Television Friend Channel G-Guide for Wii


The Television Friend Channel G-Guide for Wii, also known simply as the Television Friend Channel or TV Friend Channel was a channel for the Nintendo Wii that allowed users to browse an Electronic Program Guide and watch live television broadcasts. The channel was exclusively launched in Japan on March 4, 2008 and was available as a free download on the Wii Shop Channel. It was designed mainly for use on analog television sets, as they did not provide their own Electronic Program Guide. It was never officially released outside of Japan.
The Television Friend Channel G-Guide for Wii ended its services on July 24, 2011 in accordance to the end of analog broadcasting in Japan.

Features

The Television Friend Channel G-Guide for Wii let its users browse an Electronic Program Guide, which was built on Japanese company IPG's G-Guide. Along with standard terrestrial analog broadcasting, terrestrial digital broadcasting, BS analog broadcasting and BS digital broadcasting were all supported for compatibility with both Analog and Digital televisions. Users could control the Wii Remote as if it were a TV Remote, being able to switch between channels and change the volume. This functionality worked by blinking the Sensor Bar and reflecting the signal off of a wall, not directly flashing a light on the Wii Remote. In addition to being able to view television listings and watch live programs, you could search for shows by keyword, genre and performers. Future TV listings displayed on the channel could be viewed up to one week in advance. The channel relied on Nintendo's now discontinued online service WiiConnect24 to operate.

Stamp Feature

A notable feature available in the Television Friend Channel was the ability to "stamp" programs you were interested in viewing with your Mii-themed stamp, allowing you to share the information on these programs with family and friends. Upon registering your mobile phone number or email address, you could even receive a notification informing you of the broadcast of a program 30 minutes before it aired. There was also the option to view online statistics on stamped programs, which let you to view which programs were the most popular amongst users and sort the results by age group.

Legacy

The Television Friend Channel G-Guide for Wii was succeeded by the now discontinued Nintendo TVii service, which was available for the Wii's successor, the Wii U.