Nearly all of TVNZ’s programme content for Channels One and Two is now available free through its Web sites, www.tvnz.co.nz and www.tvnzondemand.co.nz

TVNZ has actively pursued the rights to stream international content, something that was previously limited in capacity.

Ondemand has seen a gradual increase to the amount of accessible programming in recent months, which is driving considerable Internet traffic. “Last month we did 830,000 full-episode streams to nearly 200,000 unique browsers.

That’s before we’ve got the big showcase American titles up there, like Lost and Desperate Housewives,” says General Manager of Content and Delivery for Emerging Business, Tom Cotter.

The video is streamed using Adobe Flash and the stream is adjusted to suit the user’s Internet connection.

“Everyone gets on the Internet after work or after school, and the Internet slows down dramatically,” says Cotter.

“[Ondemand] is architected to give people quality streams, taking into account the patchiness of the Internet.”

Programming is available on the Ondemand Web site for at least four weeks after airing, with some content available indefinitely. PlayStation 3 owners can view the Ondemand streams on their home television using their console, and TVNZ is currently in negotiations with Internet service providers so that use of these Web sites does not contribute to the consumer’s data cap.

TVNZ’s news site has also been overhauled, and each ONE News bulletin can be streamed live or accessed later via Ondemand.

But the televised content is just a very small part of the improvements to the news site, explains Cotter. “It’s not just about TV news anymore. The news site has been redesigned to be clean, text-anchored, and video-differentiated. We’ve got writers, doing video, adding audio. On the news site, you can see the depth we’ve got now.”