Alt TV
Encyclopedia
ALT TV was a New Zealand
broadcast, privately owned and operated 24 hour live-to-air music TV, which aired from 2006 to 2009 and was seen on SKY Digital channel 065. In March 2009, the company was placed into liquidation and the channel is now completely off-air.
ALT TV's most recent slogan was 'Know Good Television.' Their previous slogan was 'Actual Music Television.'
Created by Thane Kirby (founder of George FM
) and Ricky Newby (creator of Deep Hard 'n Funky), it was launched in Auckland on UHF channel 62 on 14 November 2005. The television station also debuted on SKY Digital Channel 36 on Friday, 1 December 2006, moving to SKY Digital Channel 65 on 1 March 2007. As of early 2009 it was under new management. On 4 March 2009 Sky TV stopped transmitting the channel over its digital satellite (DVB-S) service replacing it with an image stating that ALT TV is no longer available in Sky Digital. The last song played to air was 'The End' by The Doors. While the Sky feed ceased, the web streams were still operational at this time. On 18 March 2009, a liquidator was appointed and ALT TV placed into liquidation. Then on 27 March 2009, the liquidators first report stated: "Reason for failure: substantial and consistent trading losses sustained". Finally on 28 March 2009, ALT's website went offline along with the FLV
streaming indexers.
ALT TV catered for the alternative demographic which some consider a response to the growing commercialism in other New Zealand Music channels such as C4 and MTV
. ALT TV supported niche musical genres as well as alternative rock
, indie
, old school
rap & hip-hop, heavy metal
, blues
, soul
, funk
, jazz
, alt country
, punk
, hard rock
, glam rock
, 80s, house
, drum n bass and classic rock
.
ALT TV supported New Zealand music and featured a high degree of unsigned and amateur content, including interviews, music videos and features of unsigned local bands. ALT TV was known for its intentionally unprofessional and unpolished style which is a common feature amongst most of their volunteer presenters and crew members. ALT TV would play Music Videos and performances sent in by local bands, thus being a launching ground for talent which would otherwise be ignored by commercial radio.
At last count ALT TV had around 424,000 monthly viewers and around 50 live to air shows, the highest number of live content in New Zealand. In March 2008 they kicked off their search for a confident topless news anchor to host their upcoming Marquis Condoms' Naked News Flash show for 3 months. Lisa Lewis became the eventual host and completed her 3 month contract with ALT TV and Marquis deciding not to renew the show.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
broadcast, privately owned and operated 24 hour live-to-air music TV, which aired from 2006 to 2009 and was seen on SKY Digital channel 065. In March 2009, the company was placed into liquidation and the channel is now completely off-air.
Created by Thane Kirby (founder of George FM
George FM
George FM is an Auckland dance music radio station, owned and operated by MediaWorks from Ponsonby Road headquarters and relayed on Freeview and radio frequencies around New Zealand...
) and Ricky Newby (creator of Deep Hard 'n Funky), it was launched in Auckland on UHF channel 62 on 14 November 2005. The television station also debuted on SKY Digital Channel 36 on Friday, 1 December 2006, moving to SKY Digital Channel 65 on 1 March 2007. As of early 2009 it was under new management. On 4 March 2009 Sky TV stopped transmitting the channel over its digital satellite (DVB-S) service replacing it with an image stating that ALT TV is no longer available in Sky Digital. The last song played to air was 'The End' by The Doors. While the Sky feed ceased, the web streams were still operational at this time. On 18 March 2009, a liquidator was appointed and ALT TV placed into liquidation. Then on 27 March 2009, the liquidators first report stated: "Reason for failure: substantial and consistent trading losses sustained". Finally on 28 March 2009, ALT's website went offline along with the FLV
FLV
Flash Video is a container file format used to deliver video over the Internet using Adobe Flash Player versions 6–11. Flash Video content may also be embedded within SWF files. There are two different video file formats known as Flash Video: FLV and F4V. The audio and video data within FLV files...
streaming indexers.
ALT TV catered for the alternative demographic which some consider a response to the growing commercialism in other New Zealand Music channels such as C4 and MTV
MTV New Zealand
MTV New Zealand, was a 24-hour general television entertainment channel operated by MTV Networks International. The channel launched on 18 August 2006...
. ALT TV supported niche musical genres as well as alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
, indie
Indie (music)
In music, independent music, often shortened to indie music or "indie" is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, and an autonomous, Do-It-Yourself approach to recording and publishing....
, old school
Old school hip hop
Old school hip hop describes the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music , and the music in the period preceding it from which it was directly descended . Old school hip hop is said to end around 1983 or 1984 with the emergence of Run–D.M.C., the first new school hip hop group...
rap & hip-hop, heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, alt country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
, glam rock
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
, 80s, house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
, drum n bass and classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
.
ALT TV supported New Zealand music and featured a high degree of unsigned and amateur content, including interviews, music videos and features of unsigned local bands. ALT TV was known for its intentionally unprofessional and unpolished style which is a common feature amongst most of their volunteer presenters and crew members. ALT TV would play Music Videos and performances sent in by local bands, thus being a launching ground for talent which would otherwise be ignored by commercial radio.
At last count ALT TV had around 424,000 monthly viewers and around 50 live to air shows, the highest number of live content in New Zealand. In March 2008 they kicked off their search for a confident topless news anchor to host their upcoming Marquis Condoms' Naked News Flash show for 3 months. Lisa Lewis became the eventual host and completed her 3 month contract with ALT TV and Marquis deciding not to renew the show.
Former Show Line Up
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07:00 | Playlist | Playlist | Playlist | Playlist | Playlist |
| 19:00 | After work drinks | After work drinks | After work drinks | After work drinks | After work drinks |
| 19:30 | The Uncles | The Uncles | The Uncles | The Uncles | The Uncles |
| 20:00 | Petrol Therapy | The Seen | Greencore | ALT-eroa | What the Heck, America |
| 20:30 | Alt-n-about | Alt-n-about | Alt-n-about | BFM TV | Friday nite live |
| 21:00 | Alt-n-about | Alt-n-about | Alt-n-about | Alt-n-about | Alt-n-about |
| 22:30 | Disruptive TV | World Music | Fire it up | Stereo Deluxe | The 80s show |
| 23:30 | The Uncles | The Uncles | The Uncles | The Uncles | The Uncles |
| 24:00 | Overnight Playlist | Overnight Playlist | Overnight Playlist | Overnight Playlist | Overnight Playlist |
| Saturday | Sunday | |
|---|---|---|
| 07:00 | Comedown | Comedown |
| 08:00 | Playlist | Playlist |
| 15:00 | Playlist | IPW wrestling |
| 16:00 | Playlist | Hangover on Sunday |
| 17:00 | Playlist | The Vinyl Monologues |
| 18:00 | Playlist | Sparkle On Sunday |
| 19:00 | Welcome to the Gun Show | Sunday News Roast |
| 20:00 | Rock 101 | Let's be Frank |
| 21:00 | Rockzilla | Cheese on Toast |
| 22:00 | Grunge Lounge | Ashtray Heart |
| 23:00 | Soundbank | playlist |