NEW ZEALAND: ENHANCED SHORTWAVE BROADCASTING FOR THE PACIFIC

Radio New Zealand's current outdated transmitter will be replaced: the New Zealand government allocated NZ$4.4 million (about US$2.5 million) in May
Radio New Zealand’s current outdated transmitter will be replaced: the New Zealand government allocated NZ$4.4 million (about US$2.5 million) in May 2022
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As of September 2022, New Zealand’s public broadcaster (RNZ) has increased its shortwave broadcasting hours aimed at the Pacific region. The four morning hours, suspended in 2016, restarted thanks to new government funding, on three frequencies: at 5 a.m. local time on 7425 kHz, 6 a.m. on 9700 kHz, and 8 a.m. on 11725 kHz. The most listened news program is also repeated by the BBC Pacific Service. Shortwave broadcasting, largely abandoned since the 1990s at the end of the Cold War, still remains the most effective means of covering very large areas. As in the Pacific Ocean archipelagos, where many communities still use the old analogue radios with the SW (Short Waves) band to inform themselves.

It also broadcasts digitally

Shortwave radio is radio transmission using shortwave radio frequencies
RNZ’s shortwave broadcast schedules can be seen on this page. The programs are also distributed via satellite
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In the middle hours of the day, however, the station broadcasts with the DRM standard: a digital transmission system that eliminates all the typical hissing due to atmospheric and electromagnetic interference. The audio is stereo, but it is out of reach of the old analogue radios. In order to receive the DRM you have to buy a receiver that is set up to decode the digital signal, which costs between 50 and 100 euros. Alternatively, the signal is broadcast by satellite from Intelsat 19 on C-band: coverage extends from Singapore eastward to the Cook Islands, including Fiji, Tonga, Niue and Samoa. (Written by Fabrizio Carnevalini)

New Zealand: Unification of public radio and television?

The New Zealand Government is planning to disestablish public broadcasters (radio and television) and create a new public media entity in order to cut operating costs. The annual funding (25 million US dollars) primarily supports Radio New Zealand, whereas the television (TNZ) counts on advertising revenue. An advisory group is now working to create a new model with new funding options, such as introducing a fee and working on sponsorships (in addition to the actual funding).

Commercial TV crisis

The public radio and television sector is suffering, but also the commercial broadcasting is experiencing difficulties. The online giants, such as Google and Facebook, are draining resources from the advertising market, also affecting the private sector: MediaWorks, a New Zealand-based television, radio and interactive media company entirely owned by an American company, has recently put some of its channels up for sale: Three, Bravo and Three Life. This group also owns 9 national radio brands transmitted on 190 frequencies. 

RNZ & TVNZ
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Follow the services of Jane Patterson, political editor of Radio New Zealand here  & here
Find a complete list of frequencies and repeaters on FMList.

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