TVNZ-RNZ merger dead - what’s left of Labour’s broadcasting policy?

The Government’s decision to scupper the TVNZ-RNZ merger brings to an end five years of work to establish stronger public media, focused particularly on creating a new broadcast outlet.

A total of $23 million has reportedly been spent on the merger, although Act leader David Seymour has accused the Government of spending as much as $30m.

For comparison, RNZ’s total Government funding was $48.2m in 2022.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said he did not know yet how much money had been spent on the merger so far.

“I don’t want to look backwards, I’m looking forwards. I think there is no question that the broadcast media landscape has changed significantly,” he said, adding that there would be other things the Government could do to improve public broadcasting.

One improvement the Government will make is to boost RNZ’s funding.

Hipkins would not be drawn on by how much but suggested it could be about $10m - a significant increase in funding on top of RNZ’s current budget.

“We know they are going to need something around the $10m mark in terms of sustainability,” he said.

RNZ had its funding frozen under most of the previous National Government, which was only lifted in 2017.

RNZ’s revenue was $35m in 2008. Adjusted for inflation, this would be roughly $49m today. A $10m increase would mean RNZ is arguably better funded than it was before the freeze.

National’s broadcasting spokeswoman Melissa Lee said that she was “irked” by money wasted on consultants on the merger.

Lee said that public service broadcasting existed across both state-owned and private media companies, with many private companies producing public-interest content.

She said that she would not be making massive changes to the kinds of content screened on TVNZ.

“It’s not for politicians to dictate what TVNZ has on,” she said.

Some private media companies welcomed the move. Michael Boggs, CEO New Zealand Media and Entertainment, publisher of the New Zealand Herald, said: “NZME is very supportive of having a strong public media in New Zealand.

“We’ve had serious concerns with aspects of the merger, and we have shared those concerns. We have had a long, constructive relationship with both TVNZ and RNZ and we look forward to that continuing into the future,” he said.

Labour came to office with a plan to establish a new public media offering through RNZ, funded by $38m in contestable funding.

The party’s 2017 election manifesto said this would be used to create a new free-to-air TV channel offered by RNZ, tentatively titled RNZ+.

Labour believed TVNZ’s culture was excessively commercial, meaning it would not be the right place to host a new public media entity.

Then-Broadcasting Minister Clare Curran only managed to wring a slither of the promised $38m out of the Finance Minister in the 2018 Budget.

Curran had begun work on RNZ+, but resigned from Cabinet in August 2018 after a string of controversies.

The Broadcasting portfolio was palmed off to Kris Faafoi, who first floated the idea of a merger of TVNZ and RNZ in 2019.

Faafoi struggled to get early proposals through Cabinet, but in February 2022, Cabinet resolved to press ahead with the merger.

A business case was put together and legislation introduced to Parliament to progress the merger. It made it to the select committee stage, but did not receive its second reading.