Shopping Channel aims for July

The Shopping Channel. Photo / Supplied

Adman Greg Partington says his new shopping channel with "wall-to-wall power selling" could be on Freeview and Sky TV by July.

The managing director and part-owner of Ogilvy advertising confirmed negotiations with Television New Zealand to take a long-term lease of digital capacity. The frequency for the shopping channel is used by public channel TVNZ7, which is being discontinued from July.

Partington said the business case for The Shopping Channel and digital frequency discussions were not complete, but he was optimistic about the idea and a website might be launched by April.

The Shopping Channel will be a joint venture between Ogilvy and Partington family interests and would be based on United States channels like the Home Shopping Network. Retailers would buy six-minute segments of entertainment-based selling. It would initially be six hours of live performances on a loop repeated in a 24-hour cycle. Broadcasts would be updated to maintain audience levels and would screen six days a week.

Partington said live broadcasts of shopping channels drew much higher sales and the live component was expected to increase to more than nine hours a day.

Broadcasts would be underpinned by e-commerce sites that would allow customers to buy online or through an 0800 phone number.

Orders would be sent out by retailer advertisers, though the channel would collect the money.

"The Shopping Channel is a retail advertising medium and not a retailer," he said.

Ogilvy has focused on retail advertising clients that include Countdown and Briscoes.

Partington said there were no comparisons with Telecom's ferrit e-sales website that was scrapped in 2009 after big losses. There were no risks in the investment, he said.

"We are creating a new way for retailers to pitch product to market with a show host and pitchman using products that suit demonstrations."