KEY POINTS:
ASB Bank has pulled out of TV One's ASB Business and is following veteran presenter Michael Wilson and news executives to TV3's new breakfast show Sunrise.
The ASB ended the sponsorship deal - believed to be worth $1 million - after TVNZ said it was moving the daily
business programme from 6.30am to 6am.
Wilson yesterday shook hands on the deal with TV3 after terse discussions with TVNZ head of news and current affairs Anthony Flannery.
He was due to meet TVNZ chief executive Rick Ellis last night to explain his reasons for leaving and the deal could be closed today.
It is understood Wilson was unhappy he had been out of the loop in discussions and concerned about the future of the show when it would be hard to attract business guests so early.
Wilson will be joined at TV3 by ASB Business producer Erica Lloyd, who resigned yesterday, and former executive producer Liz Kirschberg.
"It has been a very happy relationship for four and a half years but we are not sure how many people there will be watching at 6am," said David Walden, chief executive of ASB advertising agency TBWA/Whybin.
ASB Bank declined to discuss its TV3 plans.
TV3 news and current affairs boss Mark Jennings said TV3's Sunrise would not have its own dedicated business show but Wilson would present rolling business news segments sponsored by ASB Bank.
TV One's ASB Business and Breakfast were pared back in cost-cutting exercises but dumped staff and other defectors provided TV3's Sunrise with a ready-made production team.
Then TVNZ's American TV consultants Magrid advised TVNZ to move the main Breakfast show from 7am to 6.30 and push back ASB Business to 6am to take on Sunrise.
Then whoops - there go the show's sponsor, presenter and key staff.
TVNZ - bigger, better
TVNZ's Flannery insists the changes to be announced today will be good for TVNZ by introducing new talent. We reached Flannery at print time when he said there was "serious interest" from a sponsor to replace ASB. He said that the new format would mean a higher profile for business news, including news breakouts and business "chunks" through the Breakfast programme.
Flannery acknowledged some staff had left but staff were also exiting TV3. He appeared to be unaware of Wilson's impending departure and at 1pm said the new-look business show to be unveiled today would be presented by Michael Wilson.
Sound and vision
Herald owner APN News & Media is understood to be vying for access to TV3 video content as MediaWorks' website beds down its relationship with the rival MSN website.
Talks between TV3 and the nzherald.co.nz website are understood to be advanced - though not exclusive - and follow TVNZ's announcing a deal with the Stuff website owned by Fairfax. Stuff and nzherald.co.nz are competitors in online media.
A spokesman for APN Digital declined to comment but MediaWorks head of digital division networks Siobhan McKenna confirmed that MSN, which is aligned in this country with ACP Magazines, wanted to make the relationship "deeper".
She declined to say whether the proposal was for exclusive access to TV3 material. The moves make sense as more visitors go to news websites seeking video content as broadband becomes more common.
But it will be interesting to see where MediaWorks' radio content fits into any deal. The Herald website has audio from MediaWorks rival The Radio Network, 50 per cent owned by APN.
Chartering Holmes
While reducing its commitment to business television, TVNZ is pumping $1.2 million of uncontestable charter funding into the new Paul Holmes chat show.
TVNZ chief executive Rick Ellis qualifies as entrant for the television series Balls of Steel after the latest charter handouts.
The new light entertainment show for TV One features Paul Holmes in a " where are they now" format.
MediaWorks chief executive Brent Impey says the charter grant to the Holmes show - which is being made by Dutch production company Touchdown EyeWorks - proved that the charter was "a farce".
He said that TV3 - which makes shows like Bro' Town and Outrageous Fortune with heavy NZ On Air subsidies - was the only channel providing charter programming and taking risks.
Certainly TVNZ has found a way to lay off the risk for the Holmes show commercial venture. Any business would love that sort of risk financing.
TVNZ has perfected doublespeak as it explains why a Paul Holmes comedy entertainment show - which it hopes will make money - should get $1.2 million of uncontestable funding.
TVNZ spokeswoman Megan Richards confirmed the Holmes show would not be expensive to make but met charter requirements because it was a show that neither TV3 nor Prime would make.
Charter perceptions
The changes are occurring as TVNZ nears the end of a financial year that will show big falls in advertising revenue as the broadcaster cuts back on funding documentaries.
TVNZ this week said it was also spending charter money for a public survey on "perceptions of public broadcasting and charter performance".
One valid perception is that the charter - as it is administered by TVNZ and the Ministry for Culture and Heritage - is a rort which gives financially ailing TVNZ a commercial advantage over the private sector.
Sunday bloody Sunday
TVNZ news and current affairs boss Anthony Flannery is understood to have a short list for the role as producer for the weekly current affairs show Sunday. Hunter Wells and Gordon Harcourt have been mentioned. Wells is a longtime news executive on Sunday and has been with Sunday when it has seemed somewhat patchy.
Harcourt - who comes from the thespian family - is a producer for BBC World and a sometime correspondent for the TV One news show Tonight.
The role is to replace Damien Comerford, the larger-than-life TV man who was a part of Bill Ralston's inner circle, but is heading back to his native Australia. Sources attached to the show say that it has survived intact from the recent job cuts but is still inefficient. Consequently we are seeing Sunday spinning out items that should be 15 minutes long to fill two 15-minute segments.
Yesterday's news tomorrow
A National Radio listener was bemused this week when caver Michael Brewer was brought to the surface of Takaka Hill after a dramatic 29-hour rescue. The 2am news on National Radio - 45 minutes after the event - reported that Brewer should be rescued in the early hours. At that stage he had been flown to Nelson and was in hospital, as reported by the newspapers next day.
