Seven Sharp: Why It's Not On Tonight and the Nights It's Back on TVNZ 1
Updated (31 Oct): We re-read the Freeview guide on Saturday 31 October. It lists Seven Sharp at 7pm on Monday 2, Tuesday 3 and Wednesday 4 November and again on Friday 6 November, but on Thursday 5 November it shows the Q+A People’s Debate at 7pm instead. On Thursday 29 October the Kaupapa Māori Debate followed Seven Sharp at 7.30pm.
Seven Sharp screens on TVNZ 1 at 7pm on weeknights and streams free on TVNZ+, but it drops out whenever TVNZ 1 gives the 7pm half-hour to live rugby or an election debate. In the guide for Friday 9 October to Friday 16 October it's missing on three of the six weeknights: Friday 9 October (NPC quarter-final), Tuesday 13 October (1News Multi Party Debate) and Friday 16 October (NPC semi-final). Hilary Barry and Jeremy Wells are listed again on Monday 12, Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 October.
What time is Seven Sharp on TVNZ 1?
7pm to 7.30pm, Monday to Friday, straight after 1News At Six. TVNZ's own page for the show carries the line “Weekdays at 7pm”, and every Seven Sharp listing in the Freeview guide we read on Friday 9 October sits in that same half-hour. There's no weekend edition: Saturday 10 October has The Celebrity Dog House Australia at 7pm and Sunday 11 October has Country Calendar.
The guide was open as far as Friday 16 October. This is what TVNZ 1 has at 7pm on each weeknight in it.
| Date (NZ) | TVNZ 1 at 7pm | Seven Sharp? | Stream |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday 9 October | NPC Rugby, Northland v Tasman (7pm to 9.20pm) | Not listed | TVNZ+ |
| Monday 12 October | Seven Sharp (7pm to 7.30pm) | Yes | TVNZ+ |
| Tuesday 13 October | 1News Multi Party Debate (7pm to 9pm) | Not listed | TVNZ+ |
| Wednesday 14 October | Seven Sharp (7pm to 7.30pm) | Yes | TVNZ+ |
| Thursday 15 October | Seven Sharp (7pm to 7.30pm) | Yes | TVNZ+ |
| Friday 16 October | NPC Rugby, Semi Final 1 (7pm to 9.20pm) | Not listed | TVNZ+ |
So the pattern for the week of 12 October is three shows out of five. Both of the gaps come from live events that start right on 7pm. The only other Seven Sharp listing in the guide is on TVNZ 1 plus 1, the one-hour delay channel, at 8pm on the same three nights. There's no next-day replay.
Why is Seven Sharp not on tonight?
Two things are taking its slot this spring, and they land on different nights.
Friday nights: NPC rugby
TVNZ has the National Provincial Championship in 2026, with every match on TVNZ+ and selected games on TVNZ 1. The play-offs put a Friday game at 7pm two weeks running. The quarter-final between Northland and Tasman from Semenoff Stadium in Whangārei filled 7pm to 9.20pm on Friday 9 October, and the guide gives the same block to the first semi-final on Friday 16 October, with the teams still to be decided when we read it.
The NPC weekend games in this guide are afternoon kick-offs on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October, so it's the Friday night fixture that bumps the show.
Election debates
The general election is on Saturday 7 November, and 1News is running its live debates in prime time on TVNZ 1. The Multi Party Debate with Tova O’Brien on Tuesday 13 October is listed from 7pm to 9pm, so Seven Sharp is off that night. The Leaders Debate on Tuesday 6 October took the evening the same way in the guide we read on 1 October.
Two more are on 1News's published schedule. The Kaupapa Māori Debate is down for Thursday 29 October at 7.30pm, which starts after Seven Sharp's usual half-hour, and the Freeview guide we read on Wednesday 28 October agrees: Seven Sharp from 7pm to 7.30pm, then the debate from 7.30pm to 8.30pm. The Q+A People's Debate is down for Thursday 5 November at 7pm, right on top of it, and the Freeview guide we read on Saturday 31 October has it on TVNZ 1 from 7pm to 8.30pm with no Seven Sharp that night. In the same guide Seven Sharp is listed at 7pm on Friday 6 November, so the Thursday debate is the only gap that week.
When is Seven Sharp back on?
Monday 12 October at 7pm is the next listed show after the Friday rugby. After the Tuesday debate it's back on Wednesday 14 October, and after the Friday 16 October semi-final the next weeknight is Monday 19 October, which was beyond the end of the guide when we read it on Friday 9 October.
Labour Day on Monday 26 October was also past the end of that guide, and Freeview's guide doesn't show days that have already gone, so we can't check either date after the fact. Looking ahead, the guide we read on Wednesday 28 October lists Seven Sharp at 7pm on Wednesday 28, Thursday 29 and Friday 30 October, and again on Monday 2, Tuesday 3 and Wednesday 4 November. The weekend slot goes to A New Zealand Food Story With Ben Bayly on Saturday 31 October and Hyundai Country Calendar on Sunday 1 November.
Where can I watch Seven Sharp if I missed it?
TVNZ+ is the place. It's free with ads, you need a login, and Seven Sharp has its own show page there. TVNZ 1 itself is free-to-air through an aerial or a dish, and Sky carries the channel too. Our Freeview vs Sky comparison sets out what each option gets you, and the NZ streaming prices page compares what the paid services charge.
On a night when the show is bumped, the guide doesn't list a held-over edition later that evening or the next day.
Who presents Seven Sharp?
Hilary Barry and Jeremy Wells. TVNZ's description of the show names both and calls it “a fresh perspective on today's stories”. It files the programme under News and Local.
What else moves around these events on TVNZ 1?
Anything at 7.30pm or 8.30pm on a debate night goes with it, because the debate on Tuesday 13 October runs two hours. Coronation Street starts at a different minute on each of its three nights, and our Coronation Street page has the listed times. The 5pm quiz is steadier, and The Chase page covers the Sunday it gave way to NPC rugby.
Seven Sharp questions
Is Seven Sharp on tonight?
It depends on the night. In the guide for 9 to 16 October it's listed on Monday 12, Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 October, and not on Friday 9, Tuesday 13 or Friday 16 October.
Is Seven Sharp on at the weekend?
No. It's a Monday to Friday show, and TVNZ 1 had other programmes at 7pm on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October.
Has Seven Sharp been cancelled?
Nothing we've read says so. TVNZ's page still shows “Weekdays at 7pm” and the guide has it on three nights in the week of 12 October. The gaps are one-night replacements for rugby and debates.
Can I watch Seven Sharp without a TV aerial?
Yes, on TVNZ+ in a browser, on a phone or on a smart TV app, free with a login.
More New Zealand slots are tracked the same way here: Shortland Street's return date, Home and Away on TVNZ 2 and the Bledisloe Cup kick-off and channels. The local series are grouped under season guides.
Sources
- Freeview NZ TV guide — TVNZ 1 listings for Friday 9 October to Friday 16 October 2026, read on Friday 9 October, and for Wednesday 28 October to Wednesday 4 November, read on Wednesday 28 October.
- TVNZ+ — Seven Sharp, show page: “Weekdays at 7pm” and presenters.
- 1News, 4 September 2026 — TVNZ's election debate dates and times.
- 1News, 2 October 2026 — NPC play-offs, with every match on TVNZ+.