22 May 2007

World class market research on NZ broadcast market: a mixed report

A U.S. Commercial Service report on the broadcast market in New Zealand, released before Canwest went on the block, gives mixed ratings, at the same time as signaling some hot property.

A mixed report:

* New Zealand's Pay TV penetration is noted for being amongst the highest in the world and for its ability to take an increasing market share from Free-to-Air, although the absence of competition has, according to the report, resulted in "customer offerings" that are well below "international benchmarks". (A bit like Chicken Little)

* The underdevelopment of broadband TV and related technologies is slated to Telecom's control of the market (no surprises there), accompanied by advice that "while the customer market is ripe, the industry fails to offer what customers want leaving the market wide open for those who are able to exploit it".

* Similarly the report found that in the area of broadband technology New Zealand is unquestionably weak with low market penetration relative to the developed world, adding that "while most developed countries are moving towards Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH), New Zealand uses a Customer Access Network (CAN) that has suffered from a lack of sufficient investment".

In commenting on broadcast standards the report states that in "the area of content New Zealand's attitudes towards sex, violence, and other taboo topics are relatively loose when compared to the United States". Thank goodness for the BSA.

The U.S. Commercial Service, a US government trade promotion unit, regularly reports on market opportunities down under. For the full U.S. Commercial Service report on the Broadcast Market in New Zealand see http://buyusainfo.net/docs_orig/x_6433126.doc

ENDS

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