Prime News TV online - Television live

Prime News TV Live Stream

Prime went on air in New Zealand on 30 August 1998 as a free-to-air alternative to the established networks, originally owned by Australia's Prime Television. Sky Network Television bought the channel in 2006 and turned it into its free-to-air shop window. After exactly 25 years under the Prime brand, the channel was relaunched as Sky Open on 23 August 2023 - the same grid, a new name.

A Homegrown News Habit

For most of its life the channel's evening landmark was Prime News, the 5:30 bulletin that positioned itself as a more relaxed, magazine-flavoured alternative to the big six o'clock shows. Around it grew a small but beloved slate of local production: The Crowd Goes Wild, the sports comedy show fronted by James McOnie and Andrew Mulligan, and Back Benches, the political panel recorded in a Wellington pub with Wallace Chapman.

Sport for Free

Under Sky ownership the channel became famous as the free window for pay-TV sport - delayed rugby, cricket and league matches that subscription viewers had seen live, plus big events the whole country needed to watch. That role continues under Sky Open.

Where It Lives Now

Sky Open broadcasts free-to-air nationwide. Anyone looking for the old Prime TV NZ online today will find this New Zealand free-to-air channel under its new name, with the same mix of local stories and imported series.

Prime News TV Watch Live Streaming now online