This episode: Seven Sharp’s ratings woes; Beauty and the Geek Australia are seeking contestants in New Zealand; and in a new segment called “On the Box”, I recommend Revenge and New Girl.

Leave your comments and suggestions below!

This episode: The Blue Rose premieres; the TV3 and FOUR websites get a refresh; ‘Do No Harm’ over in the States gets axed; and in a special segment called ‘At The Movies’, I review Lincoln and Movie 43.

Leave your comments and suggestions below!

Season 2 of Revenge returns to TV2 this week, at the all-new time of Tuesday 8:30pm.

The first episode – screening Tuesday February 12th – is a two-hour premiere and, more set on getting her revenge than ever before, Emily Thorne (played by Emily Van Camp) goes back to a refresher course on how to get just that.

Check out the lengthy premiere this Tuesday.

New comedy series Up All Night, scheduled to premiere on FOUR later this year, has seen the departure of Christina Applegate, one of the show’s main characters.

Applegate states that she has become unhappy with the creative direction of the show, but is grateful for the experience she has been given.

After premiering to abysmal ratings, and with only 2 episodes airing in the US, new series Do No Harm has been cancelled by NBC.

I previously wrote about this series, describing how good it was – however, viewers in the US had a different opinion.

The TV3 and FOUR websites have today been updated, sporting a cleaner look, and also a brand new On Demand experience. Overall, this is a fantastic update to these websites – honestly, I couldn’t stand the previous look. The new On Demand experience is also a welcome change, integrating much better with the main site, and is a lot easier on the eye. Plus, the simplified navigation works a treat.

However, the search box still doesn’t work properly (it doesn’t work properly if you press the Enter key inside it!). Update: It now works – yay!

Check out the screenshots below, or see it in action at either tv3.co.nz or four.co.nz.

I recently had the pleasure of witnessing the premiere of new show Do No Harm. The show, which debuted on NBC on 31st January, unfortunately didn’t get the ratings win it had hoped for, but that definitely doesn’t mean it should be overlooked.

Warning: spoilers below!

The show starts by introducing us to Dr. Jason Cole, a well-to-do neurosurgeon who constantly makes reference to the fact that he has to leave work early. At this point, we are unaware of Cole’s condition – a personality disorder which causes him to transform into another person from 8:25pm until 8:25am every day.

We quickly learn that a special remedy, crafted for him in secret, is what helps him surpress this other identity; by knocking him out for those crucial 12 hours. This time, however, he is becoming immune to the drug, and as his watch moves closer to 8:25pm, we see a flash of the night that follows. In a ‘The Hangover’ style sequence, he ends up in a random location, in a bed surrounded by woman who he cannot recall every meeting.

As the pilot progresses, he starts using his other side to his advantage; such as using it to bring about torment onto an abusive husband who is also a policeman. All is not so straightforward, however; his other personality, the so-called Ian Price, wants his life back, and is obsessed with Cole’s ex-wife, whom he drove away in an abusive way.

The conclusion of the pilot sees Cole try to strike a deal with Price, allowing him to keep his life, as long as he stays out of his own.

The show is a modern day Jekyll and Hyde, featuring absolutely fantastic acting from Stephen Pasquale. His convincing portrayal of both Cole and Price is to be commended, and he is well and truly the star of the show.

The air date for Do No Harm here in New Zealand is currently unknown. Hopefully, after the minuscule ratings obtained during the premiere, we will still see more of this very promising series.

The second episode of Steven on Media: The Series is now up on YouTube. After a 9 month hiatus from the series, it’s finally back! There is also a new YouTube channel where the series will be hosted from now on – at http://www.youtube.com/StevenOnMedia.

This episode: Sir Paul Holmes passes away, aged 62; Banshee gets the green light for season 2; the female X Factor NZ judges are announced; TV3′s super summer schedule is here; new series The Radio starts February 8; and Pippa Wetzell is the new co-host of Fair Go.

Steven on Media brings you the latest television news from NZ and abroad, in under 5 minutes.

Check out episode 2 below:

Sad news yesterday, as Paul Holmes passed away, aged 62.

I have fond memories of watching Paul Holmes, with his show Holmes being a big part of my childhood. This includes his special millenium show on New Years Eve 1999, which I can still remember as if it were yesterday.

Whether you liked or loathed him, his great contributions to broadcasting cannot be overlooked.

Less than a month after the series premiere, Banshee has been renewed for a second season. The show stars local Antony Starr in the lead role.

If you haven’t seen it already, check it out on SoHo, SKY channel 10.

The final two judges for The X Factor NZ have today been announced – All Saints member Melanie Blatt and local act Ruby Frost.

Auditions are currently underway around the country for the series, which is scheduled to premiere on TV3 later this year.

TV3 have launched their new look summer schedule for 2013, after the completion of The Block Australia. The new schedule kicks off from February 3rd.

Sunday
7:30: All New Simpsons (HD!)
8:00: All New Family Guy (Yuss!)
8:30: Sunday Night Movie

Monday
7:30: Crime Exposed
8:00: Territory Cops
8:30: The Blue Rose (Yuss!)
9:30: The Americans

Tuesday
7:30: All New Modern Family
8:00: Go On (I highly recommend this one!)
8:30: NCIS
9:30: NCIS: LA

Wednesday
7:30: World’s Deadliest Roads
8:30: Nigel Marven: Wild Colombia
9:30: Sons of Anarchy

Thursday
7:30: All New Grand Designs
8:30: Bones
9:30: Project Runway

Friday
7:30: Modern Family
8:00: Sunny Skies (Yuss!)
8:30: All New Graham Norton Show
9:30: 7 Days (Yuss!)
10:00: The Radio (Yuss!)

Saturday
7:30: Ice Road Truckers
8:30: CSI: NY

Great lineup! But why have TV3 not told viewers that Fast FOUR is ending for The Simpsons and Family Guy? As of right now they are still advertising it for these shows. Nice to finally see them in HD though, but disappointed at their poor on-screen communication with this one.

Brand new comedy series The Radio starts on TV3, Friday February 8th at 10:00pm.

The series is set in a fictitious radio station, and is presented as part sitcom, part stand-up comedy act, by presenters Paul Ego and Jeremy Corbett. The perfect show for TV3′s well-established Friday night comedy block!

Pippa Wetzell has been announced as the replacement host for Alison Mau on Fair Go.

Fair Go returns to screens in February on TV One.

The latest casualty from the US is the cancellation of Drop Dead Diva, which wraps up after 4 seasons (2009 – 2012).

Although I loved the series at the start (check out my review from way back when!), I did lose interest pretty quickly. Did you enjoy the series?

HBO-owned Cinemax recently premiered the first episode of original series Banshee, starring none other than New Zealand’s own Antony Starr. The new series has been heavily promoted, on billboards and TV, by SKY Television, debuting on SoHo (SKY channel 10) on Monday 14th January.

As a SKY subscriber, I took the opportunity to catch the first episode for free on iSKY.co.nz. And what an epic, action packed ride it was!

Warning: spoilers below!

