Television New Zealand (TVNZ, in short) is the largest public broadcaster in New Zealand. Along with free-to-air programs, TVNZ also has its on-demand video streaming service, TVNZ OnDemand.
What is TVNZ OnDemand
TVNZ OnDemand is the catch-up service and streams content from the TVNZ channels – TVNZ One, TVNZ Two and TVNZ Duke. They offer content from TVNZ news programs, TVNZ sports programs and also various movies.
Not only the local content, but you can also watch US shows such as Grey’s Anatomy, Quantico, Walking Dead and Big Bang Theory, among others.
There is a good mix of New Zealand, Australian and international content (mostly the US ones) ready for you and are available right after they have aired. Some shows may take a longer time to appear.
If you have missed any of the live episodes, you can catch them up later. But the episodes aren’t there forever. They disappear once their rights expire. It’s sad, no? Don’t be; the good thing is just coming up.
The service is available on PC, smartphones (iOS or Android), tablets (iOS or Android), and gaming consoles.
There also is this handy ‘pick up and play’ feature. You can start from where you left your show from any other device connected to the account. And the best thing is every part of this service is free.
Stream TVNZ OnDemand in Australia
Yes, you heard me right, the service is free. But wait! There is a catch. Not everyone can get access to these as they provide their services only in New Zealand. But we do have a workaround, the good old VPNs.
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are a great way to access such services. Once you have your device connected to a VPN server, you can bypass these regional restrictions. In the present times, the best VPN in Australia is ExpressVPN.
Not only does a VPN gets you ‘blocked’ services, but it also encrypts the communication channel. And ExpressVPN’s protection is one of the strongest and is very reliable.
Express VPN has servers to access services from New Zealand. Once connected, the server provides the streaming device with a new (temporary) IP address of New Zealand, which TVNZ can see.
As the server encrypts the traffic, not even your ISP can know what you access. Anyone trying to intercept your network will see the data packets sent by the VPN server and not the actual contents. (Read our Express VPN Review here)
Register for TVNZ OnDemand
Although the service is free, you do need to register an account with them. The process is simple, and all you need is to provide your personal details such as name, age and email address. And you’re good-to-go.
Once logged into their website TVNZ.co.nz, you get the on-demand services and the LiveTV. You can check the TVNZ Guide for the detailed schedule. Even if you miss an episode, you can watch it later. (Read Is Hulu Available In Australia)
But be aware of the rights, the TV broadcasting rights as we mentioned above. These broadcasting rights are different for different shows and can range anywhere from seven days to six months.