This is a list of New Zealand television events and premieres that occurred in 1990, the 31st year of continuous operation of television in New Zealand.
1 January – Welcome 1990 Haere Mai was broadcast on TV One. It marked the beginning of 24 hours of special, all-New Zealand TV programming and began with New Zealand feature films and excerpts from past television programmes. A three-hour entertainment special to celebrate 1990 was broadcast live from Bastion Point on TV One at 7.30pm that night.
17 January – The final episode of Gloss was broadcast on Channel 2 at 7.30pm.
9 February – The final weekday edition of The Early Bird Show was broadcast on TV3. The Early Bird Show was transferred to Saturday and Sunday mornings from 17 February onwards.
10 February – The New Zealand version of Treasure Hunt, based on the format of the French game show La Chasse au Trésor, premiered on TV One and screened Saturdays at 6.30pm, with Raylene Ramsay as studio host and Nick Tansley as direct skyrunner.
16 February – RTR New Releases premiered on Channel 2. Screening Fridays at 4.30pm, RTR New Releases was the newest addition to the RTR portfolio (which included RTR Countdown and RTR Megamix) and devoted to 'the hottest of the week's new music releases' in a non-stop, video clip-based format. It later moved to 4.20pm as part of Friday's 3.45 Live!.
16 February – A Current Affair was dropped by TV3 due to poor ratings and strong competition from HolmesonTV One.
17 February - Channel 2 weekend morning programmes starts at 6.30am running seven days a week.
19 February – Programmes for North and South Island viewers commenced on TV One and screened weeknights as lead-ins to One Network News at 6pm. North Island viewers received Te Karere at 5.20pm and a sitcom rerun (i.e. M*A*S*H, WKRP in Cincinnati and George & Mildred during much of 1990) at 5.30pm. South Island viewers received a Bugs Bunny cartoon at 5.20pm, followed by a delayed broadcast of Te Karere (at 5.35pm), then The Mainland Touch (Christchurch) or The South Tonight (Dunedin) at 5.45pm.
19 February – Australian soap Home and Away moved from two double episodes a week (Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7.30-8.30pm) to five half hour episodes a week (Monday to Friday evenings) at 6pm. 3 National News moved from 6pm to 6.30pm, but the weekend edition remained at 6pm.
10 March – Sounz!, which began in November 1989, was added to the RTR portfolio and renamed RTR Sounz!. Hosted by Robert Rakete, RTR Sounz! was a blend of 'the hottest music video releases, instant phone-and-win prizes and live acts' and screened Saturdays at 10am on Channel 2 (straight after What Now).
23 March – Australian science and technology programme Beyond 2000 premiered on Channel 2 and screened Fridays at 8.30pm.
25 March – 60 Minutes resumed on TV3 and screened Sundays at 7.30pm. The programme was dropped earlier this year and its resources was transferred to A Current Affair before being dropped altogether, leaving the network with no regular current affairs programme.
13 April - The popular French children's cartoon Bouli made its New Zealand television debut on Channel 2.
14 April – Top Town screened on Channel 2 at 7pm in one hour-long highlights package.
14 April – The weekend edition of 3 National News moved to 5.45pm and was reduced in duration to 15 minutes. Home and Away extended to seven nights a week at 6pm.
16 April – Thomas the Tank Engine began screening on TV3; it was shown weekdays at 3.20pm. All 52 episodes were shown on this network, as only a handful of episodes were previously shown on TVNZ.
21 April – The 1990 Top Town Final screened on Channel 2 at 7pm and acted as the final episode of Top Town. The series was revived by TVNZ in 2009.
29 April – Marae, a block of Māori and Pacific Island programming, premiered on Channel 2 and screened Sundays from 10am–12pm during 1990. Each edition of Marae began with the archival documentary series Waka Huia at 10.05am and the Pacific news magazine Tagata Pasifika at around 11.05am. Panui ("The Word"), a media commentary segment, followed at around 11.28am and the last 25 minutes, from 11.35am, would be devoted to other programmes from TVNZ's Māori department: Pounamu (a docudrama series on seven leaders of Māoridom), Whakairo (a seven-part series which examined both contemporary and traditional Māori art), When the Haka Became Boogie (a seven-part series on Māori entertainers, musicians and artists), Revival (another opportunity to see past Koha programmes) and highlights from the 1990 National Aotearoa Cultural Festival at Waitangi.
