Comedy shows given bad timeslots say writers

New Zealand's top comedy writers have accused TVNZ of not supporting the industry with the network's "ridiculous" late-night scheduling and woeful marketing of new shows.

They say the state broadcaster is sentencing new programmes to ratings death by screening them well outside of primetime while favouring reality television shows.

The latest local comedy offering, Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby by Tom Scott, Danny Mulheron and Dave Armstrong, is due to debut in two weeks at 9.35pm on a Friday.

Last year, the critically-acclaimed Serial Killers, penned by James Griffin, also screened at 9.35pm on Friday, while the spoof show Moon TV ran at 11.30pm on Tuesdays.

TVNZ have defended their scheduling, saying the network was trying to establish Friday night as a comedy hour and had a limited budget for marketing. But Mr Griffin said Friday night was a "death slot".

"We were just left scratching our heads, wondering what we did wrong and why they were acting like we delivered them the plague."

He cited TV3's bro'Town, that network's only top 10 rating show of last year, as an example of how well local comedy could work in primetime, and applauded TV3 for its massive publicity campaign.

Mr Scott said he was "mystified" why TVNZ would back a show for funding and then fail to publicise it and screen it when the target audience would not see it.

Seven Periods received $1.1 million from NZ On Air coffers.

The argument that comedy could not run primetime because it did not rate well was a self-fulfilling prophecy, said Mr Scott.

"Our target audience is down town sniffing glue, vomiting into gutters and ripping off cars at that time. (TVNZ) can prove themselves right."

Leigh Hart, whose new series of Moon TV will run at 10.30pm Tuesdays from late May, said it was time the networks got over the "hangover" associated with the genre since comedy shocker Melody Rules.

"I couldn't even stay up to watch my own show (when it was on at 11.30pm). I can't understand why, just because it's a comedy and locally made, everyone's so scared. I am happy with 10.30pm. That's how low my expectations are."

Mr Hart said although TVNZ could point to a number of home-grown comedy shows, the genre was never going to grow if the broadcaster continued to screen them late.

NZ On Air chief executive Jo Tyndall said networks had "sometimes" failed to air shows at the ideal time, and acknowledged it was difficult to achieve ratings to justify a second series when the first series was scheduled in a time when everyone was either in bed or out.

TV One programmer Liz Fraser said a campaign like that run by TV3 for bro'Town would cost an "enormous amount of money", and TVNZ had to prioritise.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY