The party announced its broadcasting policy yesterday, saying TVNZ would be released from its charter obligations and would have to compete with other networks for funding to make local programmes.
TVNZ operates under a charter which encourages it to show programmes that reflect New Zealand's identity and in return gets $15 million to produce shows that would not be commercially viable.
Prime Minister Helen Clark has described National's policy as an assault on public broadcasting and Broadcasting Minister Trevor Mallard says it amounts to a trojan horse for privatisation.
That was denied today by National's broadcasting spokesman Jonathan Coleman.
"There is no plan to sell TVNZ," he said on Radio New Zealand.
"We want to maintain it in state ownership, we think it's a great public asset and it could be performing a lot better."
Dr Coleman said the $15 million TVNZ gets for local programmes was only 4 percent of its annual revenue.
"Competition allows the best projects to come forward and be made," he said.
"TVNZ basically is an asset that hasn't been performing to its capability.
"It's a commercial broadcaster ... it hasn't been operating as a true public broadcaster for many many years."
Mr Mallard reacted to those comments by saying National planned to transfer the function of the charter to the private sector.
"If you run down the public sector the way they're planning to run down TVNZ and ACC, then in the end there is the question of why have them," he said.
"It's a matter of whether you believe them or not. They've made it very clear they're into privatisation."