29 April – A controversial Frontline documentary called For the Public Good was broadcast on TV One at 6.30pm. It explored the relationship between business and the Labour Government. The screening of the documentary led to a complaint from the New Zealand Business Roundtable and Treasury and an order for TVNZ to broadcast a correction and apology and to refrain from broadcasting advertising programmes via TV One from 6pm until closedown on the evening of Sunday 3 February 1991.[1]
2 May – TV3 was placed into receivership but continued to broadcast.
18 May – Sky Network Television, New Zealand's first pay television service, began broadcasting to Auckland with three channels (Sky Movies, Sky Sport and CNN) on scrambled UHF frequencies. By mid-year, Sky extended its UHF service to Hamilton and Tauranga.
20 May – A second series of Pioneer Woman, over three parts, was broadcast on TV One in a mid-evening slot on Sunday nights. The first series was shown in 1983.
26 May – The final episode of It's in the Bag, from Kaikohe, was broadcast on TV One at 7pm.
2 June – The New Adventures of Black Beauty debuted on TV3 with a 90-minute series premiere at 6.30pm. The 26-part series screened Saturdays at 7.30pm.
13 June – The sitcom version of The Billy T James Show premiered on TV3 and screened Wednesdays at 7.30pm.
17 June – Opus, a weekly programme devoted to classical music and the performing arts, was replaced by a new series called 10AM. Screening Sundays at 10am–12pm (as the title suggested) on TV One, the series covered the arts spectrum, with news, reviews, features and performances in a magazine-style format. It combined locally produced items with content from The South Bank Show and the Australian series Arts World.
9 July – The Westcott File, a current affairs segment presented by Genevieve Westcott, began screening as part of 3 National News at 6.30pm.
20 July – The final episode of the New Zealand version of A Question of Sport was broadcast on TV One at 8pm. A Question of Sport was revived by TVNZ in 1994.
22 July – A New Zealand produced episode of the aviation documentary series Reaching for the Skies entitled "An End to Isolation" was broadcast on TV3 at 6.30pm. It traced the development of aviation in New Zealand, with archive footage, interviews with some of the country's early aviators and a look at the impact flying had had on the Land of the Long White Cloud.
27 July – Breakfast News (half hourly news and weather bulletins between 7–8.30am) was last broadcast on Channel 2.
August – Suzy Cato joined TV3 as co-host of EBS, alongside Russell Rooster and Kiri Kea.
1 August – The Billy T James Show took a break and was replaced by Larger than Life, an Australian sketch comedy series featuring The Comedy Company'sMark Mitchell, which took a not-very-serious look at life and its problems. Larger than Life screened Wednesdays at 7.30pm on TV3 and ran for six weeks. The Billy T James Show returned on 12 September.
6 August – The midday edition of One Network News was reduced in duration from a 15 minute bulletin to just five minutes.
9 August – The James Gang Rides Again, a documentary about Billy T James and five of his fellow heart transplant patients from Auckland's Green Lane Hospital, was broadcast on TV3 at 8.30pm.
13 August – Perigo, a weekly current affairs interview programme with Lindsay Perigo, was first broadcast on TV One. It screened Mondays at around 9.30pm but moved to Wednesdays from 3 October, beginning with the Perigo Election Specials in the lead-up to the 1990 election.
14 August – 1990: The Issues, a combination of sketch comedy and political satire with David McPhail and Jon Gadsby, premiered on TV3 and screened Tuesdays at 7.30pm as a lead-in to the 1990 election.
18 August – Animal Antics, a quiz show in which New Zealand celebrities were tested on animal facts to raise funds for their favourite animal charity, premiered on Channel 2. It was hosted by Mark Leishman and screened Saturdays at 6.30pm.
25 August – Pepsi began sponsoring RTR Sounz! and RTR Countdown through a naming rights agreement; both programmes screened on Channel 2. RTR Megamix and RTR New Releases finished a week earlier (as part of 3.45 Live!).
31 August – Radio with Pictures was revived on Channel 2 as a music video show with no presenters and screened Fridays at around 11.30pm.
