Media Insider: Morning TV, radio shake-up – ex-TV3 hosts in line for new roles; TVNZ commentator’s ‘syrup-suckers’ strife; Meta apologises to model; Sky TV boss named CEO of Year
TVNZ cricket host and commentator Scotty Stevenson apologises after Christ’s College ‘syrup-suckers’ line; Breakfast battle heats up, with Ryan Bridge news show set to expand; Latest on new Breakfast, RNZ Morning Report hosts; Instagram apologises to top model; Sky TV boss’s brilliant, mullet-referencing CEO of the Year speech.
TVNZ’s Scotty Stevenson has offered an “unequivocal” apology to Christ’s College today, after he labelled a group of its students “syrup suckers” during live cricket commentary on Tuesday.
“In my defence, I didn’t have the most up to-date knowledge of where that term had come from and its origin story, and over the last couple of days I’ve been given an education – no pun intended – on that phrase and what it means to the school,” Stevenson told viewers ahead of day four action between the Black Caps and West Indies at Hagley Oval.
“The school obviously is rather upset that that phrase was used in commentary.
“To them, I apologise unequivocally. I know that the headmaster has sent a letter to the parents and wants to take up an official process with TVNZ, a process we will, of course, co-operate with.
“I take it on myself. It’s mine and mine alone as a mistake.
“I know the headmaster outlined that that school really does try to instil values in its students. I can’t disagree with that.
“As a father of two teenage boys, I like to instil values in them as well.
“One of those values is when you make a mistake, stand up and own it. And that’s what I do today.
“I apologise to the community of Christ’s College and now we move back to the cricket – test match cricket, another lesson for us all, respect, values, care, consideration. We’re going to get on with it.”
TVNZ cricket commentator Scotty Stevenson faces a meeting with his bosses, following an unscripted, live comment during the Black Caps-West Indies test match that has left the principal of a private Christchurch boys’ school fuming.
Stevenson’s comment came as a drone camera panned across students on a field adjacent to Hagley Oval – venue of the first test.
“Bit of catching practice for the syrup suckers, the boys from Christ’s College,” Stevenson said.
Fellow commentator Mark Richardson queried the term: “Explain.”
Stevenson: “I didn’t come up with the term. It’s just what others call them.”
Christ’s College headmaster Joe Eccleton has written to parents advising that he has laid a complaint with the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA).
“As a school committed to the wellbeing, dignity, and personal development of every boy in our care, we found this comment totally unacceptable,” he said.
“It is a sexualised slur directed toward minors, and such language has no place in any public forum, least of all a national broadcast. Our boys do not deserve to be targeted by ridicule or inappropriate commentary.
“We have made it clear that we expect a higher standard of professionalism from public commentators, and that Mr Stevenson’s remarks fell well short of those expectations.
“We have worked hard as a community to build a culture where respect, positive discourse, and care for one another are at the forefront of our daily practices. For an adult in a position of influence to undermine these values is deeply disappointing.”
Under BSA rules, complaints have to go to the broadcaster first - complainants can then go to the authority if they are unhappy with the response.
Last night, TVNZ said it would be looking into the matter.
“Cricket is a live, unscripted broadcast environment,“ said a TVNZ spokeswoman, in a statement to Media Insider.
“With that comes risk that our commentary team could make a comment that misses the mark or falls short of the standards our audience expects of us; that’s what’s happened here.
“We take complaints raised seriously. Our team have been busy delivering the first three days of the test. We’ll be catching up with them and taking the appropriate next steps to address this.”
Bridge show set to expand to TV3
The Prodigal Son of morning broadcasting, Ryan Bridge, appears set for a return to TV3 (Three) as part of a new deal between Herald publisher NZME and Three owner Sky TV.
Media Insider understands that the two NZX-listed media firms are in discussions for the Bridge-hosted video news show, Herald NOW, to expand to Three’s digital and on-demand channel, Three Now, each morning.
That could presumably also pave the way for the show to screen on Three’s linear TV channel.
The deal – yet to be confirmed by the companies – would pave the way for Bridge to make a remarkable return to TV3 and would be one of three major morning media moves in 2026.
Both RNZ and TVNZ are understood to be close to announcing their new co-hosts for Morning Report and Breakfast, respectively.
Another ex-TV3 star, Lloyd Burr – who currently works for Stuff – is understood to be a front-runner, at this stage, to take the Morning Report reins from Corin Dann, who is moving to become RNZ business editor.
Burr – who has a home in Auckland but works in Wellington when Parliament is sitting – said he had “nothing to say” yesterday. It is understood he went through a voice test last week.
Two more former TV3 personalities, Tova O’Brien and Mel Chan-Green, are understood to be the leading contenders to replace Jenny-May Clarkson on TVNZ’s Breakfast couch.
