Hot Off the Press Release: MediaWorks Terminates ThreeLife
February 10, 2020 
23 Comments
In yet another troubling sign for the future of free-to-air TV, MediaWorks is shutting down ThreeLife and replacing it with HD music channel The Edge TV and the SD-only Breeze TV.
Here’s the media release:
THE EDGE TV AND BREEZE TV COMING TO TV SCREENS
On 26 March MediaWorks will be changing ThreeLife and ThreeLifePlus1 to The Edge TV and the Breeze TV.
Chief Executive Michael Anderson said this is a response to our audience preferences.
“We’re in the business of delivering what our audience wants, and while there’s a lot of popular content on ThreeLife, this will find a home on Three and ThreeNow which will complement and strengthen our TV offering across all our channels – both peak and off peak.
“Radio content on TV has been very popular and the launch of The Edge TV and Breeze TV will bring two of New Zealand’s most popular radio brands to the TV market.
“We’re a business that continues to refine, adapt and evolve our offerings to our viewers. We continue to try new approaches to deliver what people want. The introduction of ThreeLife and ThreeLifePlus1 was an example of this. The launch of Edge and Breeze TV continues this process,” said Michael Anderson.
These changes are unrelated to the current TV sale which is still ongoing. This is business as usual with the relationship between MediaWorks TV and radio continuing, which includes seeking opportunities for the businesses to work together and leverage one another accordingly.
ThreeLife Q & A
When does ThreeLife go off air?
The official changeover will happen after midnight on the morning of March 26.
Why are ThreeLife and ThreeLifePlus1 going off air?
ThreeLife was a great channel and we are proud of the fans it found in a fragmented market. However, ultimately it didn’t find the audience we’d hoped for relative to its cost base and our priority is to continue to support and promote Three as a market leader on free to air TV.
What is replacing ThreeLife and ThreeLifePlus1?
On March 26 we are bringing back the ever-popular music channel The Edge TV to Freeview Channel 11. Previously only available on ThreeNow, Rova and theedge.co.nz, The Edge TV will now be HD.
In April, The Breeze TV will replace ThreeLifePlus1(on Freeview channel 14 DTT)
What will viewers see on The Edge TV and The Breeze TV?
The Edge TV is targeted towards all people 18 – 39 providing a traditional music TV channel primarily offering viewers clip based music television. Catering to a mainstream audience The Edge TV will offer a Top 40 playlist.
The Breeze TV will deliver a mix of the best music videos from The Breeze radio station playlist. From Ronan Keating to Robbie Williams and Rod Stewart and much more. The Breeze TV will offer the best classic music videos. Targeted at 35 – 59s with a female skew The Breeze TV is the perfect way to ‘take it easy’ everyday.
Will I still be able to watch ThreeLife and ThreeLifePlus1shows?
We’ve been working for some time now to find homes for our most loved ThreeLife shows over on Three and ThreeNow. This covers well over 150 lifestyle and entertainment titles including Millionaire Hot Seat, Bondi Rescue, Masterchef UK, Restoration Man and Better Homes and Gardens.
Do I need to do anything?
Most Freeview-approved TVs and set-top boxes connected to UHF aerials will automatically update to broadcast Edge TV on channel 11 and The Breeze TV on channel 14 when the switchover takes place. Some TVs require user permission – please select to update your TV or channels list when prompted. If you do not receive an onscreen prompt, you may need to re-tune your TV or box to view ThreeLifePlus1. For retune guidelines, please see freeviewforum.co.nz/retune
If your TV or box hasn’t updated automatically, you’ll see a black screen when you go to channel 14 after 1 July. To fix this, just give your TV / box a retune. Go to SETTINGS / MENU > PROGRAMMING > AUTO-TUNING to re-tune. And you can check out freeviewforum.co.nz/retune for retune guidelines.
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February 10, 2020 at 11:32 am
Didn’t MediaWorks kill off EdgeTV last year to replace it with streaming only???
Yes, they did, Mike — so they could replace it with … [drumroll] ThreeLife +1.
Not surprised by this move, Choice and HGTV had already sewn up the free-to-air life style market, there was no room for this channel to cut through.
Quite agree, Leo. The only point of difference — but a good one — was ThreeLife being in HD.
The new owner of Three may replace it with something better 🙂
We can only hope, Trevor.
Don’t forget this channel is still not HD on Sky TV. Wonder if Sky going to refuse to broadcast Edge TV in HD too when it launches.
Good point, Fsmith. Somehow I doubt it.
Where does it say that Sky will broadcast EdgeTV and BreezeTV? Look like Freeview channels (DTT and assumably satellite). No mention of Sky rebroadcasting on satellite so given it’s not HD on FreeviewSat, why would Sky bother to duplicate with an HD signal?
Brilliant news. Never watched 3Life but will definitely be watching EdgeTV and BreezeTV. Missed having a music channel on fta
Now you’ll have two, Aaron.
It’s not clear yet, Mike, if Sky will broadcast one or both channels. Sources aren’t ruling it out. In the meantime, MediaWorks has confirmed only EdgeTV will be in HD on Freeview DTT after mistakenly telling me both will broadcast in HD. It replaces ThreeLife whereas BreezeTV will replace the SD +1 channel. Have corrected the original post accordingly.
Best show on ThreeLife was the Good Chef Bad Chef cooking show in HD. 🙂
Is it possible that MediaWorks can upgrade Bravo to HD since ThreeLife is being axed or some sort of frequency swap so The Edge TV stays in SD, so one of its main channel brands will finally get upgraded to HD, Philip?
That’s a good idea, Leo, although I see no sign of it happening. But given the competitiveness of some Bravo programming, you would think it would be a priority.
I’ve got good news/bad news for you, thx1138: Good Chef Bad Chef will continue on Three in HD but hasn’t yet been scheduled.
I loved this channel. Thought l was going mad and my TV had broken as I couldn’t find it. Justine Schofield. Good Chef Bad Chef. Homes and Gardens. Just to name a few. Highly disappointed. Plus there was no notification regarding this issue.
The good news, Paulette, is Homes and Gardens and Good Chef Bad Chef are among the series that will continue, albeit presumably off-peak, on Three. MediaWorks says more than 150 titles will be rescheduled on Three or ThreeNow. But it will be interesting to see how many of these are relicensed. I suspect not many. The problem for MediaWorks is it’s deep in debt amid a steep downtown in advertising in a fragmenting media market where ThreeLife already faced strong competition from the likes of Prime, Choice and Sky’s channels.
Really missing Vet on the Hill – I hope this will be screened on another channel.
I’m pretty sure it will turn up off-peak on Three or go straight to ThreeNow, Michelle, but have asked MediaWorks to confirm.
Hey, Michelle. Keep an eye out for Vet on the Hill on Three. The broadcaster says it is using episodes from S3 to plug holes in the schedule: “Hard to pinpoint exact times as we are putting episodes in on public holidays to cover for The AM Show/Cafe etc and also some Saturdays coming up.” If you do miss them on air, “all episodes played automatically qualify for On Demand rights and will be uploaded to Three Now following their transmission”.
That is great news Philip! Thanks for the heads up. I will keep an eye out. Cheers Michelle
What a crock of shit. I loved ThreeLife +1, always watched it and now you have taken it away. Will never watch the other crap you are replacing it with, music comes from radios. Pity all the evening telly now is rubbish.