TelstraClear enters NZ cellphone market

A cellphone pricing war is about to erupt in New Zealand as Telecom and Vodafone will finally have a new competitor from tomorrow.

TelstraClear will launch their own mobile network to the public tomorrow, with what they are describing as a "staggeringly cheap" alternative to the two current providers.

The deal will be announced in television advertisements tonight, but is said to include a free Nokia handset worth nearly $500 with 500 free texts to both rival networks and a flat 29c per minute national calling, with a monthly access fee of $20.

However the main catch with this deal is that customers will need to be signed up to one of TelstraClear's homeline and broadband plans in order to be eligible. This could pose a problem to customers wanting to change their mobile provider, as many ISP's have now locked their customers into contracts of at least 12 months.

The Commerce Comission announced earlier this year that both Telecom and Vodafone's prices were too expensive by international standards. The introduction of TelstraClear into the market is expected to force them to lower their prices, which at the end of the day will see every consumer come out as the winner.

One News eyeing up TV3 staff

TV3's Shaun Summerfield is reportedly the top contender for the position of new One News sports presenter - a role left vacant by disgraced broadcaster Tony Veitch.

Veitch resigned from his position at TVNZ last month after allegations of assault against his former partner Kristen Dunne-Powell. He now faces charges of attacks on Ms Dunne-Powell over a period of four years.

Summerfield is a sports presenter for 3 News and motorsports reporter for both 3 News and Campbell Live. He is not the only TV3 staff member in line for the One News job, as Sport Tonight presenter Howard Dobson has also put his hand up for the job. One News sports reporter Toni Street is also reportedly in the running.

Media strategist Michael Carney told the NZ Herald that he believes the loss of either Summerfield or Dobson would be a blow to TV3. However, unlike TVNZ, TV3 have a large number of talented sports presenters that would be ready to replace either presenter. They include Emma Keeling, Penny Ydgren, Andrew Gourdie and Sunrise's Rod Cheeseman.

Carney says that TVNZ have let their stable of sports presenters shrink after loosing the rights to so many sports events over the years. This means that Veitch's shock departure has left them without anybody for immediate promotion, and it is very likely that viewers will see a TV3 face on the move in the near future.

MF Friday Flashback: 1996 Shortland Street opening

With new opening credits for Shortland Street coming in the near future, we thought it would be fun to look back on one of the classic openings - here's one from 1996.

EXCLUSIVE: Brand new set and look for 3 News

TV3 viewers may have noticed something strange about 3 News over the past week. On Sunday Media Fetish reported that many bloggers said the presenters looked like they were in front of a green screen - and we can now confirm those bloggers were correct. The 3 News desk has been moved to a different studio and several green screens have been used to recreate the look of the news set.

Several anonymous sources have contacted Media Fetish with confirmation that 3 News will remain this way for at least another two weeks while construction is underway on new sets for 3 News, Sunrise and Campbell Live. The shows will receive new graphics packages to match their sets, and the new 3 News set is said to have a lot less of the wooden look used on the current set.

We understand that the Campbell Live set has also been recreated in the same smaller studio to house both the current affairs show and Sunrise until the new sets are completed.

With the news of a new look for Sunrise, we are left to wonder if this will mean the introduction of a new format and presenter line-up - both possibilities that have been talked about for a while now.

The Plug:

Keep your eyes open for a new-look 3 News, Sunrise and Campbell Live in a few weeks time.

Telecom pay phone use plummets

Calls made over Telecom's public pay phones peaked at 30 million in 2003 but have dropped to less than 12 million a year since then. In the same time Telecom has also removed 1000 of the pay phones around the country. The rapid decrease in pay phone use comes at the time when the number of cellphones in New Zealand in use is now larger than the the number of the population itself.

The popularity of pay phones has been crashing around the world, AT&T in the United States and Telstra in Australia are both getting out of the pay phone business. Many other countries across the globe have already done so. However, Telecom say they are not looking at removing New Zealand's pay phone service and that they will not be likely to any time in the near future.

