Politicians from across the political spectrum have reacted to Warner Bros. Discovery's plans to shut down the Newshub brand by the end of June.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon described the decision as "shocking and saddening" and that it was a "pretty tough day" for Newshub staff.
He confirmed that he had a "short conversation" with Warner Bros. Discovery prior to the announcement to understand the "rationale" of the decision.
"You've got to continue to innovate like every other business does to try and find innovative business models to be able to make businesses like that stack up.
"The reality is we're seeing what was traditional press outlets now doing video, we've seen a multimedia approach to it. But I mean, really, the tough news today is actually the impact that there has with people who will be you know, waking up and coming to work today in a state of shock."
Minister for Media and Communications Melissa Lee said it would be a "huge shock" for the Newshub family.
"I feel for the journalists who are actually affected, there is some close to 300 staff members who are actually involved going through the consultation process."
Lee said that one thing needed to be made clear, that Warner Bros. Discovery never reached out for Government assistance.
"It's not something they felt was helpful, I don't think there's anything we could have done to assist."
Plurality is not an issue as there is changing behaviour of media consumers, said Lee.
"I think media have actually changed the way they produce news as well, it's no longer just broadcast."
Lee said she'd spoken with Warner Bros. Discovery NZ boss Glen Kyne last night who had informed her of the announcement he was making today.
She said Kyne had told her the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill — which is proposed to compel social media companies to pay for local news content it used — wouldn't have made a "single bit of difference".
She said that she had to respect the business decision to close Newshub.
Labour's media and communications spokesperson Willie Jackson said Newshub's imminent closure was "very, very sad".
"This is some of the things we talked about when I was minister. It's a changing world in terms of the media and the pressures on companies are huge."
He said that Newshub has certainly made their impact and stamped their mark in terms of media and news in this country.
As then-Minister for Media and Communications, Jackson said that he had been briefed by Warner Bros. last year and that they had said "things weren't going too well", but that they had not asked for funding.
"I didn't expect them to make announcements in terms of closing four, five months later."
Deputy National leader Nicola Willis said that the media landscape was changing dramatically worldwide.
"There is still competition in the media landscape, but that's not to say that it isn't of course a big change to see a station like Newshub fall over.
"I think the question for New Zealanders is: do they have a choice about where they go to consume their media, are there a variety of perspectives available, and as I can see, there still are."
ACT leader David Seymour said it was a sad day for many employees and a "sad day for New Zealand's democracy".
"(New Zealand's democracy) requires a competitive media market so that people can get a wide range of views about what's happening in their country."
He said that perhaps another operator will step forward to "use the equipment" and people "who are still valuable".
Seymour also said he has requested advice on whether TVNZ should return a dividend to its shareholder (the Government) because its ability to not do so may or may not distort the market.
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