SKY Television will cease broadcasting Television New Zealand's (TVNZ) Kidzone channel at the end of this month.
The channel, which is targeted at preschoolers, will cease broadcasting on May 1 after a rights agreement between SKY and TVNZ was not renewed.
TVNZ Kidzone will also be removed from SKY's prepaid Igloo service, where it will be replaced by American television channel Nick Jr from May 8. The channel will not be replaced on SKY.
TVNZ Communications Manager Georgie Hills said it was SKY's decision not to renew the contract to broadcast Kidzone. Kidzone programming will be exclusively available from May 1 on the free TVNZ OnDemand online service and will continue to feature local content produced in New Zealand that is currently broadcast on the channel.
"Although disappointed, TVNZ are pleased to be able to offer Kidzone content free to all families via. TVNZ OnDemand, from May 1," said Hills.
In a statement on its Kidzone Facebook page, TVNZ said the move of Kidzone to their on-demand service will "triple our online line-up for New Zealand's littlest viewers".
"We're creating a special commercial free Kidzone destination on TVNZ OnDemand that will triple our online line-up for New Zealand's littlest viewers," said TVNZ. "We'll continue to offer quality content sourced from here and around the world - quality local content is Kidzone's big point of difference."
May's line-up includes Peppa Pig, Arthur and Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs, as well as locally produced programmes Kune's Kitchen, Buzzy Bee and Friends and Wiki the Kiwi.
Hills said playlists of children's programmes will be introduced on TVNZ OnDemand, allowing them to grouped by themes and series.
"As well as offering individual episodes, TVNZ OnDemand will introduce playlists of Kidzone shows so there's no need for you to click to play the next episode," she said. "There will be a butterfly themed compilation, a Peppa Pig themed playlist and more. We think these changes are an exciting development for our youngest viewers."
Parents of children who watch the channel and without internet access, expressed their disappointment with the move to TVNZ OnDemand, on the TVNZ Kidzone Facebook page.
"Why are you going exclusively on-demand? Not all families have internet access and this is my son's favourite channel; we literally have SKY so he can watch it. Seems ridiculous to me," said Tisha Pilkington.
"So disappointing. We don't have WiFi at home so can't watch on-demand and it is the only channel my children actually watch," said Hannah-Lee Read.
Erynne Parlane, 4, was not interested in watching Kidzone programming on TVNZ OnDemand.
Her grandfather, Melrose Parlane, said with watching the programmes online, it would make the device used inactive for other uses at the same time.
Referring to an example of a child watching a programme using their parent's laptop computer, "that means you can't use the laptop for something else," he said.
"[Children] haven't got their own laptop"
Erynne's mother, Kat Parlane, said the move of TVNZ Kidzone to on-demand "sucked" especially since it was a locally produced television channel.
"It's a bad idea. It's an inconvenience, especially if you don't have an internet connection and rely on conventional television [to entertain your children]," she said.
TVNZ OnDemand is accessible on a number of devices in addition to its website with a computer.
Devices that can access the service include Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy and Windows Surface tablets, selected Samsung Smart televisions, Sony PlayStation 3 and 4 and FreeviewPlus built-in TVs and set-top boxes.
A full list of devices that can view TVNZ OnDemand can be found here.
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