Media organisations TVNZ and RNZ have reported digital growth ahead of a Government plan to merge the organisations next March in a bid to strengthen public media.
Commenting on the 2021/2022 financial year in front of a select committee at Parliament today, both organisations said they’re preparing for the merger but remain driven to serve their audiences.
TVNZ chairperson Andy Coupe labelled the last financial year as one of “change and opportunity” with a total revenue of $341 million and 22% year-on-year growth in revenue from digital platforms.
Coupe said TVNZ+, the ad-funded free streaming platform, has a “significantly growing” audience and content offering.
RNZ chairperson Dr Jim Mather reported RNZ National radio station had grown its listener share in a “very competitive” market and the organisation’s website hit a record 982,000 visits in June.
An operational deficit of $1.3 million was reported, with Mather saying this reflected challenges in meeting consumer expectations with the current business model.
Mather congratulated the organisation on performing in a “challenging year,” saying RNZ is at a “critical point” but staff “look to the future with confidence”.
TVNZ reported around $200,000 has been spent on legal and financial advice about how to prepare for the merger while RNZ didn’t give a figure but said costs outside time spent by staff working on the merger were not significant.
Afterwards, Mather told media he’s confident the merger will go ahead.
“I’ve heard nothing to the contrary and all of our planning is on the basis that it’s still on track,” he said.
“We’ve heard some voices coming through in the media particularly in opinion pieces and the like but I’d just like to remind everybody that the majority of the submissions that were made to the recent select committee process were very… overwhelmingly positive and supportive of this new public media entity.”
Power said with the Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media Bill at the select committee stage, the organisation is waiting for the final draft legislation to be released.
“I haven’t heard otherwise so from my point of view the merger’s going ahead,” he said.
Earlier, National broadcasting spokesperson Melissa Lee questioned Power on a staff survey which revealed around half of employees didn’t see themselves working at the organisation in a few years.
Power said this reflected staff waiting to see what the merger will look like and said the business has been transparent in updating staff on developments.
“Remember the draft legislation that went into the committee was very specific – it provided for all staff, with the exception of the two chief executives, to move to the new entity on the same terms and conditions so there’s no need to be concerned about what the short term position could look like,” he said.
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