Starr features as an ex-convict, who has recently been released from prison. In an attempt to flea town, he departs in an action-packed car chase and street fight scene, which ends with him leaving on a noisy motorcycle. Arriving in the county of Banshee, Pennsylvania, he meets Sugar Bates, an ex-fighter who also happens to have done some jail time. The two bond over the cover-up of the murder of three – two cons and the soon-to-be replacement sheriff - Lucas Hood.

Answering the call (quite literally) from Hood’s cellphone, Starr’s character assumes his identity – contacting his long-time associate Job to arrange the cover-up in a cliched computer hacking scenario. It is immediately clear that he is not your usual sheriff – one town dweller even remarking that he can fight. And so it turns out, the new Hood is on the run for stealing diamonds from a less than reputable character referred to as ‘Rabbit’. As the episode unfolds, we see the connection between this evil man and all of the other characters.

Finally, there’s a bad guy in the county itself – Kai Proctor – who has his hand in the pocket of almost everyone; excluding the new Hood. Attempting to grease him up from the start, it becomes clear that this guy is not a man to be messed with, unbeknownst to Starr’s lead.

Top notch acting from Starr and a very convincing cast makes this premiere one that you must see! I’m absolutely hooked, and can’t wait to see what episode 2 brings!

Seen the first episode? What did you think?

Check out the trailer for The Blue Rose right here! This is looking like a great series, cannot wait until its debut!

ITV over in the UK has launched a rebrand of its stable of channels – ITV1 through ITV4, ITV HD and CITV. As part of the rebrand, ITV1 is now known simply as ‘ITV’.

Not only are new idents present, but also a complete overhaul of their logo, which was produced in-house. The update also sees ITV’s online services receive a massive update, including the ITV website (which might I say, looks very flash!).

The rebrand also sees an updated news set for their ITV News programme.

Thoughts?

February 4th will see the start of Seven Sharp, TV One’s replacement for Close Up. The show screens 7:00pm weeknights, and is hosted by Alison Mau, Greg Boyed and Jesse Mulligan.

Check out the promo vid below!

Say hello to the updated TV2! Continuing with their “I’m Free” theme, the channel received ident and PRG refreshes today, maintaining the approximate location of their watermark, and adding a touch more colour to both.

Sorry about the terrible captures! Unfortunately I have my TV tuner but no coax cable, but these should give you the gist of the new presentation.

Interesting to note, however, that the watermark is further to the right now – putting it well into widescreen territory. Usually, content is screened with concern for 4:3 ratio content, as well as today’s prevalent 16:9 ratio.

What do you think of the new look? I personally reckon that it looks nicer than before, and its nice to see more creative experimentation with the PRG. The last time I saw this kind of experimentation was when TV3 revealed their circa 2003 idents, where the program rating was in the top left of the screen, and the show name was at the bottom left (just as TV2 have done now!).

When Campbell Live returns on January 21st, it could just boast a whole new look. Here’s the new logo provided by Mediaworks, which supports the change:

Hosts for the successor of TV One’s recently dumped current affairs show, Close Up, have today been announced. In case you haven’t heard, the new show has been given the name Seven Sharp.

Greg Boyed, Alison Mau and Jesse Mulligan will take up the roles. Greg previously hosted TV One’s Tonight news bulletin, Alison is a host of Fair Go and Jesse jumps ship from TV3 comedy staple 7 Days.

Seven Sharp is expected to premiere “in a few weeks”, with announcements for Greg and Alison’s replacements, for their current roles, to be announced soon.

What do you think of the line-up?

In a land of promises of rapid television delivery, in the form of Fast Four and other campaigns, there are still a number of popular shows overseas that are unfortunately slipping through the cracks. Many popular shows in the States and even Australia are yet to impact us. So here’s my question to you all:

Which shows (which you may or may not currently acquire do you want to see on NZ TV?

I for one would love to see Suits appear here. It’s a great show which is about to return for the second part of its second season, and has already been granted a third season by its parent USA Network.

Any others?

The latest ratecards from TVNZ specify the premiere date for season 2 of Revenge – Tuesday February 5th at 8:30pm. Interestingly, Revenge moves from Monday to Tuesday.

Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice take up the Monday 8:30/9:30pm slots respectively now that Desperate Housewives has ended.

The latest partnership information from TVNZ places the premiere of season 4 of My Kitchen Rules in February. Excited?

After C4 was reduced to a channel on Freeview with no website at all, and only a rarely-updated Facebook and Twitter presence, a web property has returned for the channel:

http://www.four.co.nz/TV/Shows/C4.aspx

The sub-site also mentions that staple shows C4U and U Choose 40 will return from January. Hurrah!

No updates on when C4 will return to Freeview Satellite, however, it is speculated that it will return next month.

After a brief hiatus, my media blog is back! Although my updates this year have been sparse, thanks to completing the last year of my degree and working at the same time, I’m hoping that 2013 is better in terms of updates and keeping up with the media. I couldn’t let another year go by without a post outlining the biggest happenings in the media in 2012. This has become a tradition somewhat, this being the third year I’ve done this.

Firstly, happy holidays to everyone!

Now, time to review the year that was…

Igloo (finally) launched

After much speculation, Igloo – the free/pay TV hybrid service – launched in December. The new service offers a set-top box that receives Freeview HD, allowing consumers to opt-in to a selection of pay TV channels (from the Sky stable) for 30-days for a nominal fee. Unfortunately, continual quality control delays may have affected its uptake, but it still remains to be seen how well received Igloo will be. The delay was so great that it pushed the launch date from its original June release.

First NZ region goes digital

The first parts of New Zealand – the Hawkes Bay and West Coast – went digital in September. By the end of next year, New Zealand will be completely digital, with all analogue television transmissions switched off for good.

Mark Sainsbury ends his run at TVNZ

After the cancellation of TVNZ’s Close Up, Mark Sainsbury was sent packing from TVNZ after 30 odd years of service. The 7pm weeknight slot will now be replaced with a new show called Seven Sharp, due to start next year.

TV2 gets a refresh

The New Year saw a visual refresh of TV2, maintaining the same logo, but updating idents and other visuals to be more colourful and dynamic. The new look, while simple at first, has appeared to increase in appeal as it has featured in more scenarios which prove its worth.

TVNZ 7 axed

TVNZ 7 was given the boot, being replaced by a plus 1 channel for TV One. The new channel sees all TV One programming play an hour later, on Freeview channel 7 and SKY channel 81. The decision was met with great public outcry, yet protests and marches were unable to stop the public service channel’s demise.

Talent shows ahoy!

TVNZ launched New Zealand’s Got Talent, bringing out the best this country has to offer. Judges Ali Campbell, Rachel Hunter and Jason Kerrison analysed the talent to see who should win, eventually crowning Clara von Wel the winner. TV3 also announced The X Factor NZ, due to premiere next year. Auditions commence in January.

ChoiceTV launched

A worthy addition to the Freeview stable – ChoiceTV – hit our screens in April. The channel proved so popular that it was later added to SKY and TelstraClear services also. The channel offers a wide variety of entertainment and lifestyle shows, across themed nights.

C4 opens up on SKY

After a considerable wait, C4 was finally made available on the SKY platform – in the process, it was temporarily removed from Freeview Satellite. C4 anticipate that the channel will return to satellite viewers some time early next year.

Paul Henry departs Australian TV

After the lacklustre performance that was Channel Ten’s Breakfast, Paul Henry was relieved of his daytime television duties across the ditch. We will see what 2013 has in store for the controversial broadcaster, both locally and overseas.

And to top it all off, we appear to have survived the so-called Mayan Apocalypse! So all in all, not a bad year!

Have a great festive season, and I’ll catch you very soon for all the latest media updates (more regularly this time!)

I’m announcing today that Steven on Media is going on an indefinite hiatus. With work and other commitments, I simply don’t have the time to allocate to keeping this website up-to-date, but am hoping that as these commitments ease, I will be able to get back to writing content for the site.

I’ll let everyone know here and on the Facebook page when the site is being regularly updated again, but at the moment it’s “goodbye for now”.

Thanks to everyone who has visited the site and shown their support – very much appreciated! I’m hoping to get back into it ASAP.

Cheers!

That’s right, the boys will be back next year with a new season of The Almighty Johnsons! The new season commences filming in 2013, and will remain on TV3.

Can’t wait!

The premiere of TV One’s reboot of New Zealand’s Got Talent scored impressively for TVNZ. According to Throng.co.nz, 1.4 million Kiwis tuned into the premiere episode last night, and the Twitter hashtag shown throughout the show (#NZGT) was the top trending topic on Twitter during the show, remaining in the top 10 well after this as well.

Awesome effort TVNZ! It was definitely an interesting watch, and went from strength to strength as it went on.

TV One and TV 2 have both received an update to their rating warning screens. Previously the screens were the same across all channels – now, they are channel specific.

Below is a recording of the new TV One screen (thanks Morgan):

Today marked the end of a broadcasting era, with TVNZ 7 officially switching off at midnight. With tonight’s switch-off, New Zealand is one of only two countries in the OECD without a public service television channel – the other being Mexico. From 7:00am this morning, channel 7 on Freeview will be occupied by TV One Plus 1, a timeshift of TV One by one hour. On Sky, channel 77 will switch off, with channel 81 becoming the home of TV One Plus 1 – placing it in its own numeric bracket on the platform.

TVNZ 7 launched on the Freeview platform on 30th March 2008, and also served as a lure for people to switch over to the digital service. On 1st July 2009, TVNZ 7 and fellow channel TVNZ 6 were added to the Sky platform (on channels 16 and 77 respectively).

Popular TV show Media 7 will move to TV3 in August, taking up the name of Media 3. The fate of other popular shows, such as Back Benches, is not yet known, although it is assumed that existing factual content will make its way back to TV One.

Two videos showcasing the unfortunate close of TVNZ 7 – the final TVNZ News Now bulletin at 11:00pm, and the final moments of the channel, leading up to midnight – will be available soon. I just need to convert them and get them up on YouTube. Here’s a video of TVNZ 7′s close, courtesy of Morgan on the Facebook page:

Goodbye, TVNZ 7 – we’ll miss you! It’s an absolute shame that this government couldn’t fund the continuation of this great channel.

Brand new comedy series, Jono and Ben at Ten, starts next month. The premiere lands Friday July 13th at 10:00pm on TV3.

This is an interesting combination of comedic personalities – will be very intriguing to see how this all goes down. Apparently the series focuses on the topical events of the week in New Zealand, so it sounds a bit like 7 Days – but with only two people instead of two teams.

Are you a fan of Jono and/or Ben?

Go Girls will officially be back for a 5th season, with NZ On Air announcing their latest funding decisions yesterday. A 13 episode season is being ordered.

Also on the list is Media 3, the new name for Media 7, with 20 episodes.

Choice TV will soon be available to 100% of New Zealand’s digital TV audience, as it plans to become available on TelstraClear’s Cable TV service, Freeview Satellite and SKY. The rollout will occur as follows

• Available on TelstraClear’s T-Box service from today (Channel 78);
• Available on Freeview Satellite from the first week of July (Channel 12);
• Available as part of Sky’s Basic Package from 1st September (Channel 78).

TVNZ’s news offering will spawn a separate website from 11pm tonight – onenews.co.nz.

The new website will be separate from the main site – TVNZ.co.nz – and will give more prominence to live video. This is especially important with the Olympic Games coming up in a few months and Wimbledon, which starts streaming tonight. Other features also include a new look, designed to align the site with its television counterpart.

Look out from the new site from 11:00pm tonight!

Source: Throng

Thanks to Morgan on the Facebook page for this little gem!

At 3:55pm today, while playing an episode of Jamie Oliver’s 30 Minute Meals, programming chaos hit TV One. The episode abruptly stopped playing, before switching randomly to the start of a movie (at this stage, unidentified). After a few seconds, the movie stopped, and TV One proceeded to play a string of channel-specific idents – no commercials whatsoever. This went on for a few minutes, and returned to normal programming with a One News update at approximately 4:00pm.

Ah, the joys of television.

A brand new series is coming, from the creators of Outrageous Fortune and The Almighty Johnsons. The new show, called The Blue Rose, stars the familiar faces of Antonia Prebble (Loretta in Outrageous Fortune, Librarian/Potential Frigg in The Almighty Johnsons) and Siobhan Marshall (Pascalle from Outrageous Fortune, Female Axl in The Almighty Johnsons).

A description of the show from the media release on NZ Herald:

The pair play friends Jane and Linda, who are also the heads of the Society of the Blue Rose, a group of temps, personal assistants and computer nerds fighting for justice in between dealing with office politics.

Based on the media release, the characters were written specifically for the two actors, by New Zealand TV drama powerhouses Rachel Lang and James Griffin.

The show is expected to enter production soon, and will premiere soon after on TV3.

It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed a film here on Steven on Media – so here’s one on a highly anticipated film.

From the director of Borat and Bruno comes the latest installment in the Sacha Baron Cohen movie franchise – The Dictator. Covering the life of the dictator of the small country of Wadiya, Baron Cohen’s character, Aladeen, is forced to fly to the United States to reveal his intention for proposed nuclear weapons – only to be replaced with an impostor who will  bring democracy to the country’s residents. Torture is initially on the table for Aladeen, but he soon escapes – without his trademark beard – and no one recognises him as the leader he still is. His only means of getting back into his press conference are to work for a small organic shop, which promises to be a safe haven for all. The store represents everything that Aladeen is not, and he soon realises he must blend in so that he can regain his dictatorship. Anna Faris plays the store’s owner, and the love interest of Aladeen, as he comes to realise he is actually a nice person.