Telecom spokesman Ian Bonnar says that although increased cellphone use has caused pay phones to take a hammering, the public phones are still a valuable service to New Zealand.

"Even though numbers have declined, there are still 12 million calls," Bonnar said.

"We continue to invest in the network and [are] still putting some in, but we will take some out where they are gathering dust."

The busiest pay phones are those at prisons, Auckland Airport, the Sky Tower, and in the CBD's of large cities. The pay phone used the least is one of four at Auckland's Vector Arena - it was used only twice in one year.

Telecom surveyed the use of the pay phones earlier this year but found it it was difficult to identify patterns of use. They found that people used them when they did not have access to a cellphone or landline, when they were travelling, or when the pay phone happened to be convenient at the time a user wanted to make a phone call.

I personally never use public pay phones myself as I never carry coins with me and do not want to purchase a phone card. I always try to carry my cellphone with me when I am in public, but would be more inclined to use a public pay phone if the cost of call was cheaper than on a cellphone and if the pay phone had the ability to pay by EFTPOS or credit card.

Taranaki televisions require re-tuning after TVNZ fault

Taranaki television repairs man Laurie Cadman spoke to RadioLIVE's Marcus Lush this morning saying he has been inundated with work after the TVNZ transmission fault Media Fetish reported on last week.

The fault occured last week after bad weather saw the TV One transmittor on Mount Taranaki receive extentive water damage. It happened during the middle of Moss Burmester's race at the Beijing Olympics, and fearing complaints from Olympic viewers TVNZ decided to change the transmission of TV One onto the TV2 frequency until the error was fixed.

Confused Taranaki residents fiddled with the tuning on their television sets so much that Mr Cadman has had to hire extra staff to cope with the large numbers of people requiring their televisions to be re-tuned.

"I heard of one person who had channel 1 on channel 14," he said.

Mr Cadman told RadioLIVE that the transmission fault itself has still not been completely fixed.

Possible Dancers

NZ Herald gossip blogger Rachel Glucina posted good entry today discussing the phenomenon that is Dancing with the Stars. She says that amongst the eight contestants each year there is always "a friendly political figure, a pretty ethnic face, a redeemed sports star, a baby boomer to defy the age barrier, a media figure to provide daily doses of coverage, and a slap-stick star prepared to play the clown."

With these typecast roles in mind, Rachel has listed her possible candidates for the next season of Dancing with the Stars as follows:

Jonah Lomu - the footy legend
Casey Green - the WAG
Dick Hubbard - the former Mayor
Michelle Boag - the baby boomer
Mark Sainsbury - the broadcaster
Carly Binding - the ex pop star
Karl Burnett - the joker
Miriama Kamo - the wahine

John Mayer dumps Jennifer Aniston via text/SMS

The news of the break up between celebrity couple John Mayer and Jennier Aniston is nothing new, and neither is the fact that ending a relationship via a mobile phone text message/SMS is one of the biggest no-no's in the world of communication etiquette.

There has been much debate over who dumped who in this particular situation, however a source close to Mayer told the UK's Daily Mail that he sent Aniston a text message after a 20 minute phone argument simply saying "That's it - the end".

The source said that Aniston is "so intent on getting married and having children, he felt hemmed in."

Mayer told the media ""It's the most normal thing in the world. There's no lying, there's no cheating, there's no nothing. People are different, people have different chemistry, different lives. You're either a cheater or you break up and I'm not the first one, I'm the second one."

However, whether you are a Hollywood couple or not, there is nothing normal about sending someone a break-up text. Something so personal should be said in a face-to-face conversation and the ability to do this shows a real flaw in mobile communication technology.

Changes ahead at 3 News?

Rumours are circulating that we will soon see changes to the set and general look of 3 News after many believe recent bulletins have been filmed in front of a green screen.

