Makes sense considering they currently operate Choice and a local version of HGTV
1 Like
I wonder who gets control of the newsroom, too. Would Discovery want a newsroom? Could Newshub be affiliated with radio and then contract back to Discovery for a 6pm bulletin? Or do they run it as a JV?
3 Likes
Could be the real reason for Three Life going, as it duplicated Choice TV.
Interesting development, but I did wonder about the likelihood of Disco taking over MW when I first heard rumours of it the other week. I wonder what their strategy/plan is?
Have they any news assets globally?
3 Likes
Not that I can tell
1 Like
I had no idea they owned Choice & HGTV, thought it was still under Bell Media ownership.
2 Likes
It would be great if screenscribe would post the actual number of viewers the programmes have. Posting a share can be pretty meaningless when you donât have any idea of how many people are watching tv in the first place.
1 Like
Yep, it wasnât widely reported at the time.
A disgrace how little Australian Nine produces and gets away with quotas by screening NZ dramas on 9Gem.
It is, but its probably one of the key reasons why NZ drama is purchased over there so I wonder if our producers would complain. They would if it was the other way round of course.
Itâs part of the free trade agreement IIRC. NZ producers would definitely complain if they try to remove that because that incentive to buy would be gone. It is a good thing for New Zealand production.
2 Likes
Strange as itâs such a big ownership change. Hopefully this ensures itâs long term viability in the market.
1 Like
Does anyone know why Maori TV has scaled back their nightly news programme Te Ao to 5 nights a week and axed their weekend output. The latest tv guide says the bulletin is now one hour long 6:30 to 7:30 but it airs live at 4.30pm online before its linear broadcast on weekdays only. Will Te Karere fill in the void and air a seven day a week bulletin. Seems like an odd move for Maori TV.
Hasnât MTV being cost cutting in recent times?
I quietly wonder if Choice reached a point where they couldnât pay their bills, ala Channel 10 in Australia, and so the biggest supplier of programming took them over.
Pure speculation on my part, and I hope it wasnât how it went down⌠I quite like Choice, itâs the last bastion of decent programming on many nights in my household! Hopefully with the surefootedness of Disco, they can reduce the number of repeats.
1 Like
Very unusual, I would have thought Te Ao was one of the primary drivers for learning Te Reo. Considering MTS is majority funded by the Govt (except for the miserly handful of advertisers), I would have expected news would be front-and-centre. Changes on the way maybe?
Most probably was the reasoning for Bell Media wanting to exit the NZ market. Itâs a good fit for the network with Discovery at the helm. Its hard to believe that it launched as a 100 percent locally owned channel back in 2012 to what it is today. Choice does have some decent programming but I rarely watch the network or its sister channel HGTV. It atleast adds something to the dire Freeview platform.
1 Like
Yes it has been cost cutting but I didnât expect it to axe its weekend news bulletins, seems very short sighted imho.
My thoughts exactly, news should be front and centre of the network. It was also the only channel to have a nightly Maori news bulletin with its rival Te Karere a weekday operation. The changes maybe a result of the network focusing more on its online reach and having news delivered where its audience is moving too. It should also be noted that Maori TV have entered the breakfast tv market with its week morning programme Tapatahi 8-9 along with hourly news updates on the channel through out the day, maybe the cost savings from the weekend news have been diverted to this new programme.
2 Likes
Sevenâs Big Brother reboot tonight is not running in NZ?
I would have thought it could work on Three?
The Nine reboot aired on Three as the 6pm news lead in for a while.
The only reason anyone would be interested in picking it up here would be as a replacement for a cancelled local show due to Covid.