CHTV-3
(NZBC Christchurch)

From 1960 to 1973, television transmissions in New Zealand were regional, with all stations being run public-funded New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (which until 1962 had been known as the New Zealand Broadcasting Service). The suffix '3' denoted CHTV's channel position on the dial (channel 3 — 61—68 MHz, transmitted from Sugarloaf), not that they were the third NZBC channel. CHTV was established in June 1961, and was the second New Zealand television service in operation (after AKTV Auckland).

As New Zealand TV was regional in the 1960s, the Avengers film prints were sent around the four regions. This meant that even if regions aired The Avengers on the same night, they would generally be screening different episodes. The videotape era, Series 1 to 3 of The Avengers, has never aired in New Zealand, even in the multi-channel age.

 The Avengers — Series 4

(1) Too Many Christmas Trees was shown in three of the four regions on the same night, with slightly staggered start times, on 22nd December 1965. This would have involved multiple film prints or videotape copies being delivered to the respective stations. The fourth region, Dunedin, aired the episode a year later on 20th December 1966.

 The Avengers — Series 5

No.	Title	CHTV-3 Transmissions (New Zealand)	CHRISTCHURCH
27	The Fear Merchants	Tuesday 21st March 1967, 8.44pm (2)
28	From Venus With Love	Tuesday 28th March 1967, 8.44pm
29	Escape in Time	Tuesday 4th April 1967, 8.44pm
30	The See-Through Man	Tuesday 11th April 1967, 8.46pm
31	The Bird Who Knew Too Much	Tuesday 18th April 1967, 8.39pm
32	The Winged Avenger	Tuesday 25th April 1967, 8.46pm
33	The Living Dead	Tuesday 2nd May 1967, 8.39pm
34	The Hidden Tiger	Tuesday 9th May 1967, 8.38pm
35	The Correct Way to Kill	Tuesday 16th May 1967, 8.38pm
36	Never, Never Say Die	Tuesday 23rd May 1967, 8.38pm
37	Epic	Tuesday 30th May 1967, 8.38pm
38	The Superlative Seven	Tuesday 6th June 1967, 8.39pm
39	A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Station	Tuesday 13th June 1967, 8.38pm
Break in Transmission No further episodes shown until Wednesday 15th November 1967
40	Something Nasty in the Nursery	Wednesday 15th November 1967, 8.04pm
41	Who's Who ???	Wednesday 22nd November 1967, 8.14pm
42	Death's Door	Wednesday 29th November 1967, 8.14pm
43	The £50,000 Breakfast	Wednesday 6th December 1967, 8.14pm
44	The Positive Negative Man	Wednesday 13th December 1967, 8.14pm
45	Murdersville	Wednesday 20th December 1967, 8.30pm
46	Mission... Highly Improbable	Wednesday 27th December 1967, 7.53pm
47	Dead Man's Treasure	Wednesday 3rd January 1968, 7.53pm
48	The Joker	Wednesday 10th January 1968, 8.49pm
49	Return of the Cybernauts	Wednesday 17th January 1968, 8.44pm
50	You Have Just Been Murdered	Wednesday 24th January 1968, 8.44pm

(2) Colour broadcasts commenced in New Zealand in late 1973, so Series 5 episodes originally aired in black and white. A repeat season of Series 5 — now in colour — ran from 21st February to 23 May 1978, on Tuesdays after 10pm on TV One (as the NZBC television service had been renamed after a reorganisation in 1975 which saw the splitting of the NZBC into TV One, TV Two and Radio New Zealand, all of which remained public-owned stations).

 The Avengers — Series 6

(3) Colour broadcasts commenced in New Zealand in late 1973, so Series 6 episodes originally aired in black and white. A repeat season of Series 6 — now in colour — was broadcast in the mid-1980s on TV One (as the NZBC television service had been renamed after a reorganisation in 1975 which saw the splitting of the NZBC into TV One, TV Two and Radio New Zealand, all of which remained public-owned stations). This repeat season omitted the episode Fog for an unknown reason.

Researched and compiled by Jon Preddle

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