The film delivers on laughs – that’s for sure – but has to resort to some pretty crude jokes to get by. When you do see the jokes, however, it has you laughing, and you soon forget the dirty measures resorted to. Baron Cohen once again excels at playing a completely different character, although Faris’ acting feels a tad predictable – much like the film’s plot, which so unrelentingly follows in the footsteps of its predecessors. The typical “mission, spat with a loved one, solution” structure is present, and disappoints to some extent. The comedic value, ability for Baron Cohen to play a man without reserve, and the small amount of shame he has somehow redeems the show before your eyes, which makes it well worth a watch. This one feels like it harks back to the days of Ali G more than the other two, so that surely can’t be a bad thing, right?

The Dictator is currently screening in cinemas nationwide. See your local cinema for times.

Rating: ✩✩✩✩

Hello and welcome to the updated Steven on Media! This latest visual update comes after a few months of tinkering, to get the design just right. As always, your feedback and comments are very much appreciated – they’ll help make the blog even better! Is there something you love about the change? Something you hate? Tell me!

Some of the changes that have been made, for your enjoyment:

• Embedded YouTube videos in posts take up the entire width of the screen;
• Polls, search, and the video vault are located on the right-hand side of the screen. Along with this, two new features have been added: Yay or Nay, which are little snippets from the news that may be of interest (and are perhaps too short for a blog post); and What’s Hot, the evolution of my ‘Primetime Picks’ widget. Now with pictures and a little show teaser;
• The sidebar ‘widgets’ can be expanded and collapsed if desired, so you can hide what you don’t want to see. And your preferences are remembered on your own computer, so the next time you come back, the sidebar will be as you left it;
• A new layout, with emphasis on content, has been introduced – fonts have been enlarged, and descriptions have been removed from the home page – making navigation through news stories a breeze;
• The left-hand side houses categories, social links and other interesting things;
• Comments are now laid out as a forum thread, to make them a bit more presentable. See an example with quite a few comments;
• Comments from me are marked in blue;
• And there are now nicer looking smilies – so feel free to use them to your heart’s content!

Please, tell your friends about Steven on Media – spread the word via Facebook, Twitter or even YouTube. Links are on the left. Enjoy!

It’s that time of year again – when the networks in the States decide what’s staying and what’s being kicked out of their line-ups. And here are the current results:

Castle – Renewed Criminal Minds – Renewed Person Of Interest – Renewed Harry’s Law – Canceled
Body Of Proof – Renewed Cougar Town – Renewed, but moving to TBS Grey’s Anatomy – Renewed Happy Endings – Renewed The Middle – Renewed Once Upon A Time – Renewed Private Practice – Renewed Revenge – Renewed Suburgatory – Renewed 2 Broke Girls – Renewed The Big Bang Theory – Renewed The Mentalist – Renewed Mike & Molly – Renewed Two and a Half Men – Renewed Hart of Dixie – Renewed Gossip Girl – Renewed Supernatural – Renewed The Vampire Diaries – Renewed Fringe – Renewed Desperate Housewives – Final Season GCB – Canceled Are You There, Chelsea? – Canceled Pan Am – Canceled Work It! – Canceled I Hate My Teenage Daughter – Canceled
Last Man Standing – Renewed Modern Family – Renewed CSI – Renewed CSI: NY – Renewed The Good Wife – Renewed Hawaii Five-0 – Renewed NCIS – Renewed NCIS: LA – Renewed Bones – Renewed Glee – Renewed Raising Hope – Renewed Touch – Renewed Law & Order: SVU – Renewed CSI: Miami – Canceled The Finder – Canceled Awake – Canceled House – Final Season Terra Nova – Canceled
Don’t Trust The B—- in Apartment 23 – Renewed 90210 – Renewed Parenthood – Renewed American Dad – Renewed The Cleveland Show – Renewed Family Guy – Renewed New Girl – Renewed The Simpsons – Renewed Bob’s Burgers – Renewed 30 Rock – Renewed Community – Renewed The Office – Renewed Parks & Recreation – Renewed Rules of Engagement – Unsure

What are your thoughts? Interesting how shows such as Pan Am and GCB (the latter starts next week) haven’t even aired here yet, but are goners. No surprise though, this happens all too often and the end result is poor scheduling of shows that actually have some quality left in them *cough* Reaper *cough*.

I’d already watched I Hate My Teenage Daughter in my own time, and really liked it, but it was a bit weak to stay afloat. As for The Finder, I feel the idea was interesting enough, but the execution not so much – I could never bring myself to see past episode one.

Source: TV by the Numbers

It’s a phrase that’s being thrown around a lot as of the past few days – “One + 1 does not equal 7″. And it aptly describes TVNZ’s intended direction in replacing TVNZ 7.

When TVNZ’s free-to-air public service offering goes off the air next month, it will be replaced with a mundane excuse for a channel. Citing the overseas success of “+ 1″ channels, TVNZ have jumped on the bandwagon of offering one – joining Mediaworks in the affair.

While Mediaworks’ TV3 + 1 was an insult when first unveiled to the expectant New Zealand public, it appears as a shimmering example of television compared to what TV One has done. It’s not just the fact that it’s a timeshifted channel, but what it’s replacing that’s so horrendous. Replacing quality, public service television with a duplicate of another channel is a feeble attempt at filling the void, to say the least. The way I see it, it’s TVNZ’s way of reducing their free-to-air ‘obligation’, and being able to center more time on the launch of Igloo later this year.

Other players have managed to release compelling offerings for the Freeview platform – just look at the success that Choice TV has had since launch. With this being the year that the analogue switch-off commences, why would you want to jeopardise the chances of its uptake? It would more understandable if On Demand services weren’t available, but their ease of access makes this offering even more disgraceful.

So, TVNZ, One + 1 is not a viable replacement for TVNZ 7. It’s now going to be an even sadder day when TVNZ 7 fades to black.

With news of The GC starting on May 2nd, an interesting thought popped into my mind – is TV3 facing an identity crisis around its target audience?

Shows such as The GC, the expected, tentatively named ‘Keeping Up with The Ridges’ and even Glee are making the channel appear as though it doesn’t understand where its channel should be, in its proposed shift from an 18-49 demographic to 25-54. These shows have so much more appeal with the younger audiences that FOUR is taking in, so why not move them there?

TV3 projects an outward personality comprising informative and, well, older. So, why aren’t younger shows, like Glee and even Home and Away making the move to FOUR? Is the audience overlap between the two channels too close, or do people associate very closely with TV3 as the home of these shows? I’ve had this overwhelming feeling that Glee has long belonged on FOUR – in fact, I was incredibly surprised when it wasn’t part of the list of shows making the jump. It doesn’t seem to sit right alongside the plethora of crime dramas TV3 is snapping up.

What are your thoughts – is TV3 confused or not?

Madeleine Sami’s Super City has been picked up for adaptation by US network ABC. The series is directed by well-known Kiwi director Taika Waititi (director of Boy).

The six-part comedy series features Sami playing all five main characters: Azeem, an Iranian cab driver; Pasha, a 30-year old going on 18; Georgie, a homeless woman who finds a lost baby; Jo, a lesbian personal trainer who’s desperately in love with her co-worker; and Linda, a well-to-do woman with goals of finding the next big thing in art.