Many bloggers started reporting they noticed the "green screen" look on Friday night during Nightline and Sports Tonight, and agree that the look has continued into the weekend 6pm bulletin.

Perhaps we will see changes from either tonight or on Monday beginning with Sunrise?

Tony Veitch: the allegations

Sports broadcaster Tony Veitch was arrested on Monday and appeared in Auckland District Court charged with six counts of assault on a female and one of injuring with reckless disregard. The details of the alleged assaults against his former partner Kristen Dunne-Powell have now been released as follows:

• Forcing Dunne-Powell against a wall and kicking her in the leg as she tried to get away in 2002;
• Grabbing Dunne-Powell by the shoulders and throwing her on a bed before throwing a glass of water in her face at a holiday home in Mangawhai, Northland, between April 14, 2003 and April 9, 2005;
• Throwing Dunne-Powell on a hotel bed before straddling her and pinning her to the bed in Rotorua in June 2005;
• Kicking Dunne-Powell in the leg and thigh so hard at their St Heliers, Auckland home in August 2005 that she required physiotherapy because she had trouble walking;
• An assault on Guy Fawkes' Night in November, 2005;
• Kicking Dunne-Powell in the legs in December 2005 as Veitch removed her from his house;
• Kicking her so hard in a January 2006 incident that vertebrae in Dunne-Powell's back were fractured.

One News blows things out of proportion

One News reported late in their bulletin on Friday night with the breaking news that a helicopter had crashed near Wanganui. They said they would bring us more details as they received them.

However, One News were embarassed when police confirmed that a helicopter did in fact go down - because this helicopter was a small remote controlled toy.

Trying to be the first with breaking news does not always work as planned, especially when the journalists do not check their facts first.

Paul Henry returns to Breakfast... but for how long?

Paul Henry is set to return to Breakfast in early September after a very extended holiday. But how long will he last on the morning magazine show after revealing a strong desire to front current affairs show Close Up?

Close Up presenter Mark Sainsbury is safe until the end of the year when TVNZ will consider their options. However many are saying Henry's two-month break from television was because he is unhappy with his role on Breakfast and is wanting more from the state broadcaster.

"It is no secret I have ambitions. Seven o'clock is where I want to be," says Henry.

While he hopes to resume filling in on Close Up and work as part of TV One's election coverage, Henry says he is happy being back at Breakfast for now.

"I did not miss much at Breakfast during the Olympics. But it is good to be back, I'm looking forward to getting back to it,"

The conversational format of Breakfast allows Paul Henry's humour and wit to be shown to the audience, however many believe he is a talent wasted in morning television.

TVNZ's stable ratings mean they will have to be very careful about making any changes. However - with his ambitions made clear - TVNZ could stand to lose Henry if they leave him in breakfast television for too long.

MF Friday Flashback: Original Vince Martin Beaurepaires ad

One of the original Beaurepaires ads that featured Vince Martin.

NZ Herald's introduction to Private Practice

By Joanna Hunkin.
Grey's Anatomy fans will be fully clued in on this new spin-off series, which was introduced to viewers in a special episode of Grey's late last season.

For those who aren't devoted followers, here's the lowdown: Neonatal surgeon Addison Montgomery has given up on her failed marriage to Dr Derek Shepherd (known as McDreamy), which ended when she had an affair with his best friend, Dr Mark Sloan (known as McSteamy).

Deciding to make a clean break, she has moved to Los Angeles, to join the private practice of two of her oldest friends. Leaving behind the drama filled corridors of Seattle Grace hospital seems like a fresh start for Addison - until she arrives in LA to discover her best friends have separated and none of the staff have been informed of their new colleague.

As tempers flare, Addison discovers life is just as complicated on the West Coast. Plus, there is the instant chemistry between her and workmate Peter Wilder.

