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| Country | New Zealand |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | national metropolitan |
| Programming | |
| Picture format | 16:9 (576i,SDTV) |
| Timeshift service |
|
| Ownership | |
| Owner | TVWorks (1997 Original) MediaWorks New Zealand (2011 relaunch) |
| Sister channels | |
| History | |
| Launched | Original (as TV4) 29 June 1997 (1997-06-29) Relaunch (as FOUR) 6 February 2011 (2011-02-06) |
| Closed | Original (as TV4) 3 October 2003 (2003-10-03) Final (as FOUR) 2 July 2016 (2016-07-02) |
| Replaced by | |
| Former names | TV4 (1997 - 2003) |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| DVB64-QAM on band IV | |
Four (stylised asFOUR; formerlyTV4) was the second New Zealandtelevision channel owned and operated byMediaWorks New Zealand, broadcast via the state-ownedKordia transmission network. The channel launched on 29 June 1997 as TV4 and was replaced byC4 on 3 October 2003. It was relaunched on 6 February 2011 as a separate channel from C4.
On 2 July 2016, Mediaworks closed Four and replaced it withBravo as part of a deal withNBC Universal.[1]
In general, the channel's target audience was 18- to 49-year-olds and could be broader in its appeal, with programming which attracted a wider, and more mature audience. During early mornings and late afternoons the channel screened a range of children's programming such asSesame Street and in the evenings screened shows aimed at the mainstream audience. Overnight and late mornings – early afternoons the channel screenedInfomercials and Auto TV (Car Commercials). Four broadcast mostly American programming, with the exception ofSticky TV,Four Live, andSmash, which were in-house produced Auckland-hosted youth shows, and thePukana youth show, which was produced from a Maori language government fund.Pukana also airs on one of the two government funded Maori language channels.
The history of Four dates back to 1997 when TV3 decided to launch a second TV channel called TV4. TV4 was an entertainment network catering to the 15-39 demographic and screened a wide range of imported shows, mainly from Viacom's catalogue, such asSouth Park,Beverly Hills 90210,Beavis and Butt-Head.[2] After 2000, new programming was scarce, with the infiltration of 1980's and 1990's repeats. On October 3, 2003, TV4 was replaced by music channelC4.
On 6 February 2011, TV4 returned as Four. MediaWorks announced this in October 2010, and said the new network would focus on children's programming during the day and a range of shows aimed at the 18-to-49-year-old audience in the evening. The first programme to air on Four wasThe Simpsons episode "Elementary School Musical" (not coincidentally featuring New Zealand bandFlight of the Conchords).
At the end of 2012, Four began screening some new episodes of shows within seven days of the show being broadcasting in the United States under theFast Four brand. Examples of shows includeThe Simpsons,Family Guy,Glee andHow I Met Your Mother. New Zealand TV networks typically start screening most US television series around five months after the original release, usually first screening in late January or February at the end of the New Zealand summer, catching up to the US at the end of the season as all 22 episodes are broadcast week-after-week, not spread out over nine months as in the US. The transition of shows likeGlee from TV3 to Four also lost the NZ On Air funding that is given to TV3 to getEIA-608 captions converted from source masters to the preferred Teletext format by TVNZ's Access Services. As New Zealand broadcasters are completely reliant on this process for program subtitling.
The final ever show to air on FOUR wasThe Biggest Loser. At 10:50 pm on Saturday 2 July 2016, the channel closed with Feist singing "1234" (the sameSesame Street song that was used to relaunch the channel back in February 2011); the channel then faded to black.
After its closure, the replacement channel was not well-received by parents, who saw the removal of the early morning children's slot in favour of infomercials. A small number of programmes moved to TV3 and 3NOW, whileSesame Street was removed completely, later moving to competitorTVNZ 2.[3]
Four Plus 1 was a timeshift service that MediaWorks launched on 27 June 2014. It was a standard hour-delayedtimeshift channel of the Four broadcast. Four Plus 1 was initially only available on digital terrestrial with satellite launched a week later on Sky's fifth digital transport.[4] It was replaced byBravo Plus 1 on 3 July 2016, when Bravo replaced Four.
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