In the era before 24 hour transmission, packages like these opened the day on TV1 and TV2. United by patriotic zeal, they focused on Kiwi people at work and play, and on scenery, and could have doubled as tourism promos. (The 1976 edition — second clip — borrows more than just the soundtrack from short film This is New Zealand). The party piece is the first clip: an epic tag-team version of the national anthem, sung by Annie Crummer, Peter Morgan, the Patea Māori Club and Dalvanius, backed by the NZ Youth Jazz Orchestra. It was originally recorded for Expo 88 in Brisbane.

With the establishment of TVNZ in 1980, Lookout was introduced as TV1’s local documentary slot featuring 45 minute programmes on Friday nights. The series didn’t have a unifying theme but, instead, featured work made in-house and independently (with the latter including a number of NFU productions). As well as documentaries, Lookout also included a number of episodes of Trial Run where juries of everyday people examined current issues. In 1981, TV1’s documentary strand was renamed Contact but it returned sporadically as Lookout in 1982. 

TV1 celebrated Christmas by throwing most of its big names into this 1977 comedy/variety show. Ringleaders Roger Gascoigne and Nice One Stu's Stu Dennison are joined by a cavalcade of newsreaders hiding under Santa beards. Among the loopy 70s oddities on show: Brian Edwards in school uniform, channelling The Goons; Selwyn Toogood doing an It's in the Bag sketch that would nowadays likely be deemed too un-PC to make it to air; plus racehorse expert Glyn Tucker talking reindeer races. Madcap band Mother Goose also appear. 

TVNZ focused on contemporary urban issues in New Streets as a counterpoint to its epic Landmarks documentary series which charted NZ’s historical development. Over three episodes, Neil Roberts examined the rapid growth of South Auckland, the spotlight was placed on an arts employment scheme for disadvantaged Mangere youth, and writer Albert Wendt provided a personal perspective on how the traditional values of his Samoan community were coping with Auckland’s urban pressures. New Streets screened in Lookout, TV1’s early 80s local documentary slot.  

This notorious clip was filmed for Timberjack's appearance at the 1971 Loxene Golden Disc Awards, to accompany their symphonic cover of the song by British band Black Widow. The Wicker Man-esque images of skulls and ritualistic sacrifice would do any of today's "black metal" groups proud — but proved too much for TV1 audiences, who jammed the switchboard with complaints. An alternate version screened a week later with the black and white negative inverted, but proved equally unsavoury and led to an outright ban. Warning: contains nudity and pine needles.

10AM was among the first of a run of magazine-style arts shows to screen in a morning weekend slot. Debuting on TV1 in mid 1990, it was hosted by Radio New Zealand veteran Kathryn Asare. 10AM mixed reports and studio interviews (conducted by Asare) on various topics involving the Kiwi arts scene. Producer Gil Barker felt Asare was a television natural, fighting pressure to give the role to an established “telestar”, or change Asare’s image. He also brought in writer Peter Hawes to help bring a lighter touch to the show than arts programmes from the past.

Contact was introduced as TV2’s slot for local documentaries when TVNZ was established in 1980. At 7pm on Monday nights, it featured 30 minute programmes made both in-house and by independent producers. Multiple episode series within the strand included historian Les Cleveland’s archive based Not So Long Ago, and Ian Taylor Adventures, where the former Spot On presenter tried his hand at various extreme sports. The Contact brand was transferred to TV1 in 1981, as TV2 began to move towards more of an entertainment focus.  

Local news was a staple of pre-network 1960s NZ television, and retained its popularity in the network era. The amalgamation of TV1 and SPTV in 1980 produced regional shows The South Tonight and The Mainland Touch in the South Island, and Today Tonight in Wellington. Top Half covered the area spanning from Turangi to North Cape. It was presented for six years by the "dream team" of John Hawkesby and Judy Bailey (latter succeeded by Natalie Brunt in 1986). Amid some controversy, regional news on TVNZ was eased out by Holmes and the arrival of a new era of TV.