Congratulations to the team for getting picked up overseas! Although I do have my doubts about whether or not this will take off – just look at Outrageous Fortune before it.

ChoiceTV have today made available their full 30 minute promotional loop. Check it out below.

ChoiceTV Preview Loop from Top Shelf Productions Limited on Vimeo.

The promotional loop for Choice TV (weighing in at 22 seconds long) is currently playing on Freeview HD, channel 12.

If you don’t get Freeview HD, see it for yourself here:

Sunday May 6th, at 7:30pm, will see the New Zealand premiere of the 500th episode of The Simpsons, and in the week leading up to this 500th episode, viewers have the chance to pick their favourite episodes.

The selected favourite episodes will be played from Monday April 30th – Friday May 4th at 7:00pm. To choose your favourites, vote now at FOUR.co.nz.

Hilarity is bound to ensue when Graham Norton returns with brand new episodes of his hit series, The Graham Norton Show, Friday May 4th at 8:30pm.

In the meantime, TV3 will play The Best Of Graham Norton, Fridays at 8:30pm.

TV3′s new series, The GC, starts Wednesday May 2nd at 8:00pm.

The new half-hour series, which appears to be New Zealand and Australia’s answer to the US’s Jersey Shore and the UK’s Geordie Shore, looks at the lives of young Maori looking to jump the ditch to Australia, for money and for play.

I’m back to blogging after a bit of a hiatus! And to exciting news, as the ChoiceTV Sales Reel has been released by the Choice TV team. With the launch fast approaching (April 28), the information is starting to come in, and the full schedule for the channel is expected to be released very shortly.

Check out the reel below for exciting information, including some of the shows you can expect – Better Homes and Gardens, What’s Really In Our Food and more. The vibe I’m getting from this channel is a combination of Food TV and the Living Channel currently on Sky. Sounds like a fantastic addition to the Freeview lineup.

Quickflix, a new movie and television streaming website, launched today in Auckland. The Australian-based website offers unlimited streaming of movies and TV content for $9.99 a month (introductory offer; regularly $16.99).

Launch content includes a wide array of movies and initially a small catalogue of BBC content, including Doctor Who.

Various sources are stating that Quickflix poses a threat to Sky Television’s pay TV offering – however, with the small quantity of initial content, that could be brought into question.

Slingshot is the first ISP to offer the service unmetered, starting from tomorrow. Orcon plans to follow suit from May.

It has been confirmed that Carly Flynn, of Sunrise and Nightline fame, will replace Jeanette Thomas as host of Target.

Jeanette had previously forfeited the role to host TVNZ’s Good Morning.

Target returns to TV3 at 7:30pm on Tuesday, April 2.

New series Touch, starring Kiefer Sutherland and Danny Glover, makes it way to New Zealand shores this Sunday, 8:30pm on TV3.

The series has been highly anticipated, and is based around a widower (Sutherland) who’s 11 year old son can predict events before they happen.

Will you be watching?

Just caught wind of this now. Remember the series Big Love? If you’re an avid watcher, you’re probably watching the series final right now (TV One, 11pm). If not, you may be intrigued to know that tonight marked the end of the series.

I used to watch the show, but my interest faded after a couple of episodes. Anyone out there a big fan?

Today marks one year since newcomer TVNZ U launched on the Freeview and Sky platforms, replacing TVNZ 6 on March 13th, 2011.

Happy Birthday TVNZ U!

New series The Finder, which is in fact a series spin-off from a special episode of Bones, premieres Thursday March 22nd at 8:30pm on TV3.

The series revolves around main man Walter Sherman, a former US soldier who has an uncanny ability of getting to the bottom of just about any mystery and, well, in general being able to find anything.

Will you be watching?

After 16 episodes, reports are circling that Revenge has been placed on a four week hiatus, which makes its future uncertain. The show may fall out of favor with its current audience (myself included), which could result in the inevitable chop (through a ratings slide).

4 episodes of the series have already aired here in New Zealand.

The latest ratings figures are in for The Almighty Johnsons, and based on scheduled viewing (excluding On Demand viewing), they aren’t looking too good. Since I just love a good graph, here they are in visual form:

(Ratings figures are courtesy of Throng.co.nz, and do not include On Demand or time-shifted viewership)

The first season premiere drew in a fantastic 334,480 viewers, compared to only 184,460 for the second season launcher.

I’ll admit, the second series (for me) hasn’t had the same excitement as the first – when I saw the first episode, I felt a bit alienated from the whole series, as though a significant amount had happened with little to no explanation – contrast this to Go Girls, whose leap one year into the future seems to have worked out well, since it didn’t have the same alientating factor and the ‘Amy’s Diary’ special to reacquaint viewers.

On the other hand, it took me a few episodes to warm to the series in general – but I stuck with it, and that turned out to be a great decision. Perhaps ratings figures will increase over time – or is TV3 doing enough to promote the series? There have been notable advertisments featuring the ‘Oh My Gods’ tagline, although these have only really came out of the woodwork a few days before the new season landed on screens.

Jay Ryan, known for his appearances in local hit Go Girls, Neighbours, Legend of the Seeker and Offspring, has landed the lead male role in new CW series, Beauty and the Beast.

The launch date for the series in New Zealand is not yet known.

February 22nd marks one year since the devastating Christchurch Earthquake that took the lives of 185 people. In rememberance of those lives lost, the following programmes will broadcast today.

TV One, 12:00pm - The Christchurch Earthquake Memorial Service

TV3, 8:00am and 12:00pm – Memorial coverage

TV3, 7:30pm – When a City Falls – Television Event

NZ Herald are also offering a 12 hour live stream, from 7am to 7pm, of various content pertaining to the anniversary, via YouTube.

To help jog your memory on what happened in the Season 1 finale of The Almighty Johnsons, TV3 will be playing a repeat of that very episode on Saturday February 25th at 9:30pm. This is all in preparation for the season 2 premiere on Wednesday 29th February at 8:30pm.

It’s oh so close now!

Tonight saw the much anticipated season return of Go Girls on TV2. Entering it’s 4th season, the series took a risky move and jumped ahead a whole year – leaving a fair bit unexplained and resulting in great intrigue for fans of the show. Tonight’s explosive season opener was filled with drama, shock and a touch of romance fit for its Valentine’s Day return.

We open to Kevin, driving down the road in a casual manner, but to where? We later discover he has become tired of his humdrum life of matrimony to Amanda. A year after getting hitched, “something inside [him] snapped” and he takes off from his peaceful home in Thames, to return to the shore to join in Amy’s celebratory party – she’s just landed a job as a lawyer.

Tonight’s episode was all about consequences – firstly, the consequences of Britta telling Kevin that the baby is in fact his, and not Leo’s, those of Amy and Kevin telling each other they have loved one another for a long time – the consequences of Kevin leaving Amanda to return to his true home. The latter of which lands Kevin in some very hot water. Water so hot, in fact, that he ends up in hospital as a result of a beating from Amanda’s overbearing family.

