8 May 2002

“Great news for the television production and broadcasting industries,” is the reaction today from television broadcasters to the Minister of Broadcasting’s announcement of increased funding for television productions.

Executive director Bruce Wallace said that “the Minister has obviously fought long and hard for what is the biggest boost to locally made television since the system was set up in 1989”. Marian Hobbs has announced an annual increase of $6 million for television productions funded by New Zealand On Air and a further $12 million to TVNZ for charter-related programming.

He said there are two important aspects to the decision. The first is the three year funding which provides “much needed stability” to the creation of ongoing locally made series such as Mercy Peak and The Strip. As a result, the efficient utilisation of local resources will be enhanced.

The second is the ongoing support for the contestable production funding model represented by the funding agency New Zealand On Air. “Broadcasters want to see the model continue because it has worked well for everyone,” he said. This increase locks-in the funding available to NZOA to $62 million annually. He said that “this will encourage broadcasters to be creative in their commissioning of New Zealand programming which should improve in both quality and quantity.”

The Television Broadcasters’ Council represents the non-competitive interests of the broadcast television industry and its members are Television New Zealand, CanWest New Zealand, Prime Television New Zealand and Sky Television. Its associate members are West Media and Canterbury Television.

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