Just read this on the NZ Herald website:

Music is making the world go round on digital TV. MediaWorks is expected to announce soon that it will be launching a music youth oriented channel on Freeview.

MediaWorks is obliged to deliver a second digital channel, but there has been speculation on how it can afford it.

The advertising market is still tough and MediaWorks is recovering from its own financial crises. In that sense a music channel makes sense, with a high degree of free and low-cost content. MediaWorks has been gradually shifting music content off C4, and there will be an opportunity to deliver content that way.

Two former directors of the defunct music and youth channel Alt TV are working for MediaWorks.

Thane Kirby and Oliver Driver sold out of the company, which later went into liquidation owing creditors $3 million.

Kirby was programme director for George FM but subsequently stepped down to be a daytime host. Driver co-hosts the breakfast show Sunrise.

However, it is understood that neither of the MediaWorks staff is involved with the new channel. Meantime, record industry sources say that another party is developing plans for an adult focused music channel - possibly to run on Sky TV.

Sky has already picked up exclusive rights to TVNZ pay channel Heartland and a travel channel. But there are prospects for more channels in the early part of next year