Making it through surgery, Kevin admits his feelings – that he truly loves Amy in a platonic way – but not before Amy beats him to the punch. Now, if you’re a regular watcher, you’ll know this little back and forth has been going on for a long time, but it finally saw some development tonight.

Kevin decides to stay put back on the North Shore, Britta decides not to tell anyone (except Leo) about the baby’s paternal roots and Amy starts her new job as a lawyer next episode. And there are developments in store for Cody and Olivia next time, it seems.

A fantastic opener for series 4 – gripping stuff, and the year that was skipped was explained pretty well, not just through the Amy’s Diary special, but also through flashbacks throughout the episode. I get the feeling more of these pertinent events will be revealed in coming weeks – just as swiftly as it was revealed that Olivia’s dad had died of a heart attack in the year that passed.

Here’s hoping for a great continuation next week – full steam ahead for the Go Girls!

Go Girls, Tuesdays 8:30pm, 

Take your typical story of the two-sided coin – ‘forgive and forget’ versus ‘pay back’ – add some extra spice and some dark circumstances, and you’ll find the resultant concoction coming out as Revenge – a tale of betrayal, deceit and the framing of an innocent man; the daughter of whom plans to seek said revenge in a way that initially seems unclear, but develops over the course of the series’ pilot episode.

The series opens with a flash-forward to an engagement party, for a girl known only by her first name, and the revelation that her fiancé has been murdered on the beach. The fiancé, it turns out, is the son of a cold-faced, but powerful concealer of raw human emotion – who comes into play later.

Jump back 5 months – armed with an alias and masquerading under a different visual identity, we are introduced to Emily Thorne – a mysterious character who returns to the Hamptons, and to a beach front property frequented by herself and her father.  What follows is the unraveling of the mysterious fabric that is her life. We discover that her father was framed for terrorist activity by the very people who knew him – apparently quite well. As a result, we discover, through a friend of her father’s who was unaware of her return, that this woman is in fact called Amanda Clarke.

Including acts such as attempting to poison one of the perpetrators, and messing with the lives of those involved (such as the mother of the aforementioned fiancé), she instantly establishes herself as the ultimate vigilante – taking pay back in whichever form she can get, in as subtle a way as possible.

Emily VanCamp pulls off the protagonist very well, and the undertones of the Stepford Wives contained within makes the series dark and delightfully intriguing at the same time. A must watch for next week – hope you’ll tune in to see how this one pans out!

Revenge, Mondays 9:30pm, 

A new look Good Morning returned this morning at 9:00am, with some new and old faces – including Rod Cheeseman (formerly of Sunrise), Jeanette Thomas (of Target fame), Astar and Maitai Smith.

Check out the gallery below to see the updates for yourself. I’m a huge fan of the new titles, and the studio definitely looks a lot brighter than previous iterations.

I wasn’t fond of the presenter combination at first, however, I have definitely warmed to it! They seem to be filling their roles rather well. Although I still see Jeanette as the investigative reporter type, so it will be interesting if that perspective of her can be shaken over time.

A major loss today for the music world – renowned singer Whitney Houston has passed away at the age of 48.

R.I.P Whitney – your music will be remembered and hopefully treasured by generations to come.

Thanks again to Josh on Facebook for noticing!

TVNZ U’s downtime, which is currently 12am to 12pm, is being replaced with Infomercials, as of midnight tonight. This downtime was previously filled with notification of the channel returning at midday.

From one viewpoint, it makes commercial sense to do something with the empty space, that could see some financial gain, however, from a viewer’s perspective, the question is begged as to why the channel isn’t playing meaningful content at this time instead? Infomercials do represent a solution that requires minimal financial input from the channel (in the form of not needing to purchase content), and brings some results from early morning watchers. Reminds me of an episode of the Gruen Transfer, where the effect of Informercials was discussed.

Thoughts?

FOUR Live starts tomorrow at 4:30pm. In case you haven’t heard, this is the replacement for Drew and Shannon Live - Shannon remains as a host, but Drew has decided not to continue, in order to pursue his music career.

Check out the teaser video below (apparently 4:30pm is a ‘weeknight’ timeslot as opposed to a ‘weekday’ timeslot?):

Thanks again to Josh on Facebook for the tip-off!

A brand new channel, Choice TV, is set to launch this April on Freeview HD. It is currently proposed to sit at either channel 12 or 13 on the platform, and is operated in part by Top Shelf Productions (who, interestingly enough, produce Media7 for TVNZ 7 – potential new home if TVNZ 7 can’t continue?).

Providing a variety of lifestyle and entertainment programming, Top Shelf have also formed a business relationship with RTL Festival, who will provide international content including the Cannes Film Festival in May of this year.

Sounds very interesting! Keep your eyes peeled for the launch on Freeview HD.

Cheers again to Josh on Facebook for the tip-off!

TVNZ’s decision to lease the TVNZ 7 frequency, for use by a NZ version of The Shopping Channel, has officially been canned – while the future of the channel and frequency is still uncertain, there are hints that TVNZ 7 may switch to a commercial model (which doesn’t seem to go in hand in hand with the public service model).

Thank goodness for The Shopping Channel plans being derailed!

It’s official, folks – The Almighty Johnsons returns for a brand new season on Wednesday February 29th, 8:30pm on TV3! Get ready for what looks to be a very epic new season!

What a great way to end the week!

The eighth, and current, season of House will indeed be its last. Star Hugh Laurie and series executive producers David Shore and Katie Jacobs made the announcement today.

After much deliberation, the producers of House M.D. have decided that this season of the show, the 8th, should be the last.  By April this year they will have completed 177 episodes, which is about 175 more than anyone expected back in 2004.

This 8th season is due to premiere on TV3 this coming Sunday (12th February) at 8:30pm.

Never watched it personally, but know that it is much loved. Did you catch any episodes of House?

Source: http://www.tvguide.com/News/House-Canceled-Fox-1042903.aspx

When Freeview was just in its infancy, hobbyists were scrambling for their TV tuners and expensive set-top boxes to discover the new service on offer to the public – the allure of free-to-air digital television was all too great.

Fast-forward some 5-odd years, and the landscape has been a never-ending flip-flop in terms of quality entertainment for the platform – one minute, there are an abundance of promising channels and the next, that offering is pulled away from the table in a rapid fashion. Promises of Stratos and TVNZ 7 saw the dawn of quality public service broadcasting in this country – and years later, they were pulled from our reach. Rising costs saw the demise of Stratos, while TVNZ’s offering is headed to the chopping block in June. But what’s even more devastating is the latter’s replacement.

Announced in early December last year, the replacement being ushered in is The Shopping Channel - with a name instantly revealing its proposed content, this channel aims to be a semi-live shopping channel – up to 9 hours a day – with certain delayed shopping offerings played later. Launching on Freeview and Sky in June, with a website due as early as April, the outlook for Freeview is looking bleak, bringing nothing much to the table – aside from the usual depressing content people don’t want to see (no matter how strong the business case may be).

The future frequency for this channel is being leased by no other than TVNZ, in a move that could be viewed as a sabotage of Freeview’s free-to-air offering. Now don’t get me wrong – TVNZ have a very strong interest in operating alongside Sky to bring Igloo in the first half of this year, and they’ll want Freeview to do well; the latter being necessary because they won’t have a core foundation for Igloo otherwise. However, are TVNZ trying to make Freeview look bad in the eyes of Joe Public, who doesn’t want the usual bombardment of international channels (no offense intended) and 24/7 televised shopping? It would make sense, and make Igloo appear as a more viable and attractive option, especially due to its part free, part paid nature. It certainly begs the question, at least.

Thoughts?

Thanks again to Josh on Facebook for the tip-off on this one!

A new lifestyle channel is to be announced, exclusively for the Freeview|HD platform. The full announcement, due to be made this week, has been well and truly hinted at on Freeview’s Facebook page:

“Freeview dosn’t control content or transmission of channels so the lifestyle channel , to be announced this week, is not a replacement for Stratos but is a new channel for Freeview|HD viewers.” (sic)

Very interesting indeed! Any theories on what you think it’ll be?

Today marks the 1st birthday of FOUR, which launched at 6pm on Sunday Feburary 6th 2011.

Congratulations on being the most-liked channel on Facebook too (you may have seen this on billboards around NZ when advertising New Girl – 96,444 likes at the time of this post!

Thanks to Josh on the Facebook page for the tip off!

C4′s random line up of themed shows has returned for 2012 – shows such as What’s The Theme?, Common Ground, Top Ten and The Big Breakfast are back from Monday 6th February.

C4 previously took a scheduling break in the new year, screening only Blender and C42 in large blocks. Looks like the schedulers have returned!

TV9, a channel owned by the same entity as CTV8 (already on Freeview|HD), launched today on the platform, residing on channel 29.

The channel will be the entity’s first English language channel, as CTV8 currently broadcasts in Chinese. Also among the offerings are eight pay TV channels, which currently exist on the Sky platform, and a new radio station (also launching today) – Radio 9 – which will accompany their existing radio offerings.

The Syfy channel in the UK will start screening The Almighty Johnsons from tomorrow evening – Thursdays at 10pm.

Would love to hear what the Brits think of the series after it has premiered!

Comedic hit 7 Days returns to our screens with brand new episodes, Friday February 17th, at 9:30pm on TV3. Unlike Drew and Shannon, this series won’t be facing any change to the dynamic trio that head the powerful ship that this show is – Jeremy Corbett remains host, and Paul Ego and Dai Henwood stay on as team leaders.

Looking forward to it!

Another change to the return date of popular comedy/drama Glee - the third season is set to premiere Friday, February 24th – at 7:30pm – the week after X Factor Australia finishes screening on TV3.

This comes after speculation that the new season may start March 9th. The latest ratecard from Mediaworks appears to revise this date.

New local comedy series Would I Lie To You?, featuring Paul Henry, Jessie Mulligan and Jon Bridges, is set to premiere Sunday February 12th at 7:00pm on TV3.

The series features Henry as host, and Mulligan and Bridges as team leaders – the latter of which must separate the truth from the lies in what they are being told. Looks like it’ll follow a 7 Days style format, just without the current affairs and (I’m guessing) various different segments. Very keen to see it!

It’s official – Mediaworks have announced that Drew and Shannon Live is being superseded by FOUR Live, which revolves around the same premise – although the name does pose the question of who will be hosting the new show. If recent events are anything to go by, Drew is out of the picture – but will Shannon stay, or is a new team being decided upon?

All will be revealed when the show returns to FOUR on Monday February 13.

Genuinely brand new episodes of Family Guy return to FOUR at long last, kicking off the 11th season of the popular series, February 5th at 8:00pm.

The new season opener sees the Griffin family win big in the local lottery – with undesirable consequences resulting from a power-hungry Peter. An episode not to be missed, and a premiere that could only be better if FOUR were broadcast in HD.

It’s that time of year again – when the 2012 season officially kicks off. And, from Sunday 12th February, TV2′s new season does just that. Here’s an overview of the new shows hitting screens. What are your thoughts on the premieres?

Sunday

Mike and Molly - Sundays 7:30pm – brand new episodes see the series pick up where it left off at the end of last season – with the engagement party. What will this new season have in store for the couple?

Happily Divorced - Sundays 8:00pm – brand new series staring Fran Drescher, in which her husband announces, after 18 years of marriage, that he is gay. This comedy sees the juggling of this new found knowledge with relationships for both her and her husband. Looks pretty good!

Monday

The Amazing Race - Mondays 7:30pm – replacing Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, the new series of the race kicks off in the usual fast paced fashion.

Desperate Housewives – Mondays 8:30pm – back in its regular timeslot for the last time, this season sees one last visit to the girls on Wisteria Lane, and I’m sure the usual mystery that shrouds their day-to-day lives. Don’t miss this concluding season!

Revenge - Mondays 9:30pm – this new series sees the central character return to a ritzy life, but with a hidden agenda - to get revenge on the community that framed her innocent father so many years ago. Looks like it’s going to be a good one!

Drop Dead Diva - Mondays 10:30pm – new season with the usual humour and emotion no doubt!

Tuesday

The Middle - Tuesdays 7:30pm – in its new found timeslot, the Heck’s return for another hilarious season of this great comedy. Definitely prefer this over Modern Family!

Suburgatory - Tuesdays 8:00pm – a great compliment to The Middle, this new series sees a regular teenager plucked from New York City and transplanted into the ‘burbs.

Go Girls - Tuesdays 8:30pm – the 4th season sees the return of familiar faces, but how different will things be now that the series has jumped forward a year? Also, don’t miss the special Amy’s Diary next week, Tuesday 10:00pm.

Wednesday

Happy Endings - Wednesday 9:00pm – returning for a second season, the usual tales of the group with an interesting history continue. Really excited for this one! Don’t forget to catch encore screenings, tonight at 10:40pm and next Monday at 11:00pm.

These are the highlights of the new season launch – what will you be tuning in for? Anything not listed here you’ll be watching?

Taking full advantage of FOUR’s advance screening of New Girl (which you can also do here), the wait was finally over – it was time to see what the much-hyped New Girl was all about. And straight up – I wasn’t disappointed at all.

The series opens with Jess, describing how she caught her boyfriend having an affair, and the resulting break-up. On her quest to find new roommates, she meets 3 very different guys, all living together – Schmidt, a ladies man, ‘Coach’, a personal trainer who doesn’t know how to talk to girls, and Nick, who’s caught in the middle of the other two (as a side-note, Coach is actually replaced after the pilot, as he wanted to continue pursuing his role as Brad on Happy Endings). Her quest abruptly ends here, and hilarious encounters and antics ensue.

Jess isn’t your ordinary girl – she likes to sing to herself, has an obsession with Dirty Dancing, and is quirky to say the least – all of which is executed very well by Zooey Deschanel. That, plus the three male roommates, create the feeling that this series is going to be a rollercoaster of hilarity right from the get-go.