As Media Insider reported last week, Rebecca Wright may also be in the running. And yet another name that has been touted in recent days is Three News presenter Samantha Hayes.
Neither RNZ nor TVNZ, understandably, would comment last night on the contenders for its morning shows.
A TVNZ spokeswoman said: “We’ve concluded our interview process for a new Breakfast host and we intend to make an appointment imminently."
Bridge was the host of TV3’s AM show for several years before leaving in 2023 to work on a new TV3 evening show – a gig that never eventuated because of the closure of TV3’s Newshub news service.
Bridge moved on to NZME, where he hosts Newstalk ZB’s Early Edition radio show between 5am and 6am and Herald NOW between 7am and 9am.
The digital video show screens live on nzherald.co.nz and YouTube, with interviews then sliced and diced and distributed through Herald online articles.
NZME highlighted the “growing impact” of Herald NOW last month, touting a unique audience of one million in September – up 54%, it said, from its June launch.
When asked specifically about a potential deal, a Sky TV spokeswoman said: “We understand the importance of local news and are open to expanding our offering, as long as it makes commercial sense for our shareholders.”
An NZME spokeswoman said: “Herald NOW has been a huge success since launch and we’re always looking at ways to expand our audience across many platforms. Of course, we would update our growing audience and advertisers when opportunities for them become available.”
Sky already has a deal with another publisher, Stuff, to provide it with the 6pm ThreeNews bulletin at the other end of the day.
Sky inherited that particular arrangement when it acquired free-to-air Three in a debt-free, $1 deal in August.
As Media Insider reported last week, viewers can expect some format tweaks and personnel changes to the ThreeNews bulletin in 2026.
Already hit with the departures of its widely respected executive producer Claire Watson and weather presenter Laura Tupou to TVNZ, the 6pm bulletin has struggled to make inroads into the more heavily resourced TVNZ machine.
Sky TV chief executive Sophie Moloney was asked by a shareholder at the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting two weeks ago whether she was considering improving the bulletin, particularly at weekends.
“We know the importance and understand the importance of ThreeNews," Moloney told the meeting.
“We can see it in the ratings, and absolutely it’s in focus for Juliet [Juliet Petersen, chief business officer] and the team.
“We do need to get through the integration [of Sky and Three]. We are very appreciative that it’s an election year next year, and we will be very keen to make sure that the news offering is what New Zealanders deserve.
“So there will be more in that space. I just can’t comment further right now.”
A Sky spokeswoman said last week that Sky and Stuff were in “regular conversation about how the show can continue to evolve to meet audience needs”.
“Recent viewer insights, for example, have shown an appetite for longer-form, more in-depth stories and analysis within the bulletin, so we’re currently testing and trialling different ways to deliver this.”
Both TVNZ and Sky have provided Nielsen ratings (age 5+) for their respective 6pm news bulletins for the period of November 3-16.
1News at Six delivered an average audience of 542,700 and an average daily reach of 781,000 per episode.
ThreeNews delivered an average audience of 135,500 and an average daily reach of 225,014 per episode.
Sky TV boss wins CEO of Year award
Congratulations to Sky TV boss Sophie Moloney, named chief executive of the year at last night’s Deloitte Top 200 awards – and for delivering one of the best acceptance speeches in recent awards history.
From a $1 bargain-basement acquisition of one of our biggest media companies to a multimillion-dollar rugby rights deal, Moloney has been a dealmaker in 2025.
It hasn’t been the easiest of rides, though – there were headaches with a wonky satellite earlier in the year – but through it all, the Sky TV boss has a simple mantra that she and her staff have lived by.
“We have three values at Sky: be yourself; make someone’s day – be kind, be generous – and create something amazing. That could be a process that saves time – it doesn’t have to be content on air or a new show,” she tells Media Insider in an exclusive interview today.
Last night, Moloney provided one of the best acceptance speeches in recent living memory of the Deloitte Top 200 awards.
“It’s kind of exciting for media to be in the big end of town,” said Moloney, acknowledging fellow finalists, Fonterra’s Miles Hurrell and Xero’s Sukhinder Singh Cassidy.
Moloney said it was a privilege to lead the firm, and highlighted a recent Q&A with up-and-coming Warriors women.
“They had the opportunity to ask me any questions they wanted. This young woman said, ‘I have two questions for you’. It was quite serious. ‘Number one, do you classify your haircut as a mullet? And number two, does it say anything about your leadership style?’
“I thought, maybe there’s a future prime minister right in front of me with those great questions. I said to her, ‘Well, yeah, it’s a bit of a fancy mullet.’ I mean it’s not a cheap one ... costs quite a lot to maintain. But it does show my zest for life. It is about saying you can be yourself, and we need everybody to be their most productive selves, if we’re going to see them thrive in Aotearoa and deliver on the promise of this country.”
