Might be good if instead of axing 80% of their news output they instead axed Seven Sharp and put Shorty on 1 in its place. (I’m sure there are reasons why they don’t…)
If Shortland Street goes that feels like pretty much closing down New Zealand television with the other announcements this week.
The trouble is though in todays climate content needs to sell internationally to get funded - and soaps just don’t. They used to be good filler for linear channels but don’t really cut through on streaming services in the same way.
NZ has made some amazing dramas - The Brokenwood Mysteries is particularly good, and has been sold all over the world (you might have watched it on the Drama channel in the UK). Outrageous Fortune and The Almighty Johnsons were excellent, too. Both were on the same channel - wonder what happened to it(!!!)
It might be good if NZ brings in some sort of Canada-style law mandating that TV stations/streaming services broadcast x amount of Kiwi shows. In Canada the FTA networks have to air Canadian content for at least half of primetime. NZ being as small as it is, the proportion would have to be lower - but I think it’s worth thinking about…
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Yes, that will be a great idea
If down the track TVNZ axed Shortland Street, and post Newshub shutdown Three’s evening ratings colllapsed, I wonder if WBD would take it on… Newshub’s 6pm bulletin and SS are very close in ratings both 5+ & 25-54. and it would surely give Three Now a much needed boost…
Particularly of note at the current point in time
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They do but I would think it was a bargain basement price type of show that fills gaps. Doesn’t seem to have captured a large commercial audience outside of NZ that would cover the cost.
Great to see a fourth season of Educators!
That’s assuming Three itself will stay on the air down the track… I’m not at all convinced it will. I think the Newshub closure is the start of Warners winding Three down altogether. I suppose they could continue with ThreeNow or even bring Max to NZ, but not sure either option is particularly likely.
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Various publications are reporting that the government is planning to waive Three’s Kordia transmission fees:
By shutting down Newshub and buying in a news service (one hour during the week and half an hour at the weekends) the American owners, WBD, will save tens of millions a year. With other cost savings, and the possibility of the Government reducing or scrapping Kordia’s transmission fees, WBD might even get close to breaking even.
https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/350246534/stuff-newshub-deal-save-commercial-tv-news
it is understood that the Government has been considering offering Warner Bros Discovery and other broadcasters a break on television transmission fees that would normally be paid to state-owned enterprise Kordia, on the condition that they continued to offer television news bulletins.
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Isn’t it all abit late now, they’ve already announced Midday and Tonight are gone, along with AM and the Late news on Three. I highly doubt they’d reinvest the savings back into news. This might help TVNZ reverse it’s news cuts but WBD will be a different story as it wants to half the losses.
I don’t think this is really about TVNZ… I think ‘other broadcasters’ is referring to Sky. Wonder if they’ll piggyback onto the Stuff deal…?
Al Jazeera, the Christian Channels, Trackside, the few remaining locals… there’s quite a few on there that aren’t Sky, TVNZ or WBD owned.
I guess the Maori TV studios might be an option for Stuff as well.
Guyon Espiner’s new podcast/video show is filmed there…
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"Shortland Street … will come good again, but we’re in this strange time where the advertising market has fallen off a cliff for the broadcasters, and their digital strategy that they’re all working on… hasn’t started to give proper returns yet - but it will.
so it’s finding a financial model that we can take into the future."
Maybe its time to end it, the cancellation of so many news shows recently means nothings off the table. I also doubt they would stop participation in the rebate scheme if the advertising market were to become financially sustainable for Shortland Street again.
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Sky and BBC Studios today announced they are expanding their partnership with a multi-year wide-ranging deal that gives Sky audiences access to the best British content across Sky, Neon and free-to-air channel Sky Open.
BBC First will join the impressive Sky channel line up from October 2024, bringing a host of premium UK dramas to Sky customers, with selected content also available on Neon and Sky Open.
BBC First joins BBC UKTV, BBC Earth and CBeebies, alongside the BBC’s world-leading BBC News channel, giving Sky audiences access to thousands of hours of world-class British content from all genres with a mix of shows available across all Sky’s platforms.
BBC First will be home to the biggest dramas from the UK, premiering a mix of exciting new titles and the latest seasons of audience favourites. Showcasing the best in British storytelling, the channel will bring together the best British talent on and off screen.
Among the titles coming to Sky audiences will be the hotly-anticipated detective thriller The Jetty starring Jenna Coleman, Return to Paradise, the Australian spin-off of Death in Paradise, and the second season of popular series Beyond Paradise starring Kris Marshall and Sally Bretton.
Sky Chief Executive Sophie Moloney said: “I’m delighted Sky customers will enjoy an expanded array of world-class British content through our renewed partnership with BBC Studios.
“We value what our customers value, and with UKTV being Sky’s number one entertainment channel with consistently high and growing viewership, we’re confident in the value this represents for customers.
“The renewed partnership also offers exclusive access to premium British drama on BBC First, which is a hugely exciting development.
“Importantly, these rights extend across our portfolio of entertainment products, meaning our customers can enjoy great British content in whatever way they choose.”
BBC Studios Australia and New Zealand General Manager, Fiona Lang said: “We are delighted to grow our longstanding partnership with Sky with the addition of this stellar channel.
“New Zealand audiences have proven to have a huge appetite for British shows and we’re pleased to be able to partner with Sky to offer their customers more of what they want – the full suite of the best of the BBC from kids to entertainment, news, documentaries and drama.”
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Probably not the best written headline… thought that “BBC News” was going to air a bulletin on Sky Open 
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WBD NZ March Digital Update
https://comms.discovery.com/mail/view/rz3526y4tb9n52sq13g5_1j0rx05_j5ygmwzn7l3p2v0kpgs6c2zkjdmg8lbpzqf9blg426xcwx8nblnqd6cl
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Actually that’s not a bad idea… there are enough British expats in NZ. There might be an audience for a BBC News bulletin 
ah, the good old days when TV1 used to take BBC World overnight…
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That feels like just rewarding an American company for stripping a New Zealand TV channel of all it’s local content. It needs more than just an outsourced local news bulletin to justify that IMO - needs to include a signifcant quota of locally made shows too.
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