Produced by the same team behind Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice takes a lighter approach to life and love than the increasingly bleak Grey's. Without the incessant whining of Meredith Grey and the antics of Izzie Stevens, Private Practice makes for better watching than the original series.

Private Practice begins Monday, 8.30pm on TV2.

TV2 scrapped in favour of Olympics

When transmission failure meant that 94,000 people in New Plymouth were unable to receive the TV One signal, TVNZ decided that the Olympic coverage was more important than TV2 programming so shifted TV One onto the TV2 frequency in the area.

Bad weather saw the TV One transmittor on Mount Taranaki receive extentive water damage last night. TVNZ were not sure how long it would take to dry out so decided to stop transmission of TV2 at midday and replace it with the Beijing Olympics.

TVNZ have apologised to TV2 fans saying the decision was made in the interest of the majority. However, this is poor form for TVNZ as the Olympic games are being streamed live and free both online and via Telecom mobile, yet there is no other way for viewers to watch TV2. Recent ratings have shown that at least four TV2 shows are beating the Beijing Olympics for audience numbers, so TVNZ better have the TV2 signal restored by this evening or else they will have some unhappy people in the Taranaki region.

UPDATE: 11:00 PM
TVNZ have decided to continue broadcasting TV One in TV2's place in the Taranaki region until at least Friday morning. They are looking at the possibility of activating a backup transmitter, but say they will make no change until the reliability of the service is beyond doubt.

While sports fans will be thankful, many others will be seething. Taranaki viewers would have missed out on the latest episodes of shows including Shortland Street, Army Wives, 20/20, and the season premiere of Police Ten 7.

TV3 beats One for gold medal coverage

Another Olympic slip-up from TVNZ this week saw TV3 announcing Tom Ashley's gold medal win before TV One had even realised it happened.

TV One stopped their coverage of the Beijing Olympic Games to screen One News and Close Up meaning that the Men's RS:X sailing event was not shown live on the channel. It was played live on TVNZ Sport Extra to the 124,000 New Zealanders that have Freeview, however TV One viewers were made to wait until after Close Up to watch a replay.

The worst thing about this situation is that 3 News announced New Zealand's third gold medal before TV One even realised it had happened. Ashley's gold medal win came at about 6.55pm NZ time, and in a live cross to One News after the win had taken place Peter Williams told Wendy Petrie that they did not have the full results yet.

NZ TV Ratings: 10-16 August 2008

1. One News (ONE) 231,000
2. Close Up (ONE) 173,000
3. Shortland Street (TV2) 148,000
4. Two and a Half Men (TV2) 140,000
5. What's Really In Our Food? (TV3) 127,000
6. Tonight (ONE) 125,000
7. NCIS (TV3) 125,000
8. Inside New Zealand (TV3) 115,000
9. Scrubs (TV2) 113,000
10. Outrageous Fortune (TV3) 112,000
11. Hell's Kitchen (TV2) 110,000
12. 2008 Olympics Beijing (ONE) 110,000
13. The Lion Man (TV2) 109,000
14. Sensing Murder (TV2) 109,000
15. CSI:NY (TV3) 107,000
16. 3 News (TV3) 104,000
17. Target (TV3) 102,000
18. CSI Miami (TV3) 100,000
19. 60 Minutes (TV3) 91,000
20. Brothers & Sisters (TV2) 89,000
21. Troy (TV2) 88,000
22. Home and Away (TV3) 86,000
23. Dare to Win (TV2) 84,000
24. Cashmere Mafia (TV2) 78,000
25. Trade Wars (TV2) 78,000
26. 20/20 (TV2) 76,000
27. Yours Mine and Ours (TV2) 74,000
28. Chuck (TV2) 73,000
29. The Baby Borrowers On Holiday (TV2) 72,000
30. Women's Murder Club (TV3) 70,000

Source: AGB Nielsen

Tony Veitch: the charges

• Injuring with reckless disregard: January 29, 2006.
• Male assaults female: December 18, 2006, at Auckland.
• Male assaults female: November 5, 2005, at Auckland.
• Male assaults female: July 8, 2005, at Auckland
• Male assaults female: June 3-4, 2005, at Rotorua.
• Male assaults female: Between April 12, 2003, and April 9, 2005, at Mangawhai.
• Male assaults female: Between March 15, 2002, and April 19, 2003, at Auckland.

