TV2 has pulled the plug on its all-night music programme, M2.
The show is broadcast from midnight to 6am on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and has 33 per cent Kiwi content, including short films.
M2 was subsidised by New Zealand On Air and considered part of its Kiwi music strategy.
Producer David Rose
would not comment on TVNZ's decision not to renew the series after the final show next Saturday, but said 4718 New Zealand music clips had been screened during its 18 months on air.
His company, Satellite Media Group, also makes Space and Squeeze for TV2.
TVNZ spokesman Glen Sowry said there was "significant cost" associated with M2 and it was decided that the money would be better spent in other parts of the schedule this year.
"With a finite pool of funding to spend on programmes we are always looking at our schedule and where we should be investing," Mr Sowry said.
The money spent on M2 was not being redirected into one particular area, he said. Movies and shows will replace M2 in the overnight schedule.
NZ On Air chief executive Jo Tyndall said she was disappointed in the demise of M2, which was a first step towards trying to establish a 24-hour music channel.
The series had been allocated $250,000 from the agency's music budget to run until March, and more money would have been available after June.
"I think it would have been great to have found a way to keep it going until we were able to kick in with some more funding, but our support is very much a minority support."
