TVNZ has announced a transmission partnership with 18 broadcasters enabling television viewers across the South Pacific to watch the Royal Wedding live from London on the 29th of April.

The five hour transmission via TVNZ in Auckland features exclusive coverage of the BBC's official broadcast and will be screened by participating networks in the Cook, Solomon and Marshall Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Niue, Tonga, Nauru, Kiribati, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Fiji and Palau.

The Royal Wedding is expected to break all previous viewing records to become the most watched programme in television's history. It's estimated that as many as 2 billion viewers will tune in to watch Prince William and Katherine Middleton exchange vows - more than double the number that watched Prince Charles & Lady Diana marry in 1981.

Broadcast schedule - a Royal Wedding

NZ Time: Friday 29 April, 8:30pm to Saturday 30 April, 12:45am.

Tonga Time: Friday 29 April, 7:30pm to 11:45pm.

TVNZ presenter, Wendy Petrie will host 'A Royal Wedding' live from Westminster Abbey. Coverage includes live pictures of the scenes from around London, St. Andrews and Katherine Middleton's home village of Bucklebury as millions of spectators take to the streets.

At 10pm (NZT) we join the BBC - the host broadcaster of the Royal Wedding. The official coverage will include access to preparations as they unfold, reports on all the movements to and from the Abbey and commentary from Royal experts and historians, fashion correspondents and invited guests.
The live satellite transmission will follow all members of the Royal Family and the bride as they make their way to Westminster Abbey and the arrival of all the key guests.
Viewers can expect multi camera coverage of the entire service from inside the Abbey.

The broadcast continues after the ceremony tracking the procession as it travels to Buckingham Palace. TVNZ's transmission will conclude following the traditional kiss between the bride and groom on the Palace balcony around 12:45am (NZT).

Participating Broadcasters

Cook Islands: Elijah Communications Limited, Avarua, Rarotonga.
Cook Islands: Mangaia TV
Solomon Islands: TV One, Honiara; My Telekom, Honiara
Marshall Islands: NTV, Majuro
Samoa: Samoa Broadcasting Corporation, Apia
Samoa: TV3 Samoa, Apia
Samoa: STAR TV, Apia
American Samoa: PCSTV, Pago Pago
Niue: Broadcasting Corporation of Niue, Alofi
Tonga: Tonfon (Digicel), Nuku'alofa
Tonga: Tonga Broadcasting Commission, Nuku'alofa
Tonga: TMN2, Nuku'alofa
Fiji: Fiji Broadcasting Group
Fiji: Mai TV, Suva
Nauru: Nauru Television, Dept of Home Affairs, Yaren
Kiribati: Television Kiribati Limited (TKL), Tarawa.
Vanuatu: VBTC, Port Vila.
Tuvalu: Tuvalu TV
Palau: Oceania TV. TVNZ, 06/04/11.