Wendy Petrie, who has co-anchored the 6pm bulletin since 2006, has now been dropped from her role. Video / NZ Herald
A new study of Kiwi audiences and news consumption habits in 2020 contains "sobering" findings for the local media industry - with YouTube, Netflix and Facebook overtaking most local platforms in popularity.
NZ On Air's Where Are The Audiences? 2020 research released today has found TVNZ is the only local media company to have maintained an encouraging share of the market as global digital giants take over.
The most popular site, station or channel among Kiwis is now YouTube, overtaking TVNZ 1, with a daily reach of 51 per cent of the overall New Zealand audience.
TVNZ 1 placed second, with 44 per cent of Kiwis tuning in each day.
The most popular site, station or channel among Kiwis is now YouTube, overtaking TVNZ 1, with a daily reach of 51 per cent of the overall New Zealand audience. Photo / Getty Image
But the next three most consumed channels, sites and stations were all overseas digital media: Netflix and Facebook each were viewed by 36 per cent of Kiwis daily, and Spotify reached 28 per cent.
Mediaworks' TV channel Three was sixth most popular, reaching 23 per cent of the Kiwi audience.
The fourth instalment of the Where Are the Audiences? 2020 surveyed 1511 people aged over 15 by landline and internet in May/June this year.
NZ On Air chief executive Cameron Harland said the incursion of overseas platforms show how important it is to adapt to a fast-changing media landscape.
"It's been a tough year all round, and this research brings home what a fight local content makers and platforms have on their hands.
"Our challenge as an agency, alongside the industry, is to work harder to find ways of engaging local audiences with the exceptional quality of New Zealand stories and songs."
A summary of NZ On Air's Where Are the Audiences Survey? 2020.
Ranking the most used news sources during Covid-19, the study found TVNZ dominated the market, reaching 47 per cent of audiences across TV and online.
The next most used was Stuff.co.nz on 26 per cent, followed by the New Zealand Herald [online and print] on 22 per cent, Three [TV and online] on 20 per cent and RNZ on 12 per cent.
TVNZ was convincingly the most trusted news source - with 28 per cent of Kiwis saying they relied on and trusted information from the state-owned broadcaster the most.
A TVNZ spokesperson said they expect audiences to continue to migrate over time from traditional to online media distribution, and the broadcaster is adapting accordingly.
"TVNZ's focus is on maximising our share of TV audiences and growing the scale of our online audiences," the spokesperson said.
"This research indicates TVNZ is making really encouraging progress on both these fronts. We are also very pleased to see 1 News strengthen its position as New Zealand's most trusted source of news."
Startlingly, subscription video on demand - such as Netflix, TVNZ On Demand, Amazon Prime and Disney channels - now reached the largest share of the Kiwi audiences at 61 per cent.
This was a 42 per cent increase on the last survey in 2014.
Kiwis also spent the most time consuming subscription video on demand, 95 minutes daily, over Free to Air TV - which people spent only 59 minutes watching daily.
Kiwi audiences spend 83 minutes a day listening to broadcast radio, and 67 minutes on online video.
Netflix and Facebook were each viewed by 36 per cent of Kiwis daily.
While total linear TV audiences (free-to-air and pay TV) have continued to fall in audience reach, free-to-air has remained stable - reaching 35 per cent of the audience.
A Mediaworks spokesperson said the NZ On Air survey needed to be seen within the context of Covid-19 preventing the filming of some of their most popular programmes this year.
"We are very pleased that Three is the clear number two free-to-air channel in the market, particularly given the research was undertaken at a time when we had to perform without a local hero show in prime time such as The Block NZ or Dancing with the Stars NZ due to the impacts of Covid-19 on local production."
Online video caught the next largest share, reaching 60 per cent of the local audience - a 30 per cent increase on 2014.
Broadcast radio reached 50 per cent of the available Kiwi audience - a decrease of 17 per cent.
The rapid change in the way New Zealanders consume music continues with 44 per cent streaming music each day up from only 23 per cent in 2014.
The most popular music streaming site was Spotify, reaching 28 per cent of the Kiwi audience, YouTube on 21 per cent, Apple music on 3 per cent and Soundcloud on 2 per cent.