YOU CAN READ THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH SOPHIE MOLONEY HERE
Instagram apologises to model, actor
One of New Zealand’s biggest and best-known social media identities was distressed this week when Meta suddenly and without warning removed his accounts from Facebook and Instagram.
The tech giant falsely accused model and actor Colin Mathura-Jeffree of breaching community standards, without even specifying the posts it was supposedly concerned about. It claimed his accounts, or activity on them, “doesn’t follow our community standards on child sexual exploitation, abuse and nudity”.
Meta later apologised to Mathura-Jeffree, confirming that none of his posts had breached standards. “We’re sorry that we’ve got this wrong and that you weren’t able to use Instagram for a while.”
Mathura-Jeffree’s various private and work accounts were offline from Sunday to Wednesday.
“A lame, weak apology and no reason as to why or how I was targeted,” he told Media Insider. “I’m no longer under any illusion that these sites are safe to work across.
“Something needs to be done to curb the manipulation and bias paired with a business model that collapses my brand and history after making me vulnerable by systematically making itself the centre point of all my communication.
“But accusations of such a monstrous crime add to my disgust.”
Mathura-Jeffree says he’s learned a lesson not to “leave your eggs in one basket”. He said 95% of his social media presence and business was on Meta channels.
He believes artificial intelligence (AI) monitoring has a lot to answer for. It had failed “monstrously” and “showed me the dangers we are blindly allowing to happen”.
“Today, a friend said she was so worried I might’ve been in some mental distress as I vanished. Awful.
“Don’t blindly join all Meta zones or any multi-platform, because it’s not serving you as you think. It’s an addiction that’s using your movements to enrich its shareholders. Like a virus or a cult, it can kill you without a second thought.”
A Meta spokeswoman said it would not comment on an individual’s experiences for privacy reasons.
She provided a background note which included the comments: “We’re always working to improve the enforcement of all our policies – including our child nudity and exploitation policy – to help keep our community safe.
“No system is perfect, which is why we give people the opportunity to appeal decisions if they think we’ve got it wrong. If we find that an account or piece of content was removed in error, we restore it.
“The experiences of accounts shared are all different and are enforced on for different reasons. It is not accurate to suggest that the action taken on these accounts supports a hypothesis of new or targeted overenforcement.”
Silly season starts early
Serve those damn Ikea meatballs to New Zealand school kids for lunch, and let’s be done with both stories.
Stuff retracts National coup story
Stuff retracted on Sunday morning a news story reporting that National MP Chris Bishop had led an ultimately unsuccessful coup attempt within the party.
The news story – which appeared on stuff.co.nz – was based on an opinion column written by journalist Andrea Vance in the Sunday Star-Times and on The Post website, also owned by Stuff, that morning.
Vance’s column followed similar commentary from other political journalists and commentators over the previous week.
Her piece and the other columns were more nuanced and provided context to the speculation.
The Stuff news story, on the other hand, was more like a sledgehammer, with its headline: “Chris Bishop in failed National leadership coup – report”; and a breaking news alert: “Chris Bishop’s bid to roll Christopher Luxon as National leader foiled by PM, report claims.”
Firstly, Vance’s piece was a column, not a news report.
Secondly, it was rather odd to have a news write-off to a column written by your own organisation. It had the ring of a desperate Sunday morning news editor written all over it, in my opinion.
On X, formerly Twitter, political commentator Ani O’Brien wrote, before the story was retracted: “This article (breaking news alert & all) contains no info about a coup at all. It vaguely references that Chris Bishop allegedly did the numbers but didn’t have enough. The media are desperate to create a leadership change.”
I asked Stuff Digital editor-in-chief Keith Lynch why the Stuff article had been retracted.
A Stuff spokeswoman came back to me, saying the news story was replaced by Vance’s column, “providing complete context and detail”.
A footnote at the bottom of the column notes that the news story had been retracted.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis was asked about it by a Stuff reporter in Parliament on Tuesday.
Stuff reporter: “The Post reported there was a failed coup attempt led by Chris Bishop against Christopher Luxon."
Willis: “They didn’t report it, it was an opinion piece and then it [sic] retracted the news, which I think tells you all you need to know – it was an opinion piece."
Reporter: “Was there any truth at all to the claims in that piece?”
Willis: “Look, I don’t respond to Andrea Vance since she called me the C-word, I’m not going to start today."
I went back to Stuff to get a deeper explanation on what had unfolded with the separate news article; there was no response.