Although the series has the scent of sterotypical modern American subcultures (like those tagging people ‘douche’ and ‘broseph’), the smell of cliche-free quirkiness overpowers, and the two mesh perfectly together to create an interesting aroma.

The first episode closes with a real friendship forming between the unlikely 4 – who look after Jess when a seemingly perfect date goes awry.

I’ll definitely be tuning in for episode 2, which screens Tuesday 14th Feburary at 8:00pm on .

New Girl – Tuesdays 8:00pm from Tuesday 7th February; the first episode is available on demand in advance.

In case you weren’t aware, encore screenings of Happy Endings have been playing on TV2 at 10:30pm on Monday nights. The final encore screening looks set to play February 6th at 11:00pm. If you haven’t seen Happy Endings, now is your chance to catch two episodes from Season 1, before the new season starts this year – it’s a great show! I didn’t get into it at first, but have now and have found it to be hilarious.

Drop Dead Diva looks set to return for its second season, Monday February 13th at 10:30pm, on TV2. The later time slot may be reflective of a decrease in viewership in the first season.

Looking forward to the return?

Go Girls looks set to return to TV2 on February 14th, judging by the latest ratecard release from TVNZ. The series reprises its Tuesday 8:30pm timeslot.

Perfect timing for Valentines Day!

The final season of Desperate Housewives appears set for a Monday, February 13th return to TV2, at 8:30pm.

TVNZ’s latest ratecard releases signal this return, which is in line with the premiere dates for previous years.

The return of TV3′s early morning news show Firstline, for 2012, has seen a minor update in the form of a refreshed set.

I’ll admit, when I heard news of a new set, I imagined something bigger and more visionary – however, this new set merely brings Firstline’s news presentation more in line with that of its big brother, 3 News.

A screen capture of the updated set is below.

TVNZ’s Close Up today received a refresh to bring it into line with the refreshes received by One News and Breakfast earlier today. The update makes use of the refreshed news set to great effect, and looks classy indeed. The titles haven’t been refreshed all that much, however, they now have a 3-dimensional effect added to them to support the set.

Fantastic cohesion across all 3 sets – great work TVNZ!

TVNZ’s One News today received a refresh to match that issued to Breakfast this morning at 6:00am. The following gallery features screen captures from the midday broadcast.

The titles remain very similar to those seen previously – they have merely been updated to better reflect the new set. I was secretly hoping for something revolutionary in the way One News presented itself (to really give 3 News a run for their money), or information, however, the changes to the textual representation of elements is minimal. Hopefully the next refresh will see some bigger changes.

Say hello to the all new Breakfast that launched this morning at 6:00am. The new start time comes after AMP Business was axed, in favour of an extension of duration for the popular early morning show.

In my opinion, a beautiful refresh! Especially when compared to the previous design – which seemed to be lacking life, which is not a good thing for something a lot of people wake up to. The vibrant colours aren’t too bright, but are bright enough to be something worth getting up for. Great effort TVNZ.

Check out the gallery below to see the refresh, or take a tour behind the scenes with TVNZ’s official walkthrough. Stay tuned for the relaunch of One News today at midday.

The highly anticipated new series, New Girl, looks set to will premiere February 7th at 8:00pm on FOUR, judging by the latest Ratecard information to come from Mediaworks. The trailer for this new show is below, in case you haven’t seen it yet.

Update: I meant Tuesday 7th February, but typed February 6th before for some reason – my bad! Also, FOUR’s Facebook page has now confirmed the premiere date, with an advance screening On Demand from Friday 27th January.

Several launch dates have now been announced for TV2′s New Season, including:

• Go Girls: No official launch date yet, but viewers are getting a tantalising insight into what happened in the year that is skipped when Series 4 premieres. A special, Amy’s Diary, screens Tuesday February 7th at 10pm, to help fill in the gaps and set a solid starting ground for the new season.
• Two and a Half Men: It’s the season that sees the absence of Charlie Sheen, and Ashton Kutcher taking his place. The new season kicks off at 7:30pm on Wednesday, Feburary 8th, with the final five episodes of the previous season screening back-to-back on Tuesday February 7th at 7:30pm.
• 2 Broke Girls: A new series that sees two young women looking to make it big in New York – if they can just pay their rent first. The brand new series kicks off Wednesday February 8th at 8:00pm.
• The Big Bang Theory: An all new season of the hit show lands on our screens Wednesday Februrary 8th at 8:30pm.
• The Walking Dead: Season 2 premieres Wednesday February 8th at 9:00pm.
• Police Ten 7 and Motorway Patrol: All new seasons are along Thursday February 9th from 7:30pm.
• Once Upon A Time: A brand new series fusing classic fairytales with real-life encounters. Thursday February 9th at 8:30pm.
• 20/20: Returning to screens with a new but familiar host – Sonya Wilson – Thursday February 9th at 9:30pm.

Phew! Looks set to be an interesting week of premieres for TV2!

Remember Sabrina: The Teenage Witch? Well, Mediaworks have obtained the rights to play it, and it will return to free-to-air, on FOUR, on Saturday 12th February at 5:00pm, also screening at the same time on Sunday.

Relive the memories!

Thanks to Tom for pointing this out!

Looking at the latest ratecards from Mediaworks, it appears a new name may be in order for Drew and Shannon Live – the name FOUR Live has been adopted for said ratecards, and this could signal a change to presenters or perhaps a shake-up in the overall presentation of the show. Will be interesting to see what happens!

On that note, the return date for this show looks like it has moved to February 13th.

Oxygen have officially announced that The Glee Project has been renewed for a second season. The series has seen winners Samuel Larsen, Damian McGinty, Alex Newell and Lindsay Pearce each receive episode arcs on the series, with Damian having his extended.

This series will be particularly interesting seeing as how the Glee cast is graduating at the end of this season – will be a good excuse to get some fresh talent in!

It’s about as close as Free-To-Air television comes to having marathons, but the final four episodes of The Big Bang Theory’s fourth season will screen back-to-back on Wednesday 1st February 2012.

Starting at 7:30pm, TV2 have advertised this on their advertising opportunities site as a ‘marathon’, which I suppose is technically correct in the free-to-air domain.

That 70′s Show has held the coveted position of 6:30pm weeknights since the launch of FOUR. And now, Futurama is coming along to take its place. That’s right, from Monday January 30th, Futurama takes up its new post at 6:30pm weeknights. Join the classic misadventures of Bender, Fry, Leela and the rest of the Planet Express crew on FOUR.

Update: That 70′s Show replaces Two Guys and a Girl at 6:00pm.

After this Friday’s Big Day Out, Auckland will no longer play host to the annual music festival, after a strong 18 years.

The music festival is departing New Zealand shores, citing poor ticket sales – such poor ticket sales that ‘bonus offers’ had to be instated, and Mt Smart Stadium owner Auckland Council wanted to ensure, late last year, that the festival was actually going ahead in light of reduced uptake.

Australian operations are also set for a downsize from next year, with some locations reducing the number of stages on offer.