HEIHEI, the safe, ad-free home for children's media content is moving its shows to TVNZ OnDemand from next week. HEIHEI has been available on a standalone website HEIHEI.nz and available as an iOS and Android app, but the underlying platform will no longer be supported, so TVNZ has offered HEIHEI a new home for the shows, within its leading free streaming site. HEIHEI will retain its autonomous brand on TVNZ OnDemand, with content served in a variety of ways for viewers.
A further benefit of the move to the TVNZ On Demand site is that the overall cost to NZ On Air of running HEIHEI will reduce by just under $200,000 in the next financial year.
HEIHEI video content will be available on TVNZ OnDemand from Monday 18 May. Tamariki will still be able to access the shows and games via the HEIHEI site and apps during a transition period. From the end of June, HEIHEI.nz will become a landing page where children can opt for content or games. Clicking on content will take viewers through to their TVNZ OnDemand profile, whereas clicking on games will keep kids on the site (heihei.nz/games) with the ability to play as usual via a new Gamefroot-operated platform on desktop.