Below is a listing of the top ten programmes on NZTV, recorded as of the 25th September 2011 via Nielsen TV Audience Measurement.

The top programme being watched is still One news TV ONE, with a mixture of New Zealand drama and current affairs in the other top spots and RWC coverage making it into the top 10.

To watch some of these programmes please follow this link to the TVNZ website.

Hosea Gear- Maori sports person of the year

Hosea gear New Zealand All Black  has just be named the country’s top wing and to finish off the year on a high also been awarded the supreme prize at the National Maori Sports Awards in Auckland.(Saturday December 4)

Gear beat a world-class field of finalists to win both Senior Maori Sportsman and the Albie Pryor Memorial Maori Sportsperson of the Year.

Strong seasons for the Hurricanes and Lions culminated with a Commonwealth Games Gold Medal in Delhi for the 1.88m, 100kg powerhouse wing. All Blacks selection resulted in Gear scoring five tries in four tests during the team’s Backing Black tour.

Champion Maori athletes from the past two decades were honoured at the 20th National Maori Sports Awards hosted by Te Tohu Taakaro o Aotearoa at TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre in Manukau.

The 2010 award recipients are:

THE ALBIE PRYOR MAORI SPORTS PERSON OF THE YEAR AWARD – RONGOMARAEROA: Hosea Gear (Ngati Porou, Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki) – rugby

SENIOR MAORI SPORTSMAN – TE TAMA-A-TANENUIARANGI: Hosea Gear (Ngati Porou, Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki) – rugby

SENIOR MAORI SPORTSWOMAN – HINEAHUONE: Joelle King (Ngati Porou) – squash

JUNIOR MAORI SPORTSMAN – TE TAMA-A-RANGINUI: Reuben Te Rangi (Ngapuhi) – basketball

JUNIOR MAORI SPORTSWOMAN – TE TAMAHINE-A-PAPATUANUKU: Dayna Maree Turnbull (Ngai Tahu) – basketball, touch

DISABLED MAORI SPORTS PERSON – TE TOIHUAREWA: Cameron Leslie (Ngapuhi) – swimming

MAORI SPORTS COACH – TE MARU O TUMATAUENGA: Stephen Kearney (Te Atiawa) – rugby league

MAORI SPORTS ADMINISTRATOR – MAUI TIKITIKI-A-TARANGA: Patricia Rangi (Te Atiawa) – hockey

MAORI UMPIRE/REFEREE – TE ARATIATIA: Henry Perenara (Ngati Rangitihi) – rugby league

MAORI SPORTS TEAM – NGA IKA A WHIRO: Maori All Blacks – rugby

MAORI SPORTS MEDIA AWARD – TE REO O TE PARA WHAKAWAI: Television: Beneath the Maori Moon – Bailey Mackey (Ngati Porou, Ngai Tuhoe), Black Inc Media

Maori Television will screen a two-hour broadcast on Saturday December 11 at 9.30pm.

Epic tackle

That’s right, just 48 weeks to go – and counting down – to the start of Rugby World Cup 2011!

New Zealanders around the country are anxiously preparing for the biggest event to have hit Aotearoa in quite some time – if ever! Rugby fans are preparing to share in the atmosphere and excitement of the biggest sporting event of the year. Volunteers are waiting to get their uniforms on and make new friends from around the world. Not wanting to be left out, Maori Television announces its plans for 48 weeks’ time!

“Maori Television will ensure that no-one will miss the opportunity to see all 48 matches” said Maori Television chief executive Jim Mather on the eve of 48 weeks to kick-off.

For those who can’t be at the matches in person, Maori Television will screen all 48 matches of Rugby World Cup 2011, free-to-air, for viewers across Aotearoa to experience in the comfort of their living rooms, garages, sport clubs, kitchens, marae – pretty much anywhere!

Sixteen matches – including all the All Black matches – will be shown LIVE and free to air on Maori Television. The remaining matches will have a delayed screening.

