Demise of TVNZ 7: End of An Era

Following the confirmation by Government that TVNZ 7 will close down in June 2012 the Screen Directors Guild of New Zealand is greatly alarmed about the impact that this will have on New Zealanders.

“This undermines the Government’s stated commitment to public broadcasting,” says Screen Directors Guild President Peter Bell, “New Zealand will be the only country in the OECD without a channel committed to public broadcasting”.

Within the New Zealand broadcast environment TVNZ 7 is uniquely dedicated to providing content that informs and educates. Viewers are assembling content in an increasingly diverse platform environment, but without a local channel with a loyalty to public broadcasting aims there is a huge risk that we may not see this kind of programming commissioned at all.

A sophisticated democratic society ensures that it fulfills an obligation to its citizens to provide a channel for the public. This loss means that New Zealanders will be deprived of the kind of quality local content that Kiwis have a right to see.

“This decision, combined with what can only be a policy of disinterest in public broadcasting by Government, indicates the mortification of public service broadcasting. It will have a withering effect on television content,” says SDGNZ Executive Director Anna Cahill.

“There is little courage in this decision and a very limited vision of our television future,” says President Peter Bell.

ENDS

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