrestrial channels 14xx – Kordia/JDA provided terrestrial channels 15xx – Kordia provided terrestrial channels 16xx – independently provided terrestrial channels 19xx – All other provided satellite channels 41xx – Sky Network Television provided terrestrial channels H.222 Transport IDs 21 for the Sky Free leased satellite service 22 for the TVNZ leased satellite service 23 – 24 are reserved for future operated satellite services 25 for the TVNZ operated Auckland terrestrial service 26 for the TVNZ operated Waikato/Bay of Plenty terrestrial service 27 for the TVNZ operated Wellington terrestrial service 28 for the TVNZ operated South Island terrestrial service 29 for the Sky Free operated Auckland terrestrial service 30 for the Sky Free operated Waikato/Bay of Plenty terrestrial service 31 for the Sky Free operated Wellington terrestrial service 32 for the Sky Free operated South Island terrestrial service 33 for the Kordia metro (K1) and JDA (J1) regional operated terrestrial service 34 for the Kordia only (K2) operated terrestrial service 35 – 36 are reserved for future Kordia operated terrestrial services 38 for an independently operated terrestrial service 65 for the Sky Network Television operated terrestrial service DVB Transmission Network ID for the Freeview terrestrial service is 13313.
DVB Original (content) Network ID for the terrestrial service is 8746.
DVB Transmission and Original (content) Network ID for the satellite service is 47 and registered to TVNZ.
DVB Transmission and Original (content) Network ID for the Igloo terrestrial service is 11008 and registered to Sky.
DVB-T Cell ID used by the Kordia operated terrestrial service for filtering channels by transmitter site:
This is a five digit number with the first digit identifying the transport provider, the second digit identifies the multiplexed transport, the third digit identifies the region with the final two specifying the region's transmitter site.
Provider TVNZ Sky Free Kordia 6 – Independent
Regions Upper North Island Waikato/Bay of Plenty Hawke's Bay Taranaki/Manawatu Lower North Island Upper South Island Lower South Island
Transmitter Site 00 – Kordia primary 01 – 04 – Kordia infill 05 – Independent 10/20/40/50 – JDA primary 11 – JDA infill 30 – Kordia Lower North Island secondary
Distribution the Freeview platform has 29 television channels and 4 radio stations.
Defunct channels Services (taken from AsiaSat 3S @ 105 east) that were available before the Freeview launch on satellite were Zing channels ZEE TV, Cinema, News and Punjabi, BHARAT TV, Al Jazeera Arabic and English channels, DWTV, TV5 and VOA.
The FreeviewHD Demo terrestrial channel 100 was removed to free up space for various SD channels.
The TVNZ Sport Extra channel 20 was temporarily provided for the 2008 Olympics, the space on DVB-S was later used by a regional version of TV One.
The Auckland-based STRATOS channel 21 was discontinued due to service fee increases that occurred when its ratings increased, it was later replaced by ChoiceTV. STRATOS later reemerged on pay TV under the name Face TV.