News Channel
 News Channel (dummy version)'s banner. | |
| Title IOS | v0: IOS9 v3: IOS13 v6: IOS15 v7: IOS31 |
|---|---|
| GameID | HAGA USA: HAGE JPN: HAGJ EUR: HAGP |
The News Channel is a channel on the Wii that provides news from around the world.
It shares a very similar implementation with the Forecast Channel: both were preinstalled at the factory on retail units (except in South Korea) and received the same updates over time.
Both channels were initially released with Wii System Menu 1.0 as region-free dummy shortcuts displaying the message: "You must perform a Wii system update to use this channel." At some point, these dummy channels were updated: the banner text was modified to include "You cannot use this channel until service begins.", and the title IOS was changed from IOS9 to IOS13, although the channels still could not be launched.
The functional versions became available on December 19, 2006. After their release, the channels were updated only once more, in Wii System Menu 3.0, to slightly modify their icons to make them display their channel's content, and change the title IOS from IOS15 to IOS31.
Both channels relied on WiiConnect24, whose discontinuation effectively rendered them unusable. Their functionality can now be restored through WiiLink.