Are Media sale
The Australasian publisher that owns some of New Zealand’s most iconic magazines – including the Listener, NZ Woman’s Weekly, the Australian Women’s Weekly and Woman’s Day – is struggling to find a buyer, according to an Australian report.
Are Media, owned by Sydney-based private equity firm Mercury Capital, has been on the block for the past six months.
Are Media publishes those four titles in New Zealand as well as Kia Ora magazine (under contract with Air New Zealand) and Your Home and Garden.
In Australia, Are Media’s portfolio includes the Australian Women’s Weekly, Woman’s Day, New Idea, TV Week and Who.
Mercury bought many of the former Bauer-owned titles in New Zealand and Australia in June 2020 for less than A$50 million ($54m) and housed them under Are Media. Bauer, a German-based publisher, had abruptly closed the titles several months earlier, just as the Covid outbreak started.
Mercury Capital is run by an ex-pat New Zealand venture capitalist, Clark Perkins, out of Sydney.
The sale has raised the inevitable question of the future direction of the magazines under any new ownership – and whether they will remain under one umbrella.
That’s especially so as Mercury is reportedly struggling to find a buyer for the entire portfolio.
The Australian reported on Sunday that Mercury might have to split the magazines up and sell them separately. The newspaper reported that the private equity company was struggling to find a buyer to take the entire entity.
“Are Media sources said there has been growing speculation within the business that several investors were keen to cherry-pick the cream of its publications – along with the intellectual property rights to the TV Week Logie Awards – but unprepared to take on the liabilities that came with its less profitable titles," the Australian reported.
Former Australian Women’s Weekly editor Robyn Foyster told The Australian that she expected a resurgence in the popularity of magazines.
“There is this real move back to trusted brands, particularly in the era of AI, and with the right management and the right focus, these titles can be at the forefront of that again,” she said.
“We talk a lot in publishing about people wanting to be off-screen and engaging in the three Bs – that’s reading in the bath, the bedroom and the beach. It’s where magazines can reign supreme again.”
Food, Actually
Radio, television, sport and fashion identities have joined children’s charity Variety this year in a new video promoting its 2025 Christmas Appeal.
The appeal is raising money for food for children on December 25.
Radio personalities Toni Street and Heather du Plessis-Allan, former All Black coach Sir Graham Henry and television identities Simon Dallow and Hilary Barry all feature in the video – a “board-dropping’ campaign similar to the famous scene in Christmas movie Love Actually.
They are joined by NBR journalist Mike McRoberts, fashion icon Dame Trelise Cooper, property auctioneer Shane Cortese and comedian Leigh Hart.
Auckland Kiwi singer Tiana Hudson has provided the rendition of Silent Night for the video.
The video release comes as Variety data shows one in four kids will go hungry at Christmas this year, and 89% of Variety caregivers are worried they won’t be able to feed their kids on Christmas Day.
A further 92% of caregivers will not be able to buy their kids a Christmas present.
The media news week
A popular social media creative and former Shortland St actor who works in the Labour Party leader’s office has fallen foul of the Speaker after a private post took aim at Finance Minister Nicola Willis and used edited official footage from Parliament. Jordan Rivers, also known as Jordan Lafoa’i, has been working in a part-time capacity in the Labour leader’s office since January as a social media adviser to the party’s Māori caucus. He is employed by the Parliamentary Service. READ THE FULL STORY HERE
One of New Zealand’s best-known advertising agencies – responsible for some of our most popular commercials – is being scrapped, with likely redundancies over the coming weeks, say industry insiders. The DDB Aotearoa creative agency brand is being retired, with staff in the agency coming together with FCB to form McCann Group NZ. READ THE FULL STORY HERE
‘Appalling’, ‘insensitive’, ‘disgusting’: Sky TV has apologised for a bizarre response in the wake of a long-time customer’s death. The customer’s brother himself describes the initial response as ‘very weird’. READ THE FULL STORY HERE
RNZ will take great heart in its latest radio audience numbers, with the organisation back over 500,000 listeners for the first time in almost two years. Its flagship Morning Report show – which has undergone programming changes in recent months – has also recorded its best audience result in a year. READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Imanz industry awards
More than 180 independent media agency types mixed and mingled at an industry event this week, with 10 individual awards.
The Heroes awards showcase media owner representatives who go the extra mile for indie agencies and their clients or simply make the industry a brighter place with their energy and personality.
“Media owners have never had a platform to be recognised for their contribution, as judged by their agency clients,” Imanz (Independent Media Agencies of New Zealand) chief executive Simon Teagle said.
“Imanz members will now annually nominate individuals deserving of 10 categories, including some light-hearted ones”.
The winners, as nominated via a survey of more than 250 Imanz members:
Editor-at-large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME, including managing editor, NZ Herald editor and Herald on Sunday editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.