Tony Veitch remanded on bail

Former One News sports presenter Tony Veitch was remanded on bail after appearing briefly in the Auckland District Court this afternoon.

The 34-year-old appeared in front of a public gallery packed mainly with the media to face seven charges dating between 2002 and 2006. Six counts were of male assaults female and one count of was for injuring with reckless disregard. All charges relate to him allegedly assaulting his former partner, Kristin Dunne-Powell.

The charge of male assaults female carries a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment for each count, while injuring with reckless disregard carries five years.

Veitch entered no plea and was remanded on bail until a pre-depositions hearing date of September 29th 2008. He was ordered to surrender his passport and instructed to not attempt contact with Ms Dunne-Powell.

Outside the court, Veitch spoke to the media saying that “the past six weeks have been incredibly difficult and they have been incredibly frustrating watching this entire saga play out in front of the public."

Veitch's lawyer, Stuart Grieve, told the court the charges would be "strenuously defended".

Clint Eastwood directing All Blacks movie

Academy Award winner Clint Eastwood is to direct a film based on John Carlin's book about the New Zealand vs South Africa game at the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

Carlin sold the film rights to actor Morgan Freeman, who will play the then South African president Nelson Mandela. While it is reported that Matt Damon will play Springbok captain Francois Pienaar, Eastwood is still searching for actors to play the All Blacks - including captain Sean Fitzpatrick.

South African Anthony Peckham has written a script for the film entitled The Human Factor.

Mike Hosking to host Millionaire?

A local version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? is coming soon to Tuesday nights on TV One, and insiders have indicated that former Breakfast presenter Mike Hosking could be hosting the show.

TVNZ announced auditions for the show last month but have remained tight lipped on who will be hosting. The popular game show will be shot in Channel 9's Australian studios to save the cost of building a brand new set, but producers are adamant that the majority of the studio audience will be Kiwis who have moved across the Tasman.

Hosking, now a NewstalkZB radio host, recently returned to TVNZ as a back-up host for current affairs show Close Up while regular back-up Paul Henry is on holiday.

Some have also specualted Breakfast presenter Paul Henry as a possible Millionaire host. His holiday has now extended to at least ten weeks, leaving viewers wondering if he will be taking a different role at TVNZ in the future.

While some viewers have described Mike Hosking's presenting style as a little too "toffee-nosed", I think he would be a great choice. It would be nice to see somebody other than Jason Gunn and Simon Barnett for a change!

MF Friday Flashback: "Share the best with Channel 2"

TV2 New Zealand ident from 1990.

Slingshot update

Both the ANZ and Westpac banks have confirmed to me that the incident reported last night would not affect internet banking. It turns out the webpages affected by Slingshot's error were those that allow an automatic log in, sometimes known as the "remember me" function.

Slingshot general manager Mark Callander has told the media that the problem was resolved in 15 minutes, however this is not the case I personally witnessed the continuation of the problem from around 3.30pm untill at least 6.00pm.

Callander also tried to play down the situation by saying that the Slingshot helpline only received about 20 complaints. However due to the nature of the issue many users would have assumed the fault was with the website they were visiting rather than their ISP - my own initial reports placed the issue with Facebook, and in May with Bebo.

Slingshot may say the issue will not happen again, but seeing as we witnessed it with Bebo in May and Trade Me have said it also occured last September there is great concern to be had with Slingshot's service.

Slingshot error puts customer privacy at risk

New Zealand internet service provider Slingshot claims to be "a better place", but that is really not the case after the shocking incident that occurred today.

