Chatham Islands Television

The idea of bringing television to the Chatham Islands was first suggested by Postmaster-General Scott. At the time, the islands already had a "24-hour radio watch" and he suggested the creation of a closed-circuit television station, at a time when the islands were the only part of New Zealand with no television coverage. In order to give some amount of entertainment, its programming would include a handful of old films, but ruled out news, which would still be heard on radio. The plan for a closed-circuit station came in opposition to NZBC's 1968 study, which envisioned a terrestrial television station, which turned out to become unsatisfactory as there was no reliable television coverage. The plan for a closed-circuit channel airing films would also harm the island's cinema, which would offer the same at a cheaper price.^[2]

Minister of Broadcasting Walker said in September 1971 that the system proposed in 1969 would be expensive.^[3]

On 21 November 1978, Hugh Templeton announced that advancements in technology meant that the Chatham Islands would be served by a television station. This scheme would involve an airport delivering films and tapes of mainland NZ programming, which would be sent to the islands and supplied to the station.^[4]

By the late 1980s, some islanders had access to a VCR to watch hired films.^[5] This led to the decrease in the long-established habit of heading to the County Hall to watch feature films, which were mostly American.^[6]

The first live television appearance of the islands happened at the very end of 1989, when a Japanese television crew flew there to record the first sunrise of the world in the 1990s from Manukau Point.^[7] This was an initiative from commercial broadcaster Nippon Television, who teamed up with TVNZ's Dunedin office to produce a 12-minute segment. This broadcast would test the limits of TVNZ's outside broadcast skills and was expected to air at midnight on NTV's network in Japan, which was five hours behind the Chatham Islands, for an audience of ten million.^[8]

In June 1990, the newly-formed funding body New Zealand On Air showed keen interest in a local television station there, approving a NZ$200,000 funding scheme for that purpose; the operational costs were included as part of its Remote Transmission Coverage funds.^[9] Details of the service were still being worked out, in July, a TVNZ technical team was set to visit the islands to investigate the establishment of both a television transmitter and a satellite receiver. The new service would provide some form of television since one group was relaying Australian signals were barred from carrying their services when those signals became encrypted. Other small Pacific regions had similar schemes.^[10] The signal was fed from TVNZ's Pacific Services, which had already provided its content to TV Niue and Cook Islands Television, both being national channels of the free associated states of New Zealand.^[11]

The introduction of television was seen with opposition from historian Michael King, who thought that it would destroy the local culture, as he wanted to have the islands' characteristics intact. With television, this would assimilate the islands into mainland New Zealand culture. Bunty Preece, chairman of the Chatham Islands County Council, claimed that television would give islanders information on what was happening in the rest of the world.^[5] A NZ$262,750 grant from the Lottery Board was handed on 17 October 1990; by then, it was expected that the service would be on air by March, while New Zealand On Air was eyeing the construction of four or five translator stations to cover the entirety of the islands. However, there was some opposition to the launch of the service in late February, or early March as initially planned, if the necessary contract was signed with TVNZ. This would also imply upgrades to existing sets or aerials. The Chatham Islands Television and Radio Society planned the inclusion of a TVNZ program planner for its first three months to survey the local population and shape its schedule.^[12] The funds were questioned by the opposition.^[13] The government was reviewing the service's costs, almost facing closure in November 1990, but the project ended up in safety.^[14]

Chatham Islands Television started broadcasting on 22 May^[1] 1991^[7] as part of one of several lottery grants for the development of the infrastructure of the islands.^[15] The introduction of television also coincided with the implementation of direct dial telephones.^[7] CITV had a central transmitter and five relays in order to ensure total coverage in the islands.^[15] In addition to lottery grants, NZ On Air and TVNZ (through its Pacific Services unit)^[1] had a fundamental role in its development, when the funding agency made an unusual subsidy worth NZ$220,000 to cover the delivery of airlifted taped programs and satellite equipment.^[16]

