The first attempt at bringing a television service to Niue emerged in 1986, when John Bliss from the U.S. state of Nevada obtained permission from the government to install a cable network fed to each village from a terrestrial antenna located in the capital, Alofi. The subscription service charged an installation fee of NZ$50 for the decoder and NZ$5 for a monthly subscription. Content was relayed from satellite, with relays from the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service relayed off Intelsat as well as pre-taped black-and-white U.S. movies from The Nostalgia Channel. The system used NTSC for recording and PAL for transmission. The service was provided by Bliss Cablevision, which over the course of three years had extended its coverage across the island.[1] The new service broadcast on channel 6.[1]
When the underground cable near Lakepa was near completion, the company was discontinued and its assets were taken over by the government, who with assistance from Television New Zealand, replaced it with a terrestrial service. The service was owned by the newly created BCN.[1]
In the early 2000s, Shona Pitt, current owner of Cook Islands Television, was the owner of the station.[2]
Presently BCN is responsible for a digital multiplex network of several relayed channels alongside the local service. Three new channels from Discovery Communications (the present Warner Bros. Discovery) were added in October 2019[3]
Programming
In its early years, TV Niue received its programming from TVNZ's Pacific Service, who supplied the station with videotapes on a weekly basis. One Network News and sporting events were rebroadcast by satellite.[1]