TVNZ half-year profit drops 26%, online revenues grow

TVNZ half-year profit drops 26%, online revenues grow

Feb. 28 (BusinessDesk) - State-owned broadcaster Television New Zealand's earnings after tax for the six months to Dec. 31 fell 26 percent to $14.2 million as advertising revenues fell and the network spent an extra $10.5 million buying programmes, including top-rating New Zealand's Got Talent.

Total operating revenues of $193.9 million for the half-year compared with $199.7 million in the same period a year earlier, with advertising revenue falling to $165.3 million, from $168.0 million in the previous period.

Operating cash flows were markedly down at $13.7 million, compared with $31.8 million in the previous period, reflecting higher payments to content providers and the loss of government funding that occurred with the closure of TVNZ7.

TVNZ declared an interim dividend of $11.3 million for the Crown, down from $13.8 million.

Going against the trend for falling revenues was a 19.8 percent increase in "other operating revenue", mainly representing strong advertising revenue and viewer growth for TVNZ's online, on-demand programming product.

"Online is a currently a small part of our revenue, but it's a big part of our future," said TVNZ chief executive Kevin Kenrick in a statement.

(BusinessDesk)

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