Media Fetish reported earlier that Facebook was experiencing an issue where users would sign in with their username and password but gain access to a strangers account rather than their own. I can now reveal that this issue was not the fault of Facebook, but instead was caused by an error with Slingshot.

Customers of Slingshot found that this issue was not just occurring on Facebook, but on many various websites where a log-in was required. These websites ranged everywhere from buying and selling site TradeMe to the University of Otago's 'Blackboard' service. It is not yet known whether any online banking services were affected.

'Blackboard' is a site where Otago students can access their study material and grades, submit assignments and send emails to classmates and lecturers. The University of Otago's ITS department said that they received many complaints from those who were accessing the accounts of other students rather than their own, and that all these students were customers of Slingshot. The University had to shut down access to the site off-campus to prevent breaches of privacy and security.

I made a call to Slingshot, who admitted they were the cause of the issue but said they would not disconnect their broadband service temporarily as they did not want customers complaining they had no access. I told them that more people would be upset when they find out Slingshot willingly put their privacy at risk, but they did not seem to care.

After today's incident it has also become apparent that the Bebo error Media Fetish reported on in May was also highly likely to be caused by the ISP Slingshot, rather than the social networking site itself.

Slingshot has a lot of explaining to do, and I expect to hear a statement from them in the media tomorrow.

For more see: "Slingshot Update"

Facebook's turn for the huge error

In May I posted a blog detailing a major error on social networking site Bebo where users were given access to other peoples accounts at random. Well today it is Facebook's turn, with almost the exact same problem occuring this afternoon.

Just a few minutes ago my flatmate came running in saying that Facebook is doing the same thing as Bebo did in May - signing her in to other peoples accounts at random intervals. So far she has been into two other users accounts, but this number may grow if the problem persists for almost an entire day as it did for Bebo. She has also said that Facebook.com would not let her sign out.

A problem like this can allow the private account information of users, such as phone numbers and addresses, to be made available to others. It is a serious breach of privacy and security, and I am shocked that it has happened more than once. It just shows that such issues are not so isolated and can happen anywhere on the internet.

Child singer was also a fake

We revealed yesterday that part of Beijing's Olympic fireworks display was created using computer graphics, and today it has come to light that another part of the opening ceremony was faked.

The little Chinese girl that captured the world's heart after singing alone in front of a crowd on 91,000 was in fact only miming a song recorded by another child - the original singer deemed too ugly to appear in person by ceremony organisers.

Yang Peiyi, 10, was originally chosen to perform after the ceremony directors were amazed at her flawless vocals, however she was replaced at the last minute by 9-year-old Lin Miaoke. General Music Designer Chen Qigang defended the decision by saying that "the child on camera should be flawless in image" and that the decision was made in "national interest" as Yang Peiyi was too old.

Despite being rejected by officials based on her appearance, Yang Peiyi does not have any regrets about the situation. "I am satisfied that my voice appeared in the opening ceremony,'' she said.

I wonder what part of the Olympic opening ceremony will be revealed as fake tomorrow?

Fake fireworks display at Beijing Olympics

The country that gave the world counterfeit toys and fake toothpaste also gave 3 billion television viewers a bogus fireworks show during the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games, according to media reports.

As the ceremony got underway a series of spectacular giant footprints outlined in fireworks made their way across Beijing from Tiananmen Square to the Olympic 'birds nest' stadium.

It has now been revealed that at least this part of the television broadcast was faked by using computer generated images. The images of the footprints were created over a period of months and inserted into the coverage electronically at exactly the right moment.

The Beijing organisers have blamed the use of computer generated images on the difficulty the helicopter would face in filming the sequence of giant footsteps.

2.6 million Kiwis tune in to Beijing Olympics

More than 2.6 million New Zealanders tuned in to TV One's coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics over the weekend, which TVNZ Head of Television Jeff Latch describes as an "outstanding result".

