RNZ-TVNZ merger decision made by Cabinet

This would mark a major shakeup of New Zealand media. Photo / NZME

It's understood a decision has been made by Cabinet on whether the merger of TVNZ and RNZ into a new public media entity will go ahead.

Sources have told the Herald the Cabinet committee signed off the decision last week with the recommendation for approval by Cabinet - and it is understood Cabinet has gone with this recommendation.

The Government is yet to make an announcement on the decision.

Spokespeople for Broadcasting Minister Kris Faafoi and the Ministry of Culture and Heritage would not confirm any additional details on the matter.

A working group composed a business case last year to examine whether such a merger would be viable, and how to make it happen, after the government announced plans to enact such a move by 2023.

Cabinet Ministers met and made a call on whether to proceed with the move on Monday, but a date to announce the outcome of that decision is yet to be set.

If it goes ahead, it would be the biggest shake-up of public media in at least 30 years. Faafoi had planned to take a proposal to Cabinet before the end of last year but that was delayed amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Working group member Tracey Martin, a former NZ First Minister, told RNZ last June that the model they were leaning towards was one that retains the RNZ and TVNZ brands under a single overarching entity.

"It has to have a mixed funding model - some Crown, some non-Crown funding - what is commercially free at the moment needs to remain commercially free," she said at the time.

She said trust in RNZ and TVNZ remained high so it would not make sense to do away with the brands, but a new funding and legislative model was needed because of changes in the media ecosystem both domestically and internationally.

"RNZ and TVNZ come in, they're trusted brands, they'd come in underneath the single entity that Cabinet has mandated we have ... but then the entity also has the opportunity to flex and innovate," she said.

That could include adding new brands, channels or on-demand platforms, and expanding to cater to under-served audiences.

RNZ has itself been experimenting, launching a new online streaming and commissioning platform for young people, Tahi.fm, after its bid to replace its RNZ Concert station with a new youth-focused radio station was canned following public opposition.

TVNZ meanwhile is under fresh new leadership, with former National Party Cabinet minister Simon Power stepping in as chief executive following the of Kevin Kendrick after nine years.

Some have suggested the success of both networks, alongside the growth of other media outlets, during Covid-19 should give the government pause, while others have reservations about combining a purely commercial model with one based entirely on public service funding.

The merger idea was initially floated by Faafoi in 2019 after plans for expanding RNZ - with more funding and a venture into television - stalled following the removal of then-Broadcasting Minister Clare Curran in 2018.

- Additional reporting by RNZ.