New Zealand TV to Discontinue Online News Site

October 7, 2024 TruthUSA

The state-owned commercial broadcaster, struggling with substantial losses, has decided to close its flagship news site next year.

While other media outlets are adopting a “digital first” approach to survive, New Zealand’s state-owned and commercially-funded broadcaster, Television New Zealand—known as TVNZ—has informed its staff of its plans to shut down its primary online news site, 1News.co.nz, and discontinue its news app to achieve $30 million (US$18.5 million) in savings.

Earlier this year, TVNZ cut back on its news and current affairs content, including midday and late-night bulletins, the consumer affairs show “Fair Go,” and the investigative program “Sunday.”

In the fiscal year ending in March, the broadcaster suffered an $85 million loss, primarily due to a $62 million write-down in asset values and a $39 million drop in revenue. In contrast, the previous year saw a $1.7 million profit.

CEO Jodi O’Donnell stated in August that the company has reserves to fund its digital strategy for the next three years but won’t pay dividends to the government.

Although the closure is currently a proposal pending discussion with staff, if implemented, the website and app will cease operations in February 2025. The youth-focused site, Re:News, will remain but focus exclusively on video storytelling.

“TVNZ shared proposed strategic changes today aimed at achieving our $30 million target, advancing our Digital+ strategy, and ensuring the business’s sustainability and relevance for all New Zealanders,” the company stated after a meeting with news staff on Oct. 7.

“We are currently seeking feedback on the proposals and will not reach a decision until we have considered all input from our employees,” the statement continued.

The proposal does not outline specific job cuts, but if approved, it would result in significant restructuring.

During the past 18 months, TVNZ’s staff count has decreased by approximately 130, reaching a total of around 600.

While the remaining TV news programs, such as Breakfast, 1News at Six, Seven Sharp, and Q+A, will continue, the number of employees on those shows and other local programs may be reduced as part of the reorganization process.

It is anticipated that a decision resulting from consultations will be reached by the end of October. Structural modifications will be proposed in early November, followed by another round of feedback.

According to the company’s statement, other proposed changes include:

“Consolidating some business areas to align” with the company’s strategy.
Outsourcing “some areas” across the broadcaster’s content workflows and technology in FY26.
Creating a “centre for excellence for data, analytics, and AI.”
“Establishing a new, dedicated team” for news on its TVNZ+ streaming service.
Setting up a “creative hub,” with details on this initiative to follow.

TVNZ operates three free-to-air channels—TVNZ1, TVNZ2, and Duke—and duplicates these with programming delayed by an hour. From 2008 to 2012, it also ran TVNZ6 and TVNZ7, which aired original content, with the latter primarily focusing on news.

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