Since its opening in the early hours of Saturday morning, Beijing 2008 has delivered 29% higher ratings than the 2004 Athens Olympics.

The Beijing Olympics have also had an outstanding impact on audience numbers for One News. The 6 o'clock bulletin recorded a 52% share in the 25-54 demographic on Sunday night and a rating of 21.

Bernie Mac dies aged 50

Actor and comedian Bernie Mac has died at the age of 50 in his home town of Chicago.

Mac was hospitalized on August 1st and treated for pneumonia, his publiscist earlier saying he was responding well to the treatment. However complications arose and Mac passed away on Saturday August 9th.

He had suffered from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease that produces tiny lumps of cells in the body's organs, but had said the condition went into remission in 2005.

The Emmy and Golden Globe nominated actor, whose given name was Bernard Jeffrey McCullough, was best known for his TV comedy The Bernie Mac Show, which ran on FOX for five seasons until 2006.

Mac also had starring roles in the films Ocean's Eleven, Bad Santa, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle and Transformers. He had recently been working on a new TV show Starting Under and an upcoming film entitled Soul Men.

"The world just got a little less funny. He will be dearly missed," said George Clooney, who starred with Mac in the Ocean's trilogy.

TVNZ commentator attacked at Olympics

A Television New Zealand commentator at the Olympics has been attacked by a youth near his Beijing hotel.

Steve Robilliard, an Australian ABC commentator working for TVNZ, was returning to the hotel from dinner when he was set upon by a youth who had been urinating against a wall.

Robilliard says the man grabbed a broken chair and threw it at him, causing cuts to his wrist and arm. While shaken by the incident, Robilliard did not require medical attention.

- NEWSTALK ZB

Just how "LIVE" is TV One's Olympic coverage?

It is 4.15am NZ time and TV One's coverage of the Beijing Olympic Opening Ceremony is currently showing the official oath being taken. However at the exact same time on Freeview channel TVNZ Sport Extra the ceremony has completely finished and they are 15 minutes into a soccer match between North Korea and Nigeria.

I timed the difference between the two TVNZ channels and it worked out that Sport Extra was about 26 minutes ahead of TV One. This goes to show that what many would assume was "live" coverage on One has been paused and delayed when going into advertisement breaks. In my opinion this is very poor form, and means that many enthusiastic viewers who enjoy watching the ceremony in it's entirety are having an extra half an hour of sleep taken away from them by TVNZ.

It will be interesting to see the difference in coverage when the Olympic Games move to PRIME and Sky in 2012.

MF Friday Flashback: 1994 Lotto Draw

This Lotto draw hosted by Hilary Timmins and Grant Kereama screened on TV2 in 1994.

The Home & Away effect

We reported yesterday that One News recorded July as a month of tremendous growth - comparing it with July 2007, around 25,000 viewers left 3 News to watch the TVNZ bulletin.

However this boost for One News happened to coincide with TV3's Home & Away taking a two week break. Australia's Channel 7 plan to take Home & Away off air during the Olympics, so TV3 took the soap opera off air during the school holidays to ensure they have enough episodes to continue running the show throughout the duration the Games.

The 5.30pm lead in of Home & Away has always been a key factor in pulling viewers to 3 News, and TV3 chief operating officer Rick Friesen says their news audience always tends to slide when the show is off-air.

AGB Nielsen figures for the 5.30pm slot before the news showed TV3 dropped from having 46% of weekday viewers in its key demographic of 18 to 49 year-olds a year ago to having under 37% last month. TV One's Wheel of Fortune benefited, almost doubling its share of the same viewers to just under 25%.

It will be interesting to see whether or not the ratings for 3 News will increase again now that Home & Away has returned. The NZ Herald added today that viewers often turn to TVNZ during events of national importance, so with the Olympic Games and NZ Election coming up TV3 may have to wait a few months for the Aussie soap to continue working it's magic.

