NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Business

John Drinnan: TVNZ's plan to win over the kids

John Drinnan
By John Drinnan
Columnist·NZ Herald·
3 Aug, 2017 06:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The hosts of TVNZ's What Now, Chris Kirk (L) and Ronnie Taulafo. Picture / supplied

The hosts of TVNZ's What Now, Chris Kirk (L) and Ronnie Taulafo. Picture / supplied

John Drinnan
Opinion by John Drinnan
John Drinnan is the Media writer for the New Zealand Herald.
Learn more

The knives are out for public broadcasting across the Tasman, as commercial media call on the Government to rein in the ABC.

Only last week, Australian media companies issued another call for the Government to clip the ABC's wings, and stop it competing so aggressively.

The attacks are in marked contrast to the situation in New Zealand, where Radio NZ has achieved rare peace in its relationship with commercial media.

It appears media companies have been appeased by RNZ's strategy of offering them content at bargain basement rates.

Despite nine years of frozen taxpayer funding, RNZ still managed to build its digital infrastructure and audience.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Radio NZ has had success online, and these days has more celebrity fare, though it will never catch up to its state-owned sister Television New Zealand, which has aggressively pursued the advertising dollar.

Successive governments have allowed it to pump money into its advanced, and still developing, digital arm.

NZ On Air support

TVNZ's commercial focus has become sharper since National was elected in 2008, and it has abandoned genres such as arts and religious programming.

However, TVNZ has maintained a commitment to children's television.

Now, NZ On Air is paying TVNZ about $1.1 million to create a new, as yet unnamed children's website that will be up and running in March 2018.

Discover more

Business

Buffett's profit almost wiped out on Axalta deal

03 Aug 07:17 PM
Business

Trump's ex-wife files for new trademarks

03 Aug 07:25 PM
Entertainment

What's happened to Paul Henry?

08 Oct 10:38 PM

It will give TVNZ $300,000 to $400,000 a year to run the site, aimed at schoolchildren aged five to nine. The agency will also fund programme-makers to make content for the site.

NZ On Air says it will not run the site, but will retain "control" if either party decides to drop out.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Kids' shows will be allowed to have sponsorship, as long as it is approved by NZ On Air. The project will mean more opportunities to reach schoolchildren who are watching less and less TV, says NZ On Air chief executive Jane Wrightson.

Some parents might argue less TV is a good thing, and taxpayer intervention is not needed.

But Wrightson says children are watching myriad other content on websites such as YouTube.

The vast majority of that comes from overseas, so Kiwi kids are growing up with fewer references to New Zealand stories and content.

Some content on the new site will be repurposed from video content on television. Five- and 10-minute items might be broken off longer TV shows such as What Now, which runs for two hours. Other content will be paid for out of NZ On Air's regular funding round.

The new website will put more images in front of young eyeballs, which brings us back to the question: why would commercially focused TVNZ get involved in a non-commercial website?

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Spokeswoman Georgie Hills says: "We support some non-commercial initiatives that matter to our viewers and align with connecting to New Zealanders." More to the point, perhaps, the website might plant a seed among young people and encourage them to watch and enjoy specifically New Zealand stories.

Calm heads

The hype from some media after Jacinda Ardern's appointment has highlighted the value of calm political analysis on video. So it was encouraging to watch the New Zealand Herald Focus programme this week featuring commentators Jennifer Curtin and Vernon Tava.

I don't normally give plugs to presenters, but Tava and Curtin are impressive. Herald Focus presenter Tristram Clayton confirms that they have been signed for election coverage, among other things.

In my opinion, their performance after the Labour leadership change suggests the pair should play a central role, avoiding a widespread trend towards partisan commentary.

Curtin is an associate professor of politics at Auckland University and has frequently appeared on TVNZ's Sunday morning politics show Q+A. Tava is a businessman and former candidate for the Greens' co-leadership. He has been a political commentator for Paul Henry and on RadioLive. More please, Herald Focus.

Tuning out

Maori TV drew an estimated audience of just 900 viewers for its coverage of the Matariki Awards on July 21. Funding agency Te Mangai Paho gave Maori TV $100,000 to cover the awards for Maori achievement.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Maori TV would not comment on that estimate, but said 5000 people watched the event, counting both online and broadcast viewers.

In my view, the ratings result is a telling reminder of the challenges facing the broadcaster.

This month, Maori TV staff are moving from Newmarket studios to new facilities in East Tamaki. Maori broadcasting sources say there are issues with the new facilities, including the absence of studio capacity for non-news programmes and its isolated suburban location.

Maori TV says there is capacity for news programmes and it is considering developing more studio space for non-news programmes.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Business

Premium
Shares

Market close: NZ shares flat as Australian regulator clears path for Fonterra consumer sale

10 Jul 06:22 AM
Technology

Top 5 takeaways from Samsung's super-slim foldable phone and watch event

10 Jul 05:00 AM
Premium
Energy

NZ's LNG import plan could cost up to $1b, report reveals

10 Jul 04:00 AM

Audi offers a sporty spin on city driving with the A3 Sportback and S3 Sportback

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Business

Premium
Market close: NZ shares flat as Australian regulator clears path for Fonterra consumer sale

Market close: NZ shares flat as Australian regulator clears path for Fonterra consumer sale

10 Jul 06:22 AM

The NZ sharemarket was steady, while the Nasdaq hit another record high in the US.

Top 5 takeaways from Samsung's super-slim foldable phone and watch event

Top 5 takeaways from Samsung's super-slim foldable phone and watch event

10 Jul 05:00 AM
Premium
NZ's LNG import plan could cost up to $1b, report reveals

NZ's LNG import plan could cost up to $1b, report reveals

10 Jul 04:00 AM
Number of Kiwis leaving for Oz in 2024 highest in more than a decade

Number of Kiwis leaving for Oz in 2024 highest in more than a decade

10 Jul 01:58 AM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP