‘Fantastic’ Stuff stepping into 6pm TV news slot, says PM

Monday, 15 April 2024

Stuff will produce hour-long news bulletins for Three.

A deal that will see Stuff produce prime-time news bulletins for television channel Three is a good outcome for the media and the country, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says.

But Labour Party broadcasting spokesperson Willie Jackson said the Government should be prepared to step in and provide support if necessary.

Stuff and channel Three owner Warner Bros Discovery have reached a deal to prevent local television news from becoming a state-owned monopoly, following Warner Bros’ decision to close its own Newshub news and current affairs division.

The agreement will see Stuff provide television news bulletins for Three, with the help of Newshub staff that are being made redundant by Warner Bros Discovery.

Stuff will provide hour-long news bulletins that will replace Newshub’s existing 6pm news bulletins on weekends and a 30-minute news bulletin for the weekend.

Stuff owner Sinead Boucher and Warner Bros Discovery senior vice president Glen Kyne announced the partnership on Tuesday.

Stuff owner Sinead Boucher said it would deliver “a news product for the future”.

“We will look to innovate not replicate the 6 o’clock news, building on our expertise in digital audiences and engagement and our ability to deliver live and lively news ‘24/7’ all over Aotearoa,” she said.

Luxon said the media had faced a tough time in recent months and it was “fantastic” to see a commercial solution emerge.

Media and Communications Minister Melissa Lee also said the development was “positive news for all involved”.

She would not say if she believed the Government could or should do anything to increase the chances of the partnership being a success.

Jackson said any kind of lifeline for commercial television news was “certainly better than nothing”.

Staff from Newshub attended a meeting announcing the closure of the news organisation by its parent company Warner Brothers Discovery.

But he believed support from the Government might be needed down the track, suggesting it could consider using funding provided to NZ On Air to support the new TV news service.

“This new set-up might be okay for a little while, and then they might need a bit of support,” he said.

Warner Bros Discovery confirmed last week, after consulting with staff, that all of Newshub's operations, including its flagship 6pm bulletin, The AM Show and the Newshub website would close on July 5, with the loss of about 250 jobs.

That risked leaving state-owned broadcasters Television New Zealand and Whakaata Māori as the only providers of local television news.

However, the deal with Stuff has avoided that.

Warner Bros Discovery senior vice president Glen Kyne said it received a number of proposals from partners.

“Stuff put a lot of thought into not just the bulletin but also a broader partnership with a real future focus which would benefit both parties and New Zealand,” he said.

“This agreement also gives all New Zealanders confidence that there won’t just be one broadcast news option on TV. It’s critical for democracy that we have a strong fourth estate to hold the powerful to account and that there are different voices asking different questions,” he said.

The Government was not involved in brokering the deal, a spokesperson for Media and Communications Minister Melissa Lee said.

It is not clear how many jobs the agreement with Stuff might save, or whether the deal could see Stuff also supply television news bulletins to Sky TV, which currently receives Sky Open’s 5.30pm news bulletins from Newshub under a revenue-sharing deal.

Sky spokesperson Chris Major said it continued to be “open to exploring how we might play our part in delivering strong local news, where it makes commercial sense”.

“There’s no immediate change for ‘News First at 5.30pm’ on Sky Open, given Newshub continues to produce news services for a couple more months, so we have time to explore the options,” she said.

It is understood Stuff could use video content it produced for Three news bulletins also on its own websites, which include stuff.co.nz, thepost.co.nz, the press.co.nz and waikatotimes.co.nz.

A joint statement from Warner Bros Discovery and Stuff indicated there would be a “transition period” during which both companies’ would be involved in producing bulletins.

It did not set out the commercial terms of the deal, including the length of the agreement or the amount of money Warner Bros Discovery would pay Stuff for the service.

Lee said the Government had not been involved in facilitating the agreement.

But it is understood that the Government has been considering offering Warner Bros Discovery and other broadcasters a break on television transmission fees that would normally be paid to state-owned enterprise Kordia, on the condition that they continued to offer television news bulletins.

That would provide an incentive worth about $5.2 million a year for Warner Bros Discovery to retain news bulletins in some form on Three.

Lee told The Post on Friday “no decisions have been made by this Government on Kordia fees, but we will consider any proposals that come through”.

Her spokesperson said on Tuesday that situation had not changed.

Government officials told Lee in December that Warner Bros Discovery expected its television channels, including Three, would go internet-only from the end of next year, but the company has not since confirmed that is still its expectation.