Newshub's three decade fight for survival
Wednesday, 28 February 2024
The spectre of Newshub’s demise has come as a shock to the media industry and consumers across the country, with the possibility a pre-1989 television news landscape may return – one where TVNZ dominated unchallenged.
Parent company Warner Bros Discovery told staff at an 11am meeting news production operations will close at the end of June, should a company proposal be accepted.
The founding of Newshub’s predecessor TV3 National news in 1989 was an important step for New Zealand to follow many other countries who’s current affairs landscape had diversified away from a public broadcaster monopoly.
While Australia, Canada and the UK launched their first commercial channels in the 1950s and 60s with Channel 9, CTV and ITV respectively, it wasn’t until the late 80s that New Zealanders could choose a commercial alternative to their state broadcaster.
The channel had been in the works since 1985 as one component to David Lange’s Labour Government’s deregulation of state owned enterprises, including television assets.
TV3’s start was hampered by the 1987 financial crisis wiping out much of the required capital, but transmission began at 8pm, November 26, 1989. Governor-General Paul Reeves officially launched the station.
The following day, the first 6pm news bulletin, presented by former TVNZ anchor Phillip Sherry, aired.
The broadcast included a report about the stabbing of a motorcyclist in Timaru, an interview with 1990 Commonwealth Games runner Peter O’Donoghue, and international reports about the Indian Election and the pro-democracy movement in Czechoslovakia.
Genevieve Westcott’s short-lived iteration of A Current Affair aired at 6.30pm.
Poor ratings and loyal TVNZ viewership meant an uphill struggle for TV3. A Current Affair getting the axe after a year going head to head with Paul Holmes’ flagship show.
The news bulletin’s main draw was its one-hour length – twice that of TVNZ.
Despite this, Sky Television’s revolutionary UHF TV service added to the struggles. In 1991, TV3’s parent company went into receivership.
One issue was legislation capping foreign ownership of a broadcast service in New Zealand at 15%. This meant NBC America was limited to controlling a 14.9% stake.
Once the cap was raised by the Government to 50% in 1991, Canwest – a Canadian media conglomerate – swooped in and took a 20% share.
During receivership, it had limped on under the control of its major creditor, Westpac NZ. With Canwest in control, the channel broadened its reach and rebranded in 1998.
The news service rebranded too, with John Campbell and Carol Hirschfeld presenting and a new name – 3 News.
Although the new lineup started with controversy when Kate Hawkesby left last minute to join TVNZ’s One News, the channel and its current affairs programmes grew in the early 2000s.
Canwest consolidated its interests in 2004 into Canwest Mediaworks, in order to take an even bigger controlling share.
By 2005, Hirschfeld and Campbell had left 3 News to start Campbell Live and were replaced by Mike McRoberts and Hilary Barry. 3 News also won Best News Award at the Qantas Television Awards.
By 2007, Australian private equity firm Ironbridge got involved, buying a 70% controlling share in Mediaworks as Canwest underwent a slow decline towards bankruptcy.
TV3 became the first television station to broadcast in HD, beating TVNZ to this major televisual milestone. By 2013, it had all fallen down. Ironbridge was in the hole for $700m in debt it couldn’t dig itself out from.
The station cut Campbell Live and Sunday bulletins were reduced to 30 minutes. The station was cocooning itself at a time for a rebrand that would come in 2016.
On February 1 that year, Newshub was born out of the ashes of 3 News.
The station’s news bulletins had a totally new look and added the AM Show to the lineup – a breakfast current affairs show aimed to compete directly with TVNZ’s Breakfast show.
The channel continued under the ownership of an American hedge fund Oaktree Capital Management and in 2020, the channel was bought out by Warner Bros Discovery.
The buyout was hoped to have the same impact that Canwest did – an injection of capital from overseas that could launch the channel and its journalism to new heights.
That is unlikely to be how the story ends.