In 1971 there was a major breakthrough for international news when the Warkworth Satellite Station was opened. Now stories from the other side of the world were no longer an international flight away - as had been the case four years earlier when Apollo 11 landed on the moon and New Zealanders had to wait until footage was flown across the Tasman by the RNZAF. The first live international broadcast was in 1973 when Princess Anne married Captain Mark Philips. Another cornerstone was marked in 1989 when TVNZ appointed its first foreign-based correspondents with Susan Wood in Sydney and Liam Jeory in London.

For its first 14 years, New Zealand television was a black and white world. The target delivery date for colour television for all New Zealanders was when the country hosted the 1974 Commonwealth Games. There weren't enough facilities to cover all of the Games in colour, however viewers were able to see swimming, track and field and boxing.

New technological advances in the 1980's introduced videotape to replace film and in 1985, 24 hour a day access to satellites meant that international news footage was available on demand.