Media: Sharing shop one option to save costs

Charles Mesure and Miriama McDowell in This Is Not My Life. The TV One series has already been sold to international distributor Lionsgate. Photo / Supplied

Mediaworks wants to put television and radio news operations under the same roof, but appears to be stopping short of a combined news operation.

The struggling broadcaster is under pressure to save costs and marketing boss Roger Beaumont says MediaWorks is looking at options.

He confirmed those included combining staff from the television division in Newton and radio in Ponsonby into one location.

Another suggestion - made in the past by MediaWorks TV chief Jason Paris - has been to share infrastructure with TVNZ.

MediaWorks has looked at leasing in Hobson St adjacent to the TVNZ studios, but it's understood that would not work for news.

MediaWorks sources said that unorthodox solutions needed to be found for the company.

Despite a capital restructuring earlier this year, the company is still weighed down with debt from its 2007 purchaseby private equity firm IronbridgeCapital.

It's also understood MediaWorks TV has not benefited from a recent boost in TV ad spending.

Having arms in both radio and TV operations has always been seen as an asset, though over the past year or so the relationship between the two has become less warm.

The TV boss Paris is reporting to MediaWorks managing director Sussan Turner - with a background in radio and little experience in TV.

That - and other aspects of the MediaWorks board's last-minute management structuring - had created tensions at MediaWorks HQ in Newton, a MediaWorks source said.

BRAND NEW

Television New Zealand is thinking about changing the names of Television One and TV2 so that they get "New Zealand" into the brand.

It seems slightly mad - they consistently stand up as two of New Zealand's best-known brands.

Why would you mess with such well-known brands?

But a TVNZ source said that with new media brands turning up all the time, the state broadcaster wanted to make it clear which ones it owns.

TVNZ has commissioned research company Colmar Brunton to ask people what they think of the idea of changing TV One and TV2 to TVNZ One and TVNZ 2 - fitting with their digital channels - TVNZ 6 and TVNZ 7.

"Imagine that some of the TV channels and programmes changed names and TV2 became TVNZ 2," Colmar Brunton is asking.

"If this change happened tomorrow would you expect the channel/programme overall to be the same as the current [channel], be better than the current or be worse than the current?

"And would these changes encourage you to watch the channel/programme more, less, or be the same as it is now?"

AD BREAK

Television New Zealand has been testing a new format for One News to discourage people from channel surfing.

In a test that has been running for three weeks, TVNZ is scrapping the first commercial break and instead of four breaks in each hour there are three.

The break at around 6.12pm has been dropped and viewers are handed wall-to-wall news (and promotional plugs) until around 6.22pm.

The new potentially expensive format is said to be "a trial", and the strategy is not yet apparent.

One television source suggested the lost ad revenue would translate to more than $200,000 a week or $10 million a year.

The hope would be that they could charge advertisers more for the 6.22pm break, but there are no guarantees that would work.

MONEY BACK

These are very good days for local television drama with Outrageous Fortune in full effect on TV3, and one-offs Stolen: The Baby Kahu Story and Bloodlines.

The feature-length episode of Shortland Street has been a big ratings success.

A special mention, though, for This Is Not My Life, a futuristic drama that has shades of Francois Truffaut's Farenheit 451, albeit with a Kiwi twist.

Star Charles Mesure will be getting some female viewers hot and bothered - but the whole production is well crafted and drags the viewer in.

Producer Steven O'Meagher has made an impressive series drama debut.

The TV One series made with $6.4 million in taxpayer grants has already been sold to the international distributor Lionsgate.

New Zealand On Air says about a quarter of the money raised from the sale will flow back to taxpayers.

WESTPAC EXITS

Saatchi & Saatchi bosses will be counting their pennies after breaking up with long-time client Westpac.

It's another blow for Saatchi, which is re-emerging after a slide and is under new management. It is understood that the account was so important global chief executive Kevin Roberts helped out with the pitch.

Saatchi did well to hold on to the business during a period of tumultuous change for bank marketing.

"I think we're leaving the relationship with our head held high," said Saatchi New Zealand chief executive Nicola Bell.

"There was quite a lot of pressure for change, to be honest, and the Westpac team complimented us on the newly rebuilt and energised team."

BANK ON IT

Australian-owned banks have fared well compared with those of other nations in the global financial crisis, but the past two years have been heady times for agencies with bank accounts.

Every bank other than Kiwibank has changed agencies in the past year or so.

Westpac had been a transtasman account, but Saatchi Sydney lost the Aussie business early on and Auckland did well to hold on for as long as it did.

BNZ was with Colenso BBDO, but moved to Y&R with the shift to the "pigs" campaign, then to Sugar.

Jointly owned ANZ and National Bank changed from M&C Saatchi and Clemenger BBDO to DDB and DraftFCB respectively.

Ogilvy has kept Kiwibank but Rabobank shifted from Ogilvy to Shine. Despite the upheavals, there has been no radical change in bank ads.

A couple of years ago the main theme was heavy competition for mortgage rates, now it is about attracting deposits. Maybe that shift has ensured that conservatism holds sway.

MAMMA MIA

The trouble with Broadcasting Standards Authority complaints is that they record in writing what might be forgotten in sound archives.

An article in last week's Weekend Herald about Super City mayoral aspirant John Banks made fascinating reading but did not include one of Banks' purpler racial critiques.

In February 2000, he described the America's Cup Prada team as "greasy Italians who should be sunk to the bottom of the Waitemata Harbour".

"That's where they belong, the snivelling little rats. We don't need these greasy little suntanned Italian cowards. Bury the bastards. I object to these greasy, poncy Italians," said the Radio Pacific broadcaster, long before the Auckland Super City mayoralty was a twinkle in his eye.

TEXT APPEAL

TVNZ's Teletext service has pulled out of sharemarket listings, saying there are many other sources available to consumers.

The NZX and news websites provided up-to-date listings, and TVNZ - which paid NZX $2000 a month for the rights - thought it was a poor use of resources.

Spokeswoman Megan Richards said the money had been spent on business coverage on tvnz.co.nz.

But small-time investor Alwyn Hunt was not impressed. She complained to the Business Herald that Teletext Page 414 sharemarket listings had their dates updated for two days, but the prices remained the same.

INM INDIA

Independent News & Media Plc (INM) has sold 17.1 million shares in Jagran Prakashan Ltd (JPL) on Indian sharemarkets to exit the investment.

The €32 million ($58 million) it received will be used to reduce bank debt. INM is a major shareholder in APN News & Media, which owns the Herald.

INM chief executive Gavin O'Reilly said: "While we have been crystal clear that our immediate and continuing priorities are on reducing bank debt, achieving and sustaining leverage ratios at significantly lower levels, and focusing on growing our market-leading brands in our core markets, it is fitting to recognise that our five-year investment in JPL has been a highly profitable one for INM."