Television New Zealand is set to unveil sweeping changes in its news and current affairs division as it strives to move more urgently into a digital-first world and faces up to a big drop in traditional television advertising. Staff are expected to hear from the company on Thursday morning.
The move comes just a week after Warner Bros. Discovery announced it would close Newshub at the end of June, with the loss of around 300 jobs.
Sources say more than 60 TVNZ jobs - more than half in the newsroom and others in the broader operation - are expected to be cut. That number represents almost 10 per cent of the state broadcaster’s 700-strong workforce.
The broadcaster is looking to cut the length of the 6pm news from one hour to 30 minutes, according to RNZ’s Checkpoint programme, while other teams - such as those who produce Sunday and Fair Go - could be merged.
Media Insider was told earlier today that some news staff were expecting a meeting tomorrow; Newsroom reported an all-staff meeting was lined up for tomorrow, followed by emails and follow-up meetings with staff directly affected through Thursday and Friday.
TVNZ would not answer any questions directly today about a staff meeting, issuing a broader statement that said the company had been upfront about reducing jobs and needing to develop “a more sustainable operating model to take us into a digital future”.
It has cut back its executive and middle management numbers in recent months and it has been widely expected that its newsroom numbers would come under scrutiny.
“We’ve been upfront with TVNZers that we will need to reduce our headcount to meet the immediate revenue challenges facing the business,” a TVNZ spokeswoman told Media Insider on Wednesday.
“We also need to develop a more sustainable operating model to take us into a digital future.”
One source says a meeting has been scheduled to discuss a future strategy but the spokeswoman would not confirm this or any details.
“We will always take our people through proposed changes first, and so we have no comment to make on the timing or details of any business restructuring at this stage.”
Last week, TVNZ told Media Insider that its headcount had come down over the past 12 months.
“We report on FTE each year in our annual report, for FY23 this was 735 and today we’re around 700,” said the spokeswoman. “We do not have an FTE target that we’re working towards. As a commercially funded business we’ll always need to align our costs with our revenue position.”
On Friday last week, TVNZ delivered a “tough” interim financial result reflecting a challenging media market - an EBITDAF of $100,000, a $4.6 million operating loss and an impairment of $12.2m, resulting in an after-tax loss of $16.7m for the six months to December 31, 2023.
The impairment pushes the six-month loss past the full-year forecast loss of $15.6m.
In a recent interview with Media Insider, TVNZ chief executive Jodi O’Donnell was clear there were no “sacred cows” as the state broadcaster considers all of its costs.
Media Insider understands that includes one of the biggest sacred cows of all, Shortland Street, TVNZ 2′s 7pm weekday show, which has been a staple of the New Zealand television diet for 32 years.
TVNZ fully funds Shortland Street to the tune of millions of dollars a year (it stretches to eight figures but the exact costs are deemed commercially sensitive) and with no assistance from the likes of NZ on Air.
“Everything is under the spotlight,” said a TVNZ spokeswoman. “There are no changes for any shows that I can give you information on today.”
Several options are likely under consideration - production costs most definitely, but also the frequency of the shows, and whether the 7pm linear timeslot might be freed up for a more commercially attractive offering.
Broadcasting minister Melissa Lee told Newstalk ZB’s Heather du Plessis