Family TV to beam into Bay

By Paul Dykes
A small television network operating out of Matamata plans to transmit free-to-air, "family-safe" programmes into Bay homes - and set up a production studio in Tauranga.
Family Television Waikato chief executive Daryl Anderson says he is looking at a December date for the start of transmissions into the Bay, featuring "family-safe" programmes and advertising.
Initially, about 30 per cent of the content will be produced in Matamata. This would be bolstered by content produced by regional TV stations elsewhere in New Zealand and a selection of internationally-bought programmes and some received by satellite, Mr Anderson said.
But the intention is to increase local content and the company is looking at having studios in Hamilton and Tauranga to add to the mix.
This could involve an existing Tauranga media production group in partnership or be completely independent, he said.
A licence has been obtained to widen the broadcast coverage and the required equipment had been ordered from Italy.
All that is required now was to finalise the money needed.
"While we are well-structured financially and technically, we will need all the support we can muster to launch this new venture into Waikato/Bay of Plenty," Mr Anderson said.
"It will stretch our resource and resolve, but we've worked long and hard to grow this channel and like me our people are excited and very much up to this new challenge."
Daryl Anderson is the chief executive of Television Media Group, which encompasses Family Television Network, Geyser Television and Alpha Media Productions and Concepts.
The group has been broadcasting from its Matamata studios without interruption 24 hours a day, every single day since 2002, placing a strong emphasis on quality fare that is family-friendly.
"We are a charitable trust. Rather than negatively attack what's available on national TV, we decided to do something about it," Mr Anderson adds.
"Essentially, our family programming ensures all programmes can be watched by any member of the family at any point." He said the main targets removed were violence, language and sexual content.
Programming would cover all genres, including sport, and by law the station could generate only 50 per cent of its revenue through advertising.
Official launch day is December 1 this year, encompassing most of the Bay of Plenty region, coinciding with a launch of the channel into the Waikato.
He said there would be times when Tauranga viewers would see programme content and advertising aimed at Hamilton audiences, and vice versa: "There's that great central North Island area that we can all relate to," he said.
The future of TV is in regional groupings, he said, broken out to service distinct sub-regions.
One problem to be addressed was the lack of coverage of the whole Bay from the Mount Te Aroha transmitter, used by Prime, Maori TV, and VHF signals for TV1 and TV2. Parts of Tauranga, such as Welcome Bay and areas down to Whakatane, are served by the transmitter on Kopu Kairua hill, and a licence was being sought to set up a repeater on Kopu Kairua.
"Our support base continues to grow," said Mr Anderson, "which is the driving force for our growth and expansion, along with the support of Trust Waikato and more recently, NZ on Air."