AM Network

Parliament TV / AM Network
The Parliament TV logo
Launched	9 October 2007
Owned by	New Zealand Parliament
Picture format	576i 16:9 (SDTV)
Country	New Zealand
Headquarters	Wellington, New Zealand
Website	Parliament TV Video live stream AM Network Audio live stream InTheHouse
Availability
Terrestrial
Freeview|HD	Channel 22
AM frequencies	Various
Satellite
Freeview Satellite	Channel 22
SKY Television Digital	Channel 86
Cable
Vodafone	Channel 86

Legislative broadcasters in New Zealand are broadcasters of the New Zealand Parliament House of Representatives. Television channel Parliament TV and radio network AM Network are funded by the New Zealand House of Representatives to broadcast full and unedited coverage of its proceedings. The Office of the Clerk also funds a fully independent written, audio and video political reporting service of Parliamentary proceedings called Parliament Today.

Sitting hours are seasonal and are generally within five weekly sessions. Normal sittings are 14:00 and 18:00 Tuesdays; 19:30 and 22:00 Tuesday nights; 14:00 and 18:00 Wednesdays; 19:30 and 22:00 Wednesday nights; and 14:00 and 18:00 Thursdays. Special circumstances can allow Parliament to sit under urgency, usually between 09:00 Tuesday morning and 24:00 Saturday evening.

Prior to the AM Network, Parliamentary broadcasts were carried on the Concert programme, with New Zealand becoming the first country in the world to broadcast Parliament regularly on 25 March 1936.

Veteran press gallery journalist and political commentator Charles Wheeler introduced the broadcast of the opening of the 25th Parliament, with Speaker-elect Barnard. Wheeler told listeners on the first broadcast that "for the first time in the history of New Zealand broadcasting, the microphone has been introduced into Parliament itself so that even the most distant elector may gain some first-hand knowledge of the more important happenings". He said New Zealand was blazing the trail in allowing parliamentary broadcasts.

Since the 1980s, the AM Network has used to broadcast all live Parliamentary proceedings in full. In 2007, Parliamentary coverage was expanded to television.

Parliament TV is managed by Kordia under a long-term contract to the House of Representatives. and is made freely available to media companies. It broadcasts though media such as TVNZ and MediaWorks New Zealand, as streaming video on the Internet, and, since 9 October 2007, on Freeview channel 22 and SKY Digital Channel 086.