Triangle TV celebrates 10 years

To celebrate 10 years of broadcasting in Auckland this August, Triangle TV are planning to plant thousands of pohutukawa trees near Home Bay on Motutapu Island in the Hauraki Gulf.

Triangle CEO Jim Blackman says he is proud to spearhead a gift of 2000 pohutukawas to the people of Auckland. "The Triangle Television trees will provide shade and beauty for future generations of visitors and campers on Motutapu and, once again, in the height of summer, Home Bay will abound with crimson."

"Instead of the typical social function we decided to give back to the community that has supported us so well over the years," he says.

The whole of Motutapu island is undergoing a long-term regeneration process thanks to the efforts ofthe Department of Conservation, Motutapu Restoration Trust, and volunteers andsupporters – including Triangle TV.

Everyone is invited to support the project with a donation of $50 – the cost of buying, planting and maintaining a pohutukawa tree.

Triangle also operate the digital channel Stratos on Freeview and Sky.

One News records nine months of growth

According to data collected by AGB Nielsen Media Research, ONE News at 6pm was watched by an average of 651,400 viewers (5+) each night in July 2008, making it the TVNZ bulletin's ninth consecutive month of year-on-year growth.

TVNZ report that their 6pm bulletin was watched by 43% more viewer than the 373,100 who watched 3 News during the same period.

The AGB Nielsen ratings for July 2008 also show that ONE News increased its audience by 24,600 viewers compared with July 2007. TV3's audience dropped year-on-year by 27,700 viewers in the same period. July was also the second consecutive month the audience for ONE News surpassed 650,000, viewership not seen for two years.

TVNZ Head of News and Current Affairs Anthony Flannery says "it is fantastic to see New Zealanders continuing to turn to ONE News in ever increasing numbers. With the Beijing Games, and the New Zealand Election ahead, Kiwis can be assured we will continue to bring them the news they need to know."

Morgan Freeman in serious car crash

Oscar winner and Dark Knight star Morgan Freeman has been hospitalised in serious condition after the car he was driving in the Mississippi Delta on Monday flipped several times before leaving the highway and landing upright in a ditch.

The 71 year old had to be rescued from the car using the jaws of life and was airlifted to the Regional Medical Center. Freeman's publisist has said he received a broken arm, broken elbow and minor shoulder damage, but is in good spirits and expecting a full recovery.

The accident is the latest in a string of unfortunate events for stars of the blockbuster hit The Dark Knight, including the accidental death of Heath Ledger in January and the arrest of Christian Bale in July.

Game Of Two Halves cancelled

The Sunday News reported today that TVNZ show Game Of Two Halves has been cancelled, screening it's final episode on Friday night.

The show was hosted by sports broadcaster Tony Veitch until last months allegations of assault against his former parter Kristen Dunne-Powell led to his resignation from TVNZ. The game show also featured former rugby and league stars Matthew Ridge and Marc Ellis, former Radio Sport presenter Martin Devlin and comedian Mike King.

However TVNZ has denied the series was canned after the Tony Veitch controversy, a spokeswoman saying "I don't know if we are commissioning any more or not". But when asked if there would be another series, she said: "Not at this stage but that's not necessarily anything."

MF Friday Flashback: "The Look of Ninety 3"

"Come and see the look of '93" for TV3 New Zealand.

The Country Channel launches on Sky

The Country Channel, a dedicated farming news, information and lifestyle television channel, is to be launched on Sky digital channel 99 on Monday 1st October.

The Country Channel will will feature daily updates on new farming products and systems as well as rural based news and lifestyle shows. Farmgate, a one-hour daily news and information show, will be the centrepiece of programming on the channel with 20-minute sponsored slots inside the show being available to businesses and organisations. The channel will include other local programming and previously unseen shows from sources such as the BBC, ABC Australia and the PBS Network from the U.S.

The channel will be included in Sky's start-up package for the month of October.