Newshub is set to close at the end of June, staff have been told this morning, as Warner Bros Discovery announced a major downsizing of its local operations.
Staff at one of New Zealand's largest media companies were called to an emergency meeting at 11am. There was speculation before the meeting that there would be a major announcement that would impact the company's future.
Warner Bros. Discovery, which runs both Three and Newshub, asked Auckland staff to attend the meeting in person and others to dial in.
The proposal would see the closure of all Newshub's TV and online news platforms and impact around 75% of Three's workforce - around 300 people. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was told about the move shortly before the announcement.
Warner Bros. Discovery, the American owners of TV3, are proposing to close the news division at the end of June. (Source: 1News)
After the meeting, presenter Ryan Bridge told reporters he was "thinking of all of our colleagues at the moment," as he walked from the meeting alongside 6pm presenter Mike McRoberts.
"We've got a news show to put out," McRoberts added.
Newshub journalist Perry Wilton told reporters that the mood was "pretty grim" following the announcement.
"I just think everybody is trying to take it a step at a time, and we're all just gonna do it together. It's an amazing team, and everyone's been working really hard the last couple of months."
Newshub Wellington bureau chief Caitlin Cherry said on LinkedIn that the news was "very sad" and that there were a lot of "pretty devastated staff."
In a statement this morning, Warner Bros. Discovery said that it had began consultation on a "proposed remodelling and restructure" of free-to-air business in New Zealand.
"The proposal includes the closure of all Newshub’s multiplatform news operations and output, and new local programming would only be in collaboration with local funding bodies and other partners."
'Seventy-five per cent' of Discovery NZ staff affected
Speaking to 1News, Warner Bros. Discovery NZ boss Glen Kyne said the decision to shutter Newshub had been a "very recent" decision for the multinational media conglomerate.
The outlet will pull its TV and website news operation, leaving staff devastated. (Source: 1News)
He spoke alongside the company's Asia Pacific president James Gibbons.
"When I returned from leave in January, James and I spoke and we began the process of evaluating this as an option. That only reached a conclusion a little over two weeks ago."
Kyne said "many, many options" had been considered for how to keep the newsroom operating, but that they believed full closure was the only viable one.
"The reality of it is, the scale of the downturn in the TV advertising market has been so great, we haven't seen a viable option aside from what we've announced today."
He said approximately 75% of the business' local employees would be affected. Warner Bros. Discovery New Zealand employs around 400 people.
'Digitally-led business'
Gibbons said in a media release that the proposal was not arrived at easily and that there was no single trigger.
"Advertising revenue in New Zealand has disappeared far more quickly than our ability to manage this reduction, and to drive the business to profitability."
He said the company's new model would be focused on a "digitally-led business", with streaming service Three Now at its core supported by free-to-air linear channels.
Bravo, Eden, Rush and HGTV channel would continue with the same content slate, he said.
Kyne said that it was a hard day and that the proposal was not a reflection of the efforts of staff.
He said if the proposal was implemented, the company would be committed “to retaining a local presence, albeit with a much smaller operating model and lower cost base”.
”We know that Newshub has been such an important and central part of TV3 since day one, and is a crucial part of a functioning media sector in New Zealand.
"Free-to-air and news are expensive businesses to run. Put simply, the economic headwinds means the returns are not there. These proposed changes will be hard if they are implemented, but we think they are necessary, which is why we have commenced consultation."
The consultation process will run until mid-March, with a final decision expected in early April once feedback has been "carefully considered."
Changes to programming
Over the past year, the company has seen dramatic changes to its news and current affairs programming.
In August 2023, both the AM Early show and the 11.30am Newshub bulletin were axed. An 8pm news bulletin on the Eden channel was also dropped. In October, the 7pm current affairs The Project was announced to be ending its six-year run.
It was to be replaced by a new show hosted by AM Show host Ryan Bridge, but that show was delayed due to an ongoing hiring freeze, it has been reported.
Newshub Nation and Paddy Gower Has Issues also haven't started this year.
It's the second high-profile media company to announce its closure in as many years, with Today FM and its news service abruptly pulled off air last March.
"They've f***** us," host Tova O'Brien told listeners at the time.
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