The state-owned commercial broadcaster is struggling with huge losses and has decided that its flagship news site will close next year.
While other media attempt to survive by pursuing a “digital first” strategy, New Zealand’s state-owned, commercially-funded broadcaster Television New Zealand—better known as TVNZ—has told staff it intends to close its flagship online news site 1News.co.nz and discontinue its news app in an effort to find $30 million (US$18.5 million) in savings.
Earlier this year, it cancelled much of its news and current affairs output, including its midday and late-night bulletins, the consumer affairs show “Fair Go,” and its investigative programme “Sunday.”
In the financial year to March, the broadcaster reported a loss of $85 million, driven by a $62 million write-down in asset values and a drop in revenue of $39 million. The previous year, it announced a profit of $1.7 million.
Chief executive Jodi O’Donnell said in August that the company had sufficient reserves to fund its digital strategy for the next three years but would not pay a dividend to the government.
At this stage, the closure remains a proposal and will be discussed with staff, but if it goes ahead, the website and app will shut down in February 2025. Its youth-oriented site, Re:News, will remain but will focus solely on video storytelling.
“TVNZ today shared proposed strategic changes focused on how we might achieve our $30 million target, deliver on our Digital+ strategy and ensure the business remains sustainable and relevant for all New Zealanders,” the company said in a statement following a meeting with news staff on Oct. 7.
“We are now seeking feedback on the proposals, and we will not be making any decisions until after we have considered all the feedback from our people.”
The proposal does not include specific role reductions, but if it goes ahead, it would lead to major restructuring.
Over the past 18 months, the broadcaster’s staff numbers have fallen by about 130 to a total of around 600.
While its remaining TV news programmes—including Breakfast, 1News at Six, Seven Sharp, and Q+A—are safe, staff numbers on those shows and other local programmes may be reduced as part of the process.
It’s believed an outcome from consultations is expected by the end of October. Structural changes will be proposed in the first week of November, and then a further round of consultation will occur.
- “Consolidating some business areas to align” with the company’s strategy.
- Outsourcing “some areas” across the broadcaster’s content workflows and technology in FY26.
- Creating a “centre for excellence for data, analytics, and Al.”
- “Establishing a new, dedicated team” for news on its TVNZ+ streaming service.
- Setting up a “creative hub,” though no details on what this means were given.
TVNZ operates three free-to-air channels—TVNZ1, TVNZ2, and Duke—and a duplicate of these with programming delayed by an hour. From 2008 to 2012, it also operated TVNZ6 and TVNZ7, both broadcasting original content, the latter focusing mainly on news.