C42 will be launched on May 1st, to celebrate the start of NZ Music Month and will offer New Zealand music considerable representation with a commitment to up to 30 per cent local content.

C42 will feature back to back alternative music videos, without hosts.

MediaWorks TV Network Executive, Andrew Szusterman says: “We’re happy to be able to offer a true free-to-air 24-hour nationwide music television service that will play everything from ‘The Clash’ through to ‘The Clean’, while also highlighting more current talent like ‘Vampire Weekend’ and our own ‘The Naked and Famous’.

With approximately 30 per cent of the playlist dedicated to NZ music, it seems only proper that we start May 1st, the launch of NZ Music Month.”

An arrangement between MediaWorks and PPNZ will ensure videos and artists represented by IMNZ (the New Zealand trade body for independent record labels and distributors) represent a larger portion of the playlist.

C42 is a brand extension of C4 which has extended beyond its music channel origins to become a general youth entertainment channel.

C42 goes LIVE to air exclusively on Freeview Channel 9 (6am) on May 1st, 2010.

C42 joins the Freeview platform as the second exclusive channel for MediaWorks, after the launch of TV3 plus 1 in March 2009.

- MediaWorks.

C4 experienced growth year-on-year in primetime, with a dramatic lift across all demographics by both share and audience numbers.

TV3 again beat TV One in the all important primetime 18-49 demographic. TV3 ended the year with a 23.2% share, with TV One 18-49 experiencing an 11% decline in the same demographic, ending the year with a 20.4% share.

TV3 also beat TV One in the 18-39, 18-49 Auckland, and 18-49 Metro demographics, with a significant lead in 18-49 Metro of 22.6 to 18.6 share.

In 18-49 C4′s audience reach lifted year-on-year by 57.1% and in the 15-39 demographic by 40.4%.

C4 experienced share growth in all key demographics and ended the year ahead of Prime in its own demographic of 15-39 as well as beating them in the 18-49 demographic.

C4′s share of its target 15-39 demographic increased by 30.6% taking it from 4.5 in 2008 to 5.8 in 2009 – sitting well ahead of Prime’s 3.9.

Director of Programming, Kelly Martin says she is pleased with the lift across both channels and that with all the strong new content coming up in 2010 it is set to be an even bigger year. Highlights to look out for in the coming month are Modern Family and The Good Wife on TV3 and The Cleveland Show on C4.

Martin says she believes C4′s growth was driven by the broadening of programming across the channel.

“We had some key local successes in 2009 which were great for the channel,” she says. “Movies and popular local content such as the Rhys Darby hosted Rocked the Nation and Jono’s New Show helped cement C4 as much more than just a music channel.”

- TV3
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Here is the old one:

What do you think of it?

Here is a look back at C4′s predecessor, TV4:

Thanks to Tenani for the heads up.