'Nice' boss steadies the TV3 mothership

TV3 managing director Rick Friesen has had an eventful first year in the job. LOUISA CLEAVE catches up with the Canadian.

Ask staff at TV3 what they think of their boss and one word will bounce back at you: nice.

He's a nice chap, Rick Friesen. The softly spoken Canadian hasn't ruffled many feathers since taking the top job just over a year ago.

He has, in his words, worked hard to tighten the business by focusing his team and without making staff cuts.

"We made some changes in our marketing department. We consolidated the marketing department into one area so we were speaking from one voice. I think we're more focused."

Mr Friesen's attention has been directed at the CanWest "mothership", TV3, since his arrival from its Canadian parent company CanWest Global Communications.

He did not have a strategy and spent his first month in the job sitting down with staff and asking for their views on what was right - and wrong - with the network.

"It was in some difficulty. The high programme costs, the rather stagnant and shrinking television market. Shrinking only because the year before I got here there were the big events: the America's Cup, the Millennium.

"The focus in my first year here has been to get the 'mothership' going. Making sure things are right with TV3, that it's growing as it should.

"We feel pretty good about what we've done but we still have some distance to go."

Following a $20 million writedown on programmes a year ago, more robust systems have been put in place so the network knows where and when programming will be scheduled, and whether they are paying the right price for it, he says.

International programme purchases are now more likely to be made in New Zealand or Australian dollars, although a major supply deal with Fox Television is in US dollars.

TV3 and its younger sister, TV4, made an operating loss of just over $9 million in the nine months to May. Television revenue was down 9.8 per cent to $67.9 million.

According to Mr Friesen, the mothership looks to be turning around. The first quarter of the network's fiscal year, starting last month, is looking strong.

Since July forward bookings for advertising have been good, he says.

TV3 has hiked up peak-time advertising rates by 10 per cent for February-March in a similar increase to TVNZ. Analysts say TV3 will continue to grow into next year with its strong programme line-up, which includes its most ambitious slate of original local shows.

TV3 has had a good year in the ratings game, increasing audience share while state competitor TVNZ loses some of its stronghold.

Mr Friesen believes TV3 can grab more of the viewership pie, and so can TV4 when it is relaunched in the future. "We're achieving regularly anywhere between a 23 and 25 per cent share on a weekly basis, in the 18-49 [year-old demographic], and we feel we can grow that.

"New Zealand isn't at the stage yet where it has a huge number of channels like you see in a lot of the North American and European markets. At this point, when you look at one player, TVNZ, with anywhere around 60 per cent of the viewing, you have to think that some of that could be moved over."

Ask Mr Friesen if he's preparing to exploit any environment in which TVNZ might find itself on the back foot during restructuring as a crown owned company and implementing the Government charter, and he remains ever so nice.

"We'll offer what we always have. If you're suggesting we're going to specifically attract viewers as a result, I don't think that's accurate. It's more just presenting the programmes that we feel viewers will generally want to watch."

Unlike its state competitor, TV3 is not interested in adding digital channels to the business, says Mr Friesen.

He is concerned with a lack of Government action towards setting standards for digital players.

The company also believes there should be an alternative platform - digital terrestrial - to the satellite system relied upon by Sky and, possibly, TVNZ.

Digital terrestrial is the digital version of the transmission system we use to receive the analogue signal - transmission towers and transmitters.

Mr Friesen says the company has priced the transition of the BCL-run terrestrial system to digital at $12-14 million. It would cover 65-70 per cent of the population, the rest relying on satellite coverage.

"If you look at the US markets, where there are easily 150 to 250 channels, the main four or five networks still get over 50 per cent of the viewing. The reason they do that is because of content.

"As long as we have the programmes a lot of people want to watch, we'll be successful."