Country TV

Country TV is a New Zealand television channel built around the interests of farmers and the wider rural community. It broadcasts on Sky Network Television and is distributed as a subscription service rather than as a general free-to-air channel. Its programming is concentrated on subjects with practical or cultural relevance to rural New Zealand, including farming, agricultural business, weather, rural news, financial information, and reviews of products and services used by farmers. The service began broadcasting on 1 October 2008 under the name The Country Channel. It initially occupied Sky Digital channel 099, a position that became central to the channel’s early identity. On 1 November 2009, the service changed its name to Country99TV. The renaming reflected the way viewers and commercial clients commonly referred to it as “Channel 99” and was intended to make the channel’s relationship with its audience more apparent. After Sky changed the channel’s position from 099 to 081 on 1 May 2013, the brand adopted the shorter name Country TV. Country TV’s editorial proposition combines specialist rural information with entertainment and magazine-style broadcasting. Its principal locally produced offerings include news, weather and current-affairs programming. Weather coverage is particularly important to the channel’s audience: forecasts include both short-range and long-range information intended to help New Zealand farmers plan fieldwork, livestock management and other agricultural activities. The channel also covers rural financial issues and provides exposure to products and services relevant to farming and country living. The channel has used a mix of journalists and broadcasters in its locally produced output. The cited news team includes David Beatson, Genevieve Westcott and Mark Leishman. Their inclusion reflects Country TV’s emphasis on presenting rural information through a recognisable broadcast-news format rather than relying exclusively on acquired farming programs. Country TV is based in Auckland and is privately backed by rural investors. It operates as a niche media brand whose audience definition is geographic and occupational as well as cultural: the channel is aimed specifically at New Zealand’s farmers and rural communities rather than at the mass television market. Its distribution through Sky gives it a dedicated platform for specialised content while its programming mix connects agricultural information, current affairs and rural lifestyle interests. The available reference material does not identify a parent company, public listing, financial performance, or later ownership changes.

Country TV originated as a specialist New Zealand television service for farmers and rural audiences. It launched on 1 October 2008 as The Country Channel, using Sky Digital channel 099 as its distribution position. From the beginning, the channel’s purpose was differentiated from that of a general entertainment broadcaster: it sought to provide information and entertainment specifically connected with farming and rural life in New Zealand. The channel’s early identity was closely associated with its Sky channel number. On 1 November 2009, it was renamed Country99TV. The change acknowledged the practical way in which viewers and clients referred to the service as “Channel 99” and brought the channel number into the brand itself. This period established the service’s rural-specialist positioning while giving it a more memorable consumer-facing name. A further change occurred on 1 May 2013, when Sky moved the channel from position 099 to 081. Because the former numerical identity was no longer accurate, the service adopted the name Country TV. The new name removed the dependence on the old channel number while retaining the country and rural associations that defined its editorial proposition. Country TV’s schedule is focused entirely or predominantly on farming-related material. Its programming mix includes agricultural programs, rural news, weather, financial information, and reviews of products and services. The channel’s weather coverage is designed for practical use by farmers, with both short-range and long-range forecasts for New Zealand. Its locally produced news, weather and current-affairs programs form the central flagship component of the service, supported by other farming and rural-interest content. The channel’s cited broadcasting personnel include journalists David Beatson and Genevieve Westcott, together with broadcaster Mark Leishman. Their association with the news team illustrates Country TV’s effort to deliver rural information in a structured television-news format. The service is based in Auckland and is privately backed by rural investors. It is available by subscription through Sky Network Television. The available reference material does not document a public listing, financial results, a parent corporation, a founder, or subsequent corporate transactions. It also does not provide a detailed account of programming changes after the 2013 renaming. On the documented record, Country TV remains a niche New Zealand television brand whose principal distinction is its dedicated focus on farming and rural communities.

• 2013

  Rebranding as Country TV

  [1]Country TVen.wikipedia.org

  Following Sky’s move of the service from channel 099 to 081 on 1 May 2013, the channel became Country TV.

• 2009

  Rebranding as Country99TV

  [1]Country TVen.wikipedia.org

  On 1 November 2009, the channel adopted the Country99TV name to reflect its channel 099 position and common audience usage.

• 2008

  Launch as The Country Channel

  [1]Country TVen.wikipedia.org

  The service began broadcasting on 1 October 2008 on Sky Digital channel 099 under the name The Country Channel.

A specialist New Zealand subscription television channel serving farmers and rural communities through practical agricultural information, weather, news, current affairs and related entertainment.

• News

  Rural news programming

  Locally produced news programming covering topics relevant to New Zealand farmers and rural communities. The news output is part of the channel’s core service alongside weather and current affairs.

• Weather programming

  Farming weather forecasts

  Short-range and long-range weather forecasts presented for New Zealand farmers. The forecasts provide practical information within a schedule designed around agricultural decision-making and rural conditions.

• Current-affairs programming

  Rural current affairs

  Current-affairs programming addressing issues connected with farming, agriculture and rural New Zealand. It complements the channel’s news and weather coverage.

• Specialist television programming · 2008

  Farming and agricultural programming

  A broader schedule of programs relating to farming, agricultural business, rural life, financial information, and reviews of products and services used by the rural sector.

• 2013

  Removal of channel-number brandingStrategy

  Background

  Sky moved the service from channel 099 to channel 081 on 1 May 2013.

  Action taken

  The broadcaster changed the name from Country99TV to Country TV.

  Aftermath

  The brand retained its rural positioning while no longer referring to the former Sky channel number.

  Source

• 2009

  Adoption of the Country99TV nameStrategy

  Background

  Viewers and clients commonly referred to the service by its Sky channel position, Channel 99.

  Action taken

  The broadcaster changed its name from The Country Channel to Country99TV on 1 November 2009.

  Aftermath

  The new identity aligned the brand with its channel number and its established audience shorthand.

  Source

1. 1Country TVen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Country TV official websitecountrytv.co.nz