Anywhere you can see Maori Television, you will get all 48 matches for free! And, as a bonus you will get about five to 10 per cent of the commentary in te reo Maori.

“We believe that the inclusion of te reo, will add to the uniqueness of the Maori Television broadcast,” says Jim Mather. “For anyone who wants the full experience of this amazing tournament, viewers need simply lock their remotes on Maori Television.”

Maori Television is looking forward to the company of rugby fans in 336 sleeps time.

All Whites haka, who wouldnt want to watch this?

Football has attracted its largest NZ television audience ever, thanks to the all whites and their great efforts and of course TVone

Analysis of the FIFA World Cup television ratings show that more than 3 million people or 76% of the population aged over 5 years tuned in to TV ONE to watch the football during the month long tournament.

“It was always going to be great football and terrific television but this FIFA World Cup became one of those rare and very special events that captured the heart and imagination of the whole country”, says Head of TV ONE and TV 2, Jeff Latch.

Most New Zealanders – almost 4 in 5 – watched Martin Devlin’s lively coverage from TV ONE’s purpose built FIFA studio. “Martin’s passion for the game was infectious and viewers loved the enthusiasm and humour he brought to our coverage.

“The ONE SPORT studio presentation from Auckland coupled with High Definition pictures and compelling Host Broadcast coverage from South Africa all combined to make TV ONE the FIFA World Cup channel of choice”

“We believe this World Cup has drawn the largest TV audience to football in NZ’s history – the first live soccer game was televised in 1974.

TV ONE has always had the power and penetration to be able to draw everyone together for a moment in time. The collective experience where we all watch and hope alongside millions of other kiwis adds a dynamic to events like these that can only be described as the ‘true magic of television’.

‘The All Whites games were phenomenally popular – over 590,000 tuned in for the first game against Slovakia around midnight. 354,000 tuned in at 2am for the Italy game and over 400,000 of us got up in the dead of the night to watch the nil-all draw with Paraguay.

Interest didn’t wane once the All Whites were out of the tournament, over half a million turned on TV ONE for the semi finals and a staggering 740,000 people tuned in to watch the FIFA World Cup Final.

The enormous interest in football was reflected across all TVNZ platforms – over 55,000 live streams were watched on tvnz.co.nz as the live matches were simulcast on TV ONE or the non-commercial, TVNZ 7.

68,000 matches were watched ondemand and almost 70,000 edited highlights and clips have been watched on tvnz.co.nz since the Opening Ceremony.

The success of the FIFA World Cup ultimately reinforces TVNZ’s unique place in broadcasting. When it comes to the really big events, New Zealanders trust and turn to TV ONE. So bring on the biggest one of all, the 2011 Rugby World Cup!

Creation Centre on FIFA 11 PC

EA SPORTS™ FIFA an award winning console game engine has announced that FIFA 11 PC has arrived.

Electronic Arts Inc. has announced the football engine that drives the award-winning EA SPORTS™ FIFA gameplay on the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system has arrived for FIFA 11 PC.

Two years in development, the console game engine has been optimised for PC, delivering next generation console-quality gameplay, game modes and visuals to FIFA 11 PC.

“The EA SPORTS FIFA franchise is committed to investing and innovating for PC and this is a watershed moment,” said Executive Producer Kaz Makita. “We are delivering to FIFA 11 PC the high quality gameplay, innovative game modes and stunning graphics that have made FIFA the highest rated sports game on the PlayStation3 and Xbox 360 and winner of over 50 sports game of the year awards.”

The physics-based, data-driven technology behind the EA SPORTS football engine has been optimised for PC to deliver true freedom on the pitch with individuality of player control and movement, sophisticated ball touches and physical interaction between players.

FIFA 11 PC will feature the market-leading true 360° dribbling system that gives players precise control of the ball and next generation animation technology that delivers Skilled Dribbling, enabling gamers to face defenders and use highly responsive lateral dribbling to skip past them. Plus, Physical Play has been improved using collision sharing, creating a varied, less predictable and extended fight for possession between players.

