TVNZ boss supportive of merger with RNZ but says law change 'poorly constructed'

Wednesday, 31 August 2022

TVNZ is enthusiastic about the idea of merging with RNZ, chief executive Simon Power says.

TVNZ chief executive Simon Power has delivered some of the organisation’s warmest words to date about the Government’s proposal to merge it with RNZ into a new public media entity.

But he said the law change paving the way for the creation of Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media was “poorly constructed” and TVNZ would be advising a select committee that is considering the legislation to recommend some changes.

The law change would see the new public media entity established as an “autonomous Crown entity” which he said would mean it had less statutory independence from the Government than TVNZ and RNZ currently enjoy as “Crown entity companies”.

Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media would need to be “totally free from political influence and seen to be so”, he said.

* Mixed funding model needs much bigger government cash injection

* New public media entity could help non-government owned media, says RNZ boss

“I am not worried about that kind of influence from this government or the next government. I just think if the legislation is to endure it has to be robust enough to withstand different types of governments over time. We will be submitting pretty strongly on that.”

National Party broadcasting spokesperson Melissa Lee has previously voiced similar concerns about the new organisation’s proposed legal structure.

Simon Power says he has yet to decide whether to apply for the job of heading the new public media entity.

Power said the bill itself should also better enshrine the new media organisation’s independence.

“I think it is really curious that the editorial independence appears as a subclause and relates to the minister's role.

“When you think about the structure of a really effective piece of legislation, it should have that editorial independence right at the front of the bill immediately following the clause on the Treaty relationships, just to make it abundantly clear that it stands on its own merits as a core principle,” he said.

But Power said TVNZ saw the merger as a “really interesting opportunity” and that he was “very supportive of the idea”.

He had not yet decided whether he would put his own hat in the ring to head the new entity after his job with TVNZ terminates and the new entity comes into existence in March, he said.

The advertisers and advertising agencies that are TVNZ’s main commercial customers were initially confused about what the merger meant but were now “very positive”, he said.

“I think that the market side will settle once the certainty around that bill presents itself.”

Power made the comments at the same time as releasing TVNZ’s annual result for the year to the end of June.

TVNZ reported a profit of $7.9 million for the period.

That was down on its profit of $59m last year but higher than its pre-Covid profits in 2018 and 2019.

Last year’s bumper result was impacted by a big drop in expenses as the availability of new programmes to buy and produce dried up as a result of the pandemic.

TVNZ’s revenues rose by just under $2m to $342m and Power described the result as “very solid”.

Power would not be drawn on TVNZ’s approach to potential negotiations with Google and Meta over media funding.

Google announced last week that it had reached a commercial agreement with NZME, publisher of the New Zealand Herald, and RNZ, that will see them and some smaller media organisations supply curated content for Google’s Google News Showcase service.

The deals appeared to leave other major media organisations, including TVNZ, Newshub-owner Warner Bros Discovery and Stuff, in the cold.

Power would not say whether TVNZ hoped to strike its own deal with Google and Meta or join collective negotiations that other media firms hope to advance under the auspices of the News Publishers’ Association, or whether it saw a need for government intervention in the process.

“We are watching with interest and keeping our options open,’’ said.