The Diary - part two: TVNZ show 'n' tell brings out big guns

Pippa Wetzell and Wendy Petrie.

The brightest thing to shine at the TVNZ new-season launch at the Civic on Wednesday, besides the LED lanyard and showers of silver confetti, were Tim Wilson's lily-white legs. The 49-year-old, who's set to be a first-time dad in March, wore a shorts suit and a helluva lot of chutzpah. His TVNZ colleagues were much more sartorially stylish. TVNZ pulled out the big guns for the showcase of talent.

Simon Dallow, Wendy Petrie, Toni Street, Mike Hosking, the dudes from Step-Dave and Shorty St, Jesse Mulligan (yes, he still works for the network on Best Bits; and no, he's not bitter about Seven Sharp), Miriama Kamo, Corin Dann, Heather du Plessis-Allan, Susan Wood, Karen Olsen, Pippa Wetzell, Melissa Stokes and basically the rest of news boss John Gillespie's bulging stable were all present. While Mark Jennings was absent from the MediaWorks new-season launch (he jetted out later that night to see the All Blacks in Chicago), his rivals at One News came en masse to schmooze and work the advertising crowd.

Everyone is fighting for the same corporate dollar - and TVNZ spared no expense to razzle-dazzle the audience.

Jack Tame was flown back from New York. Breakfast weathercaster Sam Wallace was flown in from Christchurch. House Husbands stars Gyton Grantley and Firass Dinari were brought in from Oz. And Australian actress Nicole da Silva, star of prison drama Wentworth, was bizarrely flown in from Los Angeles for a presenting role so brief, one blink and you would have missed her.

Joanna Hunkin, Erin Conroy, Heather du Plessis-Allan and Matty McLean.

The message was clear: TVNZ is spending big and investing in content. Or are they?

One industry insider said TVNZ "went into panic mode" after the MediaWorks event last month.

"TVNZ has done a complete 180 degrees on programming direction after TV3 revealed how much local content they've got lined up next year. Now they're frantically signing contracts to get more local shows on-screen."

One example, the source said, is the recommissioning of local series of MKR. "The ratings were really disappointing for MKR and it wasn't tipped for a comeback, but then TV3 announced they had MasterChef and all hell broke loose."

Shorty stars Karima Madut (new to the cast), Sophie McIntosh, Kerry-Lee Dewing, Grace Palmer and Pua Magasiva.