1 September – Telethon 1990 was broadcast on Channel 2. Hosted by Paul Holmes, Judy Bailey and John Hawkesby, Telethon originated from Auckland, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin and ran for 24 hours (from 7.30pm Saturday 1 September until 7.30pm Sunday 2 September).
2 September – Mark Leishman shaved the moustache, and Telethon 1990 raised over $4 million for the Celebration of Age Trust.
10 September – British soap Gems premiered on TV3 and screened weekdays at midday in a double episode format, and Home and Away moved to double episodes at 4.30pm.
15 September – Infocus, a magazine-style news show for teenagers, made its debut as part of TV3's EBS. Created by TV3 producer Ian Kingsford-Smith and funded by NZ On Air, Infocus featured then 16-year-olds Tony Bartlett (Howick College) and Stephanie Tauevihi (Northcote College) as presenters. News and magazine items were produced by students from 11 Auckland schools. There were also news clips from other centres. An extended edition of Infocus, on Sundays (9-9.25am), was later added.
1 October – ITN World News was first broadcast on Channel 2 and screened weekdays at 7am, with a same-day repeat at 8am. During the summer months, ITN World News screened at 8am.
2 October – The final episode of Wildtrack, a wildlife series for children, was broadcast on Channel 2 as part of 3.45 Live!. Taylormade Productions, a Dunedin-based independent production house, took over the production of Wildtrack in 1991 with a new name (Wild T) and a new format.
9 October – Roger Hall's Neighbourhood Watch, a comedy series about life in New Zealand suburbs, premiered on TV One and screened Tuesdays at 7.30pm.
11 October – Hard Copy, an American tabloid television show, began screening on TV One in the North Island and screened at 5.30pm as a lead-in to One Network News. It was later replaced by the British sitcom George & Mildred, and Hard Copy screened weekdays at midday from 3 December.
13 October – 48 Hours, a US documentary series that deals with social issues, premiered on TV One and screened Saturdays at 7.30pm.
21 October – The mid-evening/late night edition of One Network News, on weekends, was last broadcast on TV One.
25 October – The final episode of Ten Out of Ten, a live programme to help solve homework problems with host Rodney Bryant, was broadcast on Channel 2 as part of 3.45 Live!.
28 October – Living Treasures, a 10-part series in which Ian Fraser interviewed world figures who visited New Zealand as part of the 1990 celebrations, began screening on TV One.
25 November – The final edition of Frontline, from Wellington's Avalon Television Studios, was broadcast on TV One at 6.30pm. Within the next year, Frontline moved production to TVNZ's Auckland studios.
2 December – On weekdays Fast Forward (a science and technology programme from TVNZ), A Dog's Show and Country Calendar were repeated on TV One, and That's Fairly Interesting was repeated on Channel 2.
10 December – Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue was simulcast on both TV One and Channel 2 at 4.20pm. Then-Prime Minister Jim Bolger introduced the New Zealand screening. Within the next year, Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue was repeated on Channel 2 at 5pm on 14 October 1991 and simulcast with TV3.
14 December – The final editions of The Mainland Touch (Christchurch) and The South Tonight (Dunedin) were broadcast on TV One at 5.45pm.
14 December – The final edition of 3.45 Live! was broadcast on Channel 2.
28 December – Play School and other children's programmes were last broadcast on TV One. The New Zealand version of Play School ceased production during 1990 but continued to screen on Channel 2 in reruns a few years later.
This is a list of programs which made their premiere on a New Zealand television network that had previously premiered on another New Zealand television network. The networks involved in the switch of allegiances are predominantly both free-to-air networks or both subscription television networks. Programs that have their free-to-air/subscription television premiere, after previously premiering on the opposite platform (free-to air to subscription/subscription to free-to air) are not included. In some cases, programs may still air on the original television network. This occurs predominantly with programs shared between subscription television networks.
Body Business (Channel 2)
Professor Lobster (Channel 2)
The Richest Cat in the World (TV3)
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Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs (TV3)
Police Academy: The Animated Series (TV3)
Ox Tales (Channel 2)
Wisdom of the Gnomes (Channel 2)
The Adventures of a Blue Knight (Channel 2)
Shaka Zulu (TV3)
Bouli (Channel 2)
Maya the Bee (Saban dub) (Channel 2)
The Irish Rovers Silver Anniversary (TV One)
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Frankenstein's Aunt (Channel 2)
Amigo and Friends