It was opened by Graeme Lee alongside Rob Storey.^[17] An opening ceremony was held on the eve of its launch where Lee said that it would become "a true community television service". There were no commercials and the volunteers had a camera used to film local events to carry on the station.^[18] By the end of the year, television had become part of local life. Visitors from the mainland commented on the lack of advertisements, the station instead preferred typewritten messages between programs. One recent example involved a fuel tank which was lost between the airport and Port Hutt.^[19]

A 1995 profile from The Independent showed that the station opened at 5pm and ended at 11pm. The bulk of the programs were videotapes obtained weekly from mainland New Zealand, though this delivery was not possible every week due to potential occasional limitations. The only regular program seen live from satellite was One Network News at 6:45pm local time. Instead of commercial advertising, it carried a service where viewers could type their own advertisements and messages. The remainder of the programming consisted of imports, including The Bill and Knight Rider.^[7] That year, only 58% of the Chatham households paid the NZ$110 fee; NZ On Air thought that the islands had the lowest compliance level for the broadcasting fee.^[20] By 1997, as profiled in a Kiwi Winners segment, the station was staffed by a team of seven volunteers, while the most popular programs according to the station's manager were "probably Blue Heelers, Water Rats and the news, definitely".^[15]

By August 1996, the islands were served by Sky's satellite service.^[21] One of its subscribers by September 1998 was a fishing traveler from the islands.^[22]

In August 1997, TV One's airtime of Coronation Street changed, meaning that it was not covered by the five-hour programming window CITV had. Islanders even made a petition to restore the soap to its previous airtime, much like what happened in the mainland.^[23]

In April 1998, Sky threatened legal action against the unauthorized use of its satellite service, which was seen as an alternative to CITV, and that it only rebroadcast programs from TV One and TV2. Locals were watching rugby matches from Sky Sport without a subscription, which led to legal action from the subscription TV company. Moreover, the video packages flown in from the mainland did include rugby matches, but these were shown at a later time, only after TVNZ aired them.^[24]

NZ On Air could not afford a six-and-a-half-hour service for the islands; in 1999, it had been reduced to approximately four-and-a-quarter hours, while the operating sum was cut to just NZ$159,000.^[16] An alternative to the counterfeit Sky broadcasts was suggested in May 1999 where NZ On Air suggested the creation of a composite 24-hour Chathams Channel, at the annual cost of NZ$105,000; its programming was a mix of key shows and events carried by Sky's sixteen channels.^[25] The decision to create the channel was applauded by the funding body and was seen as a cost-effective alternative to the existing service, and that also met its criteria.^[26]

In October 1999, the station aired a portion of an erotic film by mistake; one of the volunteers, Lea Clough, thought it was the movie Amistad. The only complaint was an immediate one from a viewer who wanted it to be on again.^[27]

The station made international headlines throughout December 1999 when the Australian branch of international advertising agency Euro RCSG created a 90-second spot that CITV would air from one second midnight on 1 January 2000. The agency saw the islands' time zone (UTC+12:45) as being advantageous, as well as being the first part of the world to see in the new year and the new millennium, to carry such a commercial.^[28] It was priced at US$15,000 and featured notable firsts from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, accompanied by Judy Garland's rendition of Over the Rainbow and ending with the messages “The world belongs to those who dare to be first” and “You have been watching the first commercial of the millennium”. By then, foreign outlets were reporting that the station's airtime fell to just three hours a day.^[29] For the station's millennium coverage, manager-volunteer Tom Brown converted a garage into a makeshift television studio.^[30]

Funding from NZ On Air ended by February 2002, leading to the end of the station.^[16] The funding body justified its rationale on the arrival of TV One and TV2 to the Sky platform. With the termination of the funding agreement, the Chatham Islands Television & Radio Society became responsible for television broadcasts there.^[31] Tom Brown, the volunteer who set up the station, was honored the following month.^[32] As of year-end 2001, 180 residents received Sky, while 74 were dependent on CITV.^[30]

The volunteer company was ultimately dissolved on 12 May 2005, after three years of inactivity.^[33]