The Aotearoa Television Network (ATN) was the first, yet unsuccessful television station operating in the
Māori language.
What would eventually become ATN started out in early 1996, when
Te Māngai Pāho
Te Māngai Pāho (the Māori Broadcast Funding Agency) is the New Zealand Crown entity responsible for the promotion of the Māori language and Māori culture by providing funding for Māori-language programming on radio and television.
In 198 ...
started looking for tenders for a trial service operating on a UHF licence in Auckland. The winner of the TMP contract, led by Puhi Rangiaho, Tawini Rangahau, Morehu McDonald, Robert Pouwhare and Tukuroirangi Morgan, was announced on March 7 and broadcasting commenced on May 1. The pilot service became regular in October, becoming a normal regional station. TMP's budget only allowed a 500-watt transmitter which resulted in weak or no signal in the ATN catchment area.
Insufficient funding and related uncertainties resulted in the closure of this pilot service in early 1997.
See also
*
Māori Television
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
, a successful, bilingual service
*
Te Reo (TV channel)
Te Reo (''English:'' "the language") is a New Zealand TV station broadcasting programmes exclusively in the Māori language (Te Reo Māori) with no advertising or subtitles. It also broadcasts special tribal programming and offers particular ...
, Māori Television's sister channel, entirely in Māori
References
Māori culture
Māori language
Māori organisations
Indigenous television
Television channels and stations established in 1996
Television channels and stations disestablished in 1997
Māori mass media
Defunct New Zealand television channels
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