FIFA 11 PC features and game modes will be revealed in the coming weeks and months. Visit http://fifa.easports.com/en/home.action for more information. Screenshots are available at http://info.ea.com.

FIFA 11 will be available in stores on 1 October in New Zealand for the PlayStation®3, Xbox 360®, Wii™, PC, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Nintendo DS™, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system and mobile. It is developed under the EA SPORTS brand by EA Canada in Burnaby, B.C. The game has not yet been rated.

Also For your information EA SPORTS has unveiled a new feature called the Creation Centre.

This Creation center will provide football fans with the tools to customise content in FIFA 11 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation3 in new ways. Craft your own football player and create the team of your dreams using a web-based application at www.easportsfootball.com. Create a player by choosing his appearance, accessories and attributes, and then create an original team with a distinctive crest and kits, complete with home stadium.

Fans will be able to share their created players and teams with friends and download into their console to play online, in Tournaments and in Kick-Off matches in FIFA 11. In addition, fans can choose player attributes and manage their created team’s formations and tactics right from the web. Creation Centre will launch when FIFA 11 is available in stores on 1 October in New Zealand.

“Having the ability to customise content in FIFA 11 to the degree where you are creating players and teams, choosing player attributes and managing team tactics effortlessly from the web opens up a world of possibilities of original content that fans will be able to create,” said David Rutter, Producer of FIFA 11 on Xbox 360 and PS3. “Creation Centre will perfectly compliment the official league and team licenses that are the hallmark of the FIFA franchise.”

Also new this year in FIFA 11 is Custom Audio, which enables fans to assign chants for every team and league in the game. Fans can set their home club’s chants to play during player introductions, halftime, and after goals – even hearing their name echo in the stands of Old Trafford or San Siro with created chants for their Virtual Pro. Plus, fans now have the ability to play music from their hard drive in game.

Visit http://www.facebook.com/easportsfifa to join the FIFA group on Facebook and visit http://fifa.easports.com/en/home.action for more information.

FIFA 11 will be available in stores for the PlayStation3, Xbox 360, PC, Wii, PlayStation2, Nintendo DS, PSP and mobile on 1 October in New Zealand. It is developed under the EA SPORTS brand by EA Canada in Burnaby, B.C. The game has not yet been rated.

'The Tuamanator'

New Zealand’s national indigenous broadcaster, Maori Television, will present exclusive, live and free-to-air coverage of David ‘Tuamanator’ Tua’s next fight in his campaign to take out the champioworld heavyweight championship title this Sunday July 18 from midday.

Now ranked number two by the World Boxing Organisation (WBO), the Samoan strongman is continuing his TUA DE FORCE campaign with his first fight in the United States in almost three years. The Kiwi heavyweight is happy with his preparations ahead of the July 18 showdown against former world title challenger Monte ‘Two Gunz’ Barrett.

Leading bilingual sports presenter Te Arahi Maipi will anchor Maori Television’s coverage assisted by three-time New Zealand boxing champion and Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Danny Codling. Colonel Bob Sheridan will call the fights ringside from the United States.

Tua is encamped close to the fight venue in Jersey City – at the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City – and wants to return the faith his own fans have shown him. His last fight in the United States was a second round knockout of Cerrone Fox in September 2007. However, Tua says he has many supporters and friends in the USA who he knows will be getting to the fight to back him.

“My fans here are just as passionate as they are at home. It’s a great feeling and humbling to know that my fans are still there and still into it for me. I’m grateful for their support and loyalty they’ve always shown for me. My fans have supported me since day one and that means the world to me.”

Under the careful eye of trainer Roger Bloodworth, the big-punching fighter is on-track and anticipates entering the ring at his best weight of around 108kg – the same weight he had when he knocked out Shane Cameron and out-pointed Friday Ahunanya in the first two fights of his latest comeback.

