A Christchurch business owner sentenced to prison today for distributing the livestream video of the mosque killings compared himself to Nazi Germany's deputy leader Rudolf Hess.

Photo: Pool / Stuff

Philip Arps, owner of Beneficial Insulation - a firm that uses neo-Nazi imagery - was this morning sentenced in the Christchurch District Court to 21 months in prison.

In April, Mr Arps pleaded guilty to two charges of distributing objectionable material.

The 44-year-old sent a copy of the footage, which was filmed by the mosque shooter, to about 30 people soon after the massacre.

He also asked an unknown person to add cross-hairs and a body count to the video to "make it more fun".

This morning he appeared in the Christchurch District Court wearing a prison issue track suit.

He acknowledged three supporters who sat in the public gallery, the only other people in court apart from media.

Judge Stephen O'Driscoll said when Arps was asked for his opinion of the video, he said it was "awesome".

The judge noted that Arps had compared himself to Adolf Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess, and that his political beliefs meant there was a high chance of him re-offending.

"Your offending glorifies and encourages the mass murder carried out under the pretext of religious and racial hatred. It is clear from all the material before me that you have strong and unrepentant views towards the Muslim community," Judge O'Driscoll said.

"Your actions in distributing the day after the attack, when families were still waiting to hear whether family members had been killed, demonstrates particular cruelty on your part and callousness on your part," he said.

Arps regularly interrupted the judge as he passed sentence and was asked to keep quiet.

Judge O'Driscoll said a prison term was necessary because of the need to provide a deterrent and the high risk of Arps re-offending.