Television New Zealand, Limited , more commonly referred to as TVNZ, is a government-owned national broadcaster broadcasting in New Zealand and parts of the Pacific region. Although the network identifies as a national, part-public broadcaster, it is fully commercially funded, and was competition free until November 1989 when private channel TV3 was launched. This began the battle for ratings with the only real rival MediaWorks New Zealand, which currently operates channels TV3, Four, and The Edge TV. However, the company still maintains a number of transmission advantages due to their long standing relationship with the state-owned sister company Kordia.