New face of TV focuses on the interactive generation.
There has been a lot of information about how new digital youth channel U will work but here's what hip young things can see on a daily basis.
There are shows about everything from disabled models and Swiss drag-racing crazies to Aussie girls competing to be British princesses and MANswers, which asks pressing questions like: "which bass frequency causes maximum booty bounce?"
In other words, it looks like primetime reality show-heavy MTV, only with a decidedly British accent.
But first up, U - found on Freeview, Sky and (even) Facebook - kicks off at 4pm on Sunday with U Live, a daily interactive show (from 4pm to 7pm) hosted by fresh-faced presenters Tim Lambourne, Rose Matafeo, and Connor Nester.
This is where social media and old-school broadcast TV merge into one with the Facebook application allowing viewers to interact with presenters, make comments, vote in polls, and even help produce content for the entertainment music show.
You can also see another side of the show via an online stream, shot on a camera to the side of the set.
And on U TV (Sundays, 8.30pm) one viewer gets the chance to programme and host the Sunday night timeslot via video link for a month.
Meanwhile, also starting this week is Kings of Nitro (Monday, 9.30pm) following the adventures of Swiss drag-racer and custom motorbike master Urs Erbacher and his team of tattooed nitro-heads; reality show The Buried Life (Tuesday, 8.30pm) is about four guys setting out to fulfil a list of 100 dreams; and daily show Ginx has all the latest and greatest gaming news.
And in coming weeks there is also Britain's Missing Top Model, about eight disabled women who set out to challenge fashion industry stereotypes; G Girls, a behind the scenes look at Britain's glossy fashion magazine Glamour; and Australian Princess hosted by Paul Burrell - that's Princess Diana's former butler and tattle-tale - who is on a mission to transform 14 average Aussie sheilas into women of elegance and grace.
* Due to the fees TVNZ charges for running its free-to-air network listings, TimeOut won't be running the schedules for U.
LOWDOWN
When: Starts 4pm, March 13
Where: Freeview (channel 6), Sky (channel 16)
What: Digital interactive yoof tele
- TimeOut
