ABOUT US
The Broadcasting Corporation of Niue(BCN) was formally established in 1989 and operates the only television and radio station in Niue. The purpose of the agency is to deliver a quality radio and television service. Our services exist to provide all Niuean’s with informed coverage of the news and information they need to lead fulfilled lives and to participate as citizens in a democratic society, where free press is a vital part. We deliver our services and projects across a range of activities, these include: · Television · Radio · Sales , Marketing & Administration · Engineering/ Technical Repairs Our activities overarch and support indirectly pillars of the Niue National Strategic Plan. Although radio services have been operational since the early 1960’s the move into television broadcasting started in the early 1989/1990.
Our Mission
To provide a quality, reliable and cost effective broadcasting service, educating, entertaining and informing the people of Niue to appreciate their culture, taoga, spirituality, language and environment.
Our Values
We operate in an environment that incorporates the following principles and values that are built into our culture and work practices.
We aim to better understand our audience putting them at the core of everything we do.
We strive for excellence in the development and presentation of programs.
When interacting with government we will foster Accountability and Transparency
In order to achieve high quality work standards our staff will conduct themselves with a high level of professionalism, honesty, integrity.
We value our customers and will endeavour to be responsive and provide quality services delivered in a timely and sensitive manner.
We value our suppliers and will ensure professionalism at all times.
When dealing with the community we will develop a moral and social conscience to serve the community to the best of our knowledge and ability.
RADIO SUNSHINE
Radio Sunshine (ZK2ZN) was introduced as a cheap and effective way of keeping people informed. In the early 1960’s it was agreed that a radio station would be a worthwhile asset investment and work to construct a small and basic studio went ahead.
The on-air studio was equipped with a half Gates mixer, two AKG microphones, a receiver rescued from a Japanese fishing boat that ran aground, one reel to reel tape-recorder and of course a clock.
However the most essential piece of equipment a transmitter needed to be sourced from the Telecommunications department that was borrowed at certain times of the day. In 1972 the government bought its own AM broadcast transmitter with an output of 250 watts.
The mast, which was 200 feet tall was assembled by a team of Radio New Zealand riggers. It was also realized at the time of installation that the earth mat had to be curtailed by fifty per cent owing to the rocky terrain of the sight.
Not long after the TX was erected Radio Sunshine moved from a 2 x 2.4m room to a renovated building which more or less represented a broadcast studio, this time consisting of one on-air studio and a production and recording studio including space for its staff of five to work.
Through the generosity of the Australian Government the construction of a permanent studio at Fonuakula began and it was officially opened on the 19th of October 1995.
TV NIUE
In 1990 Niue ventured into television broadcasting with Television Niue (TV Niue) operating on an analogue system initially broadcasting for a few hours. Television in Niue began with an American by the name of John Bliss who was granted permission by the Niue government to set up a cable TV system that was known as Bliss Cable-vision.
He started with a 7 meter dish from Nelson, NZ and most of the cable-vision programs consisted of old Hollywood movies the Nostalgia Channel. There were attempts to introduce local content but that did not take too well. As Bliss started expanding his system around the island, TVNZ started to take more interest offering a terrestrial free to air TV channel.
The Niue Government bought all of Bliss’s equipment and with the assistance of the Pacific Service of TVNZ more new equipment was acquired leading up to the creation of the Broadcasting Corporation of Niue that would go on to be responsible for TV Niue, Radio Sunshine and the publication NiuExpress.
When BCN began its official transmission with TV Niue in 1990 a brand new satellite dish able to receive nightly news direct from TVNZ and other programs that BCN had rights to rebroadcast. The bulk of the programming was on S-VHS cassettes delivered via airfreight each week that was approximately 4-5 hours of TV each night from Monday to Saturday. On Sunday a transmission was usually a live news feed and a movie. Once programs were played to air the cassettes were then returned to NZ.
Recent developments to television services in 2016 the Corporation made an announcement of planned expansions to offer more than one channel and a shift from analogue to digital.