Aotearoa (television)
Aotearoa is a commercial television channel from the New Michillies that broadcasts in the Māori language. Unlike Māori Television, the broadcaster is not a part of WITBN.
History[edit | edit source]
Aotearoa went on air in June 2013 after a media referendum enacted in 2011: Should Māori Television get a commercial competitor?; of which 52% voted in favor, 47% against and 1% abstained.
The only competitor for the license to broadcast (on Freeview LCN 9) was Indigenous Television Trust, who had a limited structure for its nascent channel. In late 2011, ITT announced its plans to rebrand its service under the commercial name Aotearoa. In November 2011 it received an unusually high amount of Te Māngai Pāho funding.
Aotearoa unveiled its headquarters in the Bay of Plenty in April 2012, stating that the channel was capable to broadcast in 16:9 and HD formats. However government pressure has led to the delayed arrival of the service. The location was selected in order to have a more "central" location in the North Island, considered to be the "hub" of most of the country's Māori-language media industry.
Aotearoa started Freeview tests in January 2013.
Aotearoa formally launched on June 6, 2013. Like Māori Television's innaugural day sixteen years earlier, its first day was extended, starting at 5:30am. On weekdays it broadcast for 6 hours and on weekends it broadcast for 12.
