Kids TV

Kids TV was a Dunedin-based television production company specialised in the creation of television series aimed at children. It produced TV3's earliest kids blocks, The Early Bird Show and 3PM, and was best known for its educational series You and Me, which was presented by Suzy Cato for a seven-year run. Some of its productions were also made for export, making it to countries such as the United Kingdom and Singapore. In addition, it also produced more mature programming, such as Straight Up, a talk show aimed at teenagers catering key issues, and a variety of documentaries.

Kids TV also ran a channel on Saturn Cable, which closed in October 2001.

History

The origins of Kids TV lie in former What Now producer Rex Simpson's arrival to TV3, New Zealand's first private television network, as head of children's programming, where he produced The Early Bird Show for TV3. It aired from 7 to 9am from 27 November 1989, its first full day of operations. In February 1990, TV3 ditched weekday morning programming, causing it to be limited to weekends, remaining on air until 1993.[1]

Facing the closure of TV3's production departments, favouring independent production companies to do programmes for the network, Simpson created Kids TV in 1991, headquartered in Dunedin with offices in Auckland.[2] In 1992, a crew from the company traveled to New Orleans to produce a documentary on Moana and the Moa Hunters' trip there to a local festival.[3]

At the end of 1992, ten of the company's staff were laid off when TV3 axed five local productions, among them The Early Bird Show, which they made for the network.[4] In June 1993, Ian Kingsford-Smith, who defected from the network, set up an international division, Kids TV International.[5]

You and Me started airing on TV3 on 6 July 1992.[6] In 1993, Suzy Cato took over presenting duties.[7] In March 1994, Kids TV started producing a pilot programme made specifically for the British market, produced for The Children's Channel. It was also holding talks with American network PBS for a "quasi-educational" series.[8] In May, it made an Oprah-style talk show for TV3, Straight Up, consisting of three editions. Catered at a teen and young adult audience, it tackled topics such as alcoholism[9] and the state of the education system.[10] In October, it received NZ On Air funding for new episodes of You and Me and two further specials of Straight Up.[11]

In September 1997, the company received an injection of NZ$1,122,160 for 194 new episodes of You and Me and six documentaries to air on TV3.[12] The company also released new shows such as The Shelly T. Turtle Show and the stop motion series Bobbie the Bus, but these were mostly seen abroad, as both TVNZ and TV3 rejected the show, which co-owner Simon Henderson had no idea on the decision, which was suggested by the broadcasters themselves as not willing to look for children's programming.[13] After operating for a decade in Dunedin, the company moved to Wellington in February 2001. When the cable channel closed in October 2001, it lost four staff: two presenters (Suzy Cato had already left the company), a sound technician and a producer. Rex Simpson decided to take the issue to court. On 7 November 2001, the company auctioned off its property, including props and puppets from You and Me, its flagship series.[14]

Channel

Kids TV started operating a dedicated channel in 1996 when cable television started in New Zealand, sharing the same name as the company. The plan was first mooted in 1995 by receiving an application with Telecom for a pilot cable service in Auckland[15] By March 1996, during the trial period of the cable service, it was already successful with children.[16]

In October 2001, TelstraSaturn shut down the channel owing to commercial decisions.[14]

Productions

Children's series

  • The Early Bird Show (1991-1992)
  • You and Me (1992-1999)
  • Bobbie the Bus (1999; rejected by TVNZ and TV3 but screened abroad, in the UK, Australia and the Netherlands)[13]
  • The Shelly T. Turtle Show (rejected by TVNZ and TV3)

Documentaries

  • Entertainment Storytelling (1993)[17]
  • The News Story (1993), on a TVNZ news crew[17]

Other productions

  • Straight Up (talk show for teenagers, 1994)

References

  1. ^ "The Early Bird Show". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  2. ^ Rex loves stimulating theatre of life
  3. ^ "Band honoured". The Press. 22 April 1992. p. 13.
  4. ^ "TV3 looks ahead after shows axed". The Press. 14 December 1992. p. 9.
  5. ^ "New look for teen show". The Press. 22 June 1993. p. 11.
  6. ^ "OnFilm Magazine". August 1994. Retrieved 17 October 2019
  7. ^ "Parent/host now on TV". The Press. 21 September 1993. p. 11.
  8. ^ "NZ-made series for British TV". The Press. 29 March 1994. p. 26.
  9. ^ "New scheme gives NZ drama impetus". The Press. 12 May 1994. p. 22.
  10. ^ "New Zealand youth have their say". The Press. 26 May 1994. p. 26.
  11. ^ "$6m ploughed into children's TV shows". The Press. 12 October 1994. p. 28.
  12. ^ What Now? winner in latest funding: [3 edition]. (1997, Sep 25). Evening Post
  13. ^ a b TV's rebuff keeps local shows off our screens
  14. ^ a b Mathew, L. H. (2001, Nov 07). The show must go on? Not quite. Evening Post
  15. ^ "Telecom commits to technology". The Press. 22 July 1995. p. 21.
  16. ^ Telecom moves to extend cable TV. (1996, Mar 09). Dominion
  17. ^ a b Film, Video and Multimedia Guide. Damned Publishing. September 1997. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
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