Fairfax Media and TVNZ in video content tie-up

Monday 02 May 2016 03:13 PM

Fairfax Media and TVNZ in video content tie-up

By Edwin Mitson

May 2 (BusinessDesk) - Television New Zealand and Fairfax Media have signed a deal to show news video made by the state broadcaster on the Stuff website and mobile apps.

The agreement will come into force later this week, on May 5. The two businesses will share advertising revenue. No timescale has been given for the length of the deal, which a media release said would depend on viewer response.

TVNZ chief executive Kevin Kenrick said the media in New Zealand needed to work together to compete with international rivals “Domestic online players need to collaborate to compete effectively with global scale players, and this opportunity is all about matching ONE News’ strength in video journalism with Stuff’s strength in online reach".

Fairfax media said it's audience had an "insatiable appetite" for video content. Managing director Simon Tong pointed to a growing audience of two million New Zealanders who accessed the Stuff website last month "More and more people are watching video content on Stuff – we currently get more than 10 million streams per month. Our partnership with ONE News adds to this already strong video capability".

TVNZ's rival Mediaworks is currently seen as struggling following a difficult year in which the broadcaster axed the Campbell Live programme and has lost a number of key staff. On Friday,it confirmed newsreader Hilary Barry had tendered her resignation and would leave at the end of May. The Spinoff website said senior staff are angry with CEO Mark Weldon while other reports have suggested the group could be broken up.

(BusinessDesk)

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