If he can make an impact against Barrett it will help advance his career. Tua has already quickly gained the number two ranking with the WBO but needs a convincing victory against the experienced Barrett – preferably by his trademark knockout – to increase his marketability. His WBO Asian Pacific and WBO Oriental Heavyweight belts are on the line. “All is good and I’m working hard, and taking it one day at a time.”

For this fight, Tua will be wearing black trunks with pink logos and emblems in honour of his mother, Noela Tua, who has breast cancer, and for his wife’s sister, Vania Savilla-Siteine, who also has cancer.

Tune in to TUA DE FORCE – exclusive, live and free-to-air in New Zealand on Maori Television this Sunday July 18 from midday.

If you want more information about Maori Television please folow this link: http://www.maoritelevision.com/default.aspx

If you want more information on David Tua please folow this link: http://www.davidtua.net/Record.asp

The ceremony via satellite from South Africa will include the live announcement of the make up of the pools (including the 3 other countries in the All Whites group) for the preliminary round of the World Cup next year.

TVNZ sport presenter, Jenny-May Coffin will host the broadcast with former All White, Noah Hickey from the Television Centre in Auckland before crossing live to Cape Town for the Draw Ceremony hosted by Hollywood based South African actress, Charlize Theron.

The 90 minute long glittering ceremony will feature local entertainment, World Cup historical content, global football identities, political leaders, FIFA officials and celebrities plus footage showcasing South Africa in the lead up to the draw itself scheduled for 6.45am.

The MP for Waiariki – Te Ururoa Flavell – says misinformation, mischief making and an appeal to racial prejudice are fuelling the debate around the Maori Television bid for ‘free-to-air’ television coverage of the rugby world cup in Aotearoa.

“Here are the facts around the situation:
1 Sky TV, TV One and TV3 put in a joint bid for the tv coverage and their bid was rejected
2 They then put in separate bids but co-operated on price, and those too were rejected
3 Sky TV bid for and won the pay tv rights
4 The three networks above did NOT include MTS in any of their approaches
5 While there were NO bids on the table for free to air coverage MTS put together a solo bid
6 If the Maori Television Service bid is successful it will trigger a contract whereby MTS will deliver certain outcomes to Te Puni Kokiri over the next three years
7 The contract is NOT a grant or a subsidy but a purchase agreement – on the other hand TVNZ has enjoyed tens of millions of dollars of grants and subsidies from the taxpayer in its life time, TV3 is a straight out commercial broadcaster whose role is to maximise its profits for its shareholders, it has NO allegiance to the public of New Zealand, MTS is a public channel controlled by a satute of Parliament
8 There is NO single channel in the country which has 100% ‘free-to-air’ coverage – but if MTS is successful it has two years to improve its already 90% coverage and there are many ways to do that
9 Unlike the other networks MTS has offered to share coverage through sub-licensing arrangements

“Those are the facts. The reality is that the so-called ‘big boys’ ignored MTS and tried to have the International Rugby Board on and the IRB called their bluff. MTS on the other hand cleverly put together a deal and a stand alone bid which has considerable mileage in it for Maori, in fact for all New Zealanders.”

“Since they discovered how credible the MTS bid is and that they have been blind-sided by the channel they ignored, TVNZ and TV3 are trying hard to discredit the bid and have been working on politicians who are more than willing to put the boot into anything Maori.”

“I’m hoping fair-minded kiwis having seen the facts laid out will see that there is a fair degree of ‘sour grapes’ here and people crying foul after being caught short. I’m also hoping they’ll remember the good work MTS has done with meagre resources to bring ANZAC day and the Breakers and other programmes to the nation. Kia ora.”

Maori Television provides this media statement in response to a number of queries today regarding its bid for the exclusive free-to-air broadcasting rights for Rugby World Cup 2011.

Maori Television Chief Executive Jim Mather said the bid is based on a sound, robust business plan which achieves a number of broadcasting and business objectives.

Winning the free-to-air rights represents a unique opportunity to deliver programming that goes to the heart of our nation, elevates the status of Maori Television in the minds of all New Zealanders, and delivers language and culture to the widest audience possible. Mr Mather said Maori Television expects to significantly increase and retain new audience as a result of the RWC broadcast.


It is also a major opportunity to demonstrate Maori success, development, leadership and pride. It provides a unique platform to promote Maori development, business and tourism, and to ensure that the New Zealand culture is reflected throughout the RWC tournament.

Key points regarding Maori Television’s bid are:

Audience Reach:

• Maori Television is available to 90% of the population via UHF Analogue and 100% of the country via Satellite.
• Maori Television is available to all New Zealanders via the Freeview network. The Freeview network launched in 2007 and is a Government initiative that will replace the analogue network (by 2012 or thereabouts) as the transmission provider for free-to-air television.
• Maori Television is available via Sky Television.
  

Capability:

• Maori Television has developed its bid and initial planning in consultation with experienced external sports production personnel who have previous major international sports experience across Olympics, Commonwealth Games and previous Rugby World Cups. It is their view that Maori Television has the necessary expertise to produce this tournament in a unique and exceptional way. It should be noted that Maori Television is currently producing as much sport each year as any other free-to-air broadcaster.
• From the outset it has been Maori Television’s intention, should it win the bid, to utilise Maori Television staff working alongside highly experienced external contractors whose expertise lies in live, international-level sports broadcasting.
• Maori Television cannot confirm who commentators might be because it would be inappropriate to do so until such time as a bid was successful. However, the intention is to utilise our own internal personnel and the best available external commentary expertise. We are confident that we can assemble a quality commentary team.
• Maori Television is recognised for the quality of its local programming, which is often described as the ‘real New Zealand’. Maori Television is adept at broadcasting unique, attractive programming that is about and for New Zealanders.
  

Maori Language:

• All RWC game broadcasts will include between 5-10% Maori language. The broadcasts will be similar, in terms of Maori language content, to the current NZ Breakers broadcasts on Maori Television. Much of the language content will be aimed at teaching New Zealanders simple Maori words and phrases and encouraging the use of the Maori language. Media reports that the broadcasts are to be in 100% Maori language are completely incorrect.
  

Transmission:

• Should Maori Television win the bid, all games that are available for live broadcast will be transmitted on the Maori Television channel. These games will comprise 5-10% Maori language.
• A second commentary, in 100% Maori language, will be simulcast on the Te Reo channel.
  

Shared Broadcasts:

• Should Maori Television win the bid we will be open to considering sub-licensing some games to other broadcasters. However, any sub-licensing arrangement is at the discretion and approval of the IRB, and would be subject to commercial terms and conditions that are suitable to Maori Television.
• Maori Television has requested of the IRB that its bid be modified to include the right to sub-license.

Yes, Sports Tonight is celebrating its 5th birthday by screening a very special one hour celebration with camera links from some of Queenstown’s premier attractions including; AJ Hacket Bungy, the Nevis Arc, the Canyon Swing, and Off Road Adventures.

Dobbo, who’s been presenting the late night sports news show since its beginning, says the 5th birthday bash will provide something for everyone.

“I believe our one hour show will not only appeal to Sports junkies but also adventure junkies as well as those who have a passing interest in the good, the bad, the bold, the beautiful, the brash and the bizarre,” he says.

And he certainly not wrong, the show will feature, among others, an item on Arnold Schwarzenegger and his crazy body building confession, Chuck Berry’s outrageous Base jump in China, and the World Creative Power Breaking Champs.

And if this wasn’t enough, fans can also look forward to a singing telegram for an unsuspecting All Black great, plus the top tries; top goals; top knock outs and the top motor mayhem moments of the last five years.

“The problem is… not what to put in, but rather what to leave out and the debate is still going on… all will be revealed on January 2nd,” says Dobbo.

So put on your party hats, grab some chips and join Dobbo and the team in a celebration like no other when Sports Tonight 5th Birthday Bash screens on Friday, January 2nd at 10:30pm on TV3.