Channel 9 (New Zealand)

Channel 9 logo

Channel 9 is a regional television station operating in Dunedin, New Zealand. The channel is an operating division of Allied Press, also the publishers of the local daily newspaper. It commenced transmission in 1995 as a tourism station. In 1997 the station was expanded to a full service regional station complete with its own local news. The stations mission is “To broadcast quality local content that reflects our community".

Channel 9 provides a 24-hour schedule and provides a core of locally focused primetime viewing, specifically designed to meet the needs of the community. The programming includes its flagship locally produced "9 Local News" as well as other locally focussed shows like COW TV, Southern Attractions, Story Time, local sports and event coverage as well as programming from local, national and international partners.

Locally Produced Programmes

9 Local News - A half-hour week-day news show

9 Local News is all about Dunedin. The Channel 9 News team covers local people, local issues and puts a local spin on national news. The programme is the only half-hour, live, local television news in the country, and as such, is the anchor of Channel 9. As well as coverage of local events and news, the station also includes an extended interview nightly on a topical subject. Viewers can also get a taste of what’s coming up in the Otago Daily Times, with a short segment highlighting the main stories in the paper for the next day. Presented by Rebecca Meek the news goes out live at 5.30pm, prior to the national network news, and is repeated at 7pm and 9pm to offer a choice for those viewers.

Southern News Week

Southern News Week is a roundup of the weeks news from Dunedin. It is broadcast in Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill.

COW TV - A students' magazine programme

COW TV – an innocuous name for a television programme that has become legendary in New Zealand television circles ... a programme so famous that Holmes covered it, and so famous that it still attracts publicity almost seven years after it began. And why? Mostly because of one small segment that probably still horrifies some moral censors – the Walk of Shame.

The brainchild of a former New Zealand Broadcasting School student, now a presenter on music station C4, Clarke Gayford, The Walk of Shame tracks down hung-over, sleepy tertiary students making their way home from someone else’s bed after a hard night out. Not thinking too clearly in the startlingly clear light of day, the students are easy targets for such searching questions as “how did she rate?”, “how long have you known him?”, and “how many positions assumed?”. Hilarious and spontaneous television, COW took off in its early days and has become compulsory watching for a surprisingly wide range of Dunedin residents. COW TV is broadcast Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 10pm.

Southern Attractions

Southern Attractions is a half hour tourism programme aimed at visitors to Dunedin and the surrounding region. Running daily from 7.30am to 10am, 3pm to 4pm, and from 6.30pm to 7pm Southern Attractions provides a glimpse of the many highlights and tourist attractions of the city for those from out of town.

Story Time

The city’s younger viewers are not forgotten either. Storytime is a half hour show hosted by Anita Cumming and Merkin the Mouse aimed at preschoolers and young children. Story Time screens three days a week at 4:30pm. The show treats children to a variety of picture books which are read by Anita Cumming. Merlin the Mouse (A Hand puppet) provides conversation and entertainment throughout the show.

Local Sport

One of the things which sets Channel 9 apart from the big networks is its ability to cover local sport at club level. This is a key area of interest to local viewers, but often not relevant for national viewers and therefore not covered by the networks. The stations sports coverage ranges from local club rugby to lawn bowls. The station has also covered many sporting grades from children's soccer to grass and ice hockey.

Live Events

Channel 9 has a new Outside Broadcast unit. The purpose built van provides Channel 9 with more flexibility to cover local events which can now be broadcast live on air from various locations around Dunedin. The Outside Broadcast (OB) facility has been built by technical staff at Allied Press and was first used to broadcast the Dunedin Santa Parade live on television on December 4, 2005.

The mobile unit is fitted out as a purpose built portable studio complete with digital video mixer, graphics capability, sound and editing facilities. It can also accommodate up to 6 cameras, and be run single handed or with multiple crews. The unit can be powered by 240 volts or run from its own self-contained power supply for maximum flexibility.

Tuning

To receive Channel 9's free to air broadcast you need a UHF antenna and line of sight to one of the four transmission sites. The transmission coverage maps can be found on the Channel 9 website.^[1]

References

1. ^ CH9.co.nz

External links

Channel 9 Websites

• Channel 9 - www.ch9.co.nz
• Channel 9 Tuning - www.ch9.co.nz.
• COW TV - www.cowtv.co.nz
• Allied Press Ltd - www.alliedpress.co.nz