It's been a wild three-decade ride for broadcaster TV3. They launched in 1989 as an energetic alternative to state-owned Television New Zealand and proved they had what it took to survive - but not before going broke, being sold a few times and losing large numbers of long serving staff members. Earlier this year TV3 broke with the past and rebranded as +HR=E. Journalist Bill Ralston was headhunted by the new network and signed up before they began broadcasting. He cheerfully admits to Eyewitness producer Justin Gregory that it was his short attention span that made the offer so appealing.

In a new episode of RNZ's Eyewitness podcast, Bill Ralston* tells Justin Gregory about the wild beginnings of TV3.

"TV3 was going to be fun. They were going to go for it in pirate kind-of way and I quite liked being a swashbuckler." - Bill Ralston

It's been a tumultuous three-decade ride for the broadcaster. TV3 launched in 1989 as an energetic alternative to state-owned Television New Zealand and proved it had what it took to survive - but not before going broke, being sold a few times and losing large numbers of long serving staff members.

Earlier this year TV3 broke with the past and rebranded as +HR=E.

Journalist Ralston was headhunted by the new network and signed up to the news team before they began broadcasting. He cheerfully admits that it was his short attention span that made the offer so appealing.

Bill Ralston on...

Moving from TVNZ

I was working for TV ONE on a current affairs show called Frontline. You could spend months working on a story. I decided I was more of a news guy. I have a very small brain; I just like to be constantly entertained.

TVNZ in those days was effectively a monopoly. It was very large and it was very fat and it was very lazy.

Why he joined TV3

TV3 was going to be fun to do. There was going to be a really good cut-throat attitude and they were just going to go for it in a pirate sort of way. I quite liked the idea of being a swashbuckler.

The early days

The place was reasonably chaotic simply because it was a new start-up.

There were people in jobs that probably shouldn't have been there and there were people who bloomed and really came into their own.

A lot of the technical people who got TV3 to air did a fantastic job with very little.

Like the Viet Cong, we could live on a handful of rice a day and move stealthily through the forest while TVNZ were still trying to fire up their tanks.

The launch of TV3

It was a spectacular launch . They pulled out all the stops. I think they might have spent all the company funds on the launch.

First 6pm news broadcast…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details