TV networks to battle for Pacific audiences

Television New Zealand and TV3 have revealed they will launch channels aimed at Pacific viewers within a year.

The channels would target a potential audience of 250,000 Pacific people in New Zealand, then countries across the region, Radio new Zealand reported.

A director of the TV3 venture, Innes Logan said the project would probably start with a limited number of screen hours but once content and viewers increased there would be more variety.

The station would look to the Government and private sector for millions of dollars in funding for the channel.

TVNZ director of Maori and Pacific programming, Paora Maxwell, said his company's proposal included news, entertainment and sport.

Neither network would give a start date for the channels.

NZPA.