Opinion
In an ongoing series from media chief executives, TVNZ's Rick Ellis gives his view on the role of free-to-air TV in an age of many choices
People have long predicted the demise of one media technology because of another. Many said cinema would die when TV came along. It didn't. It just adds to the consumers' choices. I believe that free-to-air TV will continue to play a central role in New Zealanders' entertainment choices.
There's what's called a 'long tail' developing behind TV, a bit like a comet, where the front end is mainstream free-to-air with a raft of spin-off platforms and devices following behind.
A growing number of people are finding that 'tail' - through TVNZ ondemand, tvnz.co, Freeview, YouTube and now Bebo - as attractive ways to get their programmes.
But it's important not to forget the beginning of that comet because that differentiates TVNZ from others. All the value starts with the local programmes we make - four times as much as any other channel. This is the thinking behind TVNZ's new five-year strategy 'Inspiring New Zealanders on every screen'.
In a world where New Zealanders are being bombarded with options and change, there is also real value in providing them with a choice that is consistent and can be trusted. TVNZ, in its various forms, has been with New Zealanders since 1960. It has been a witness to the enormous changes to our country and has come of age as the nation has.
I'm confident that despite the morass of visual material circulating the planet, viewers and advertisers will continue to watch TVNZ's traditional channels and our two new ones, because they will trust us to screen what is uniquely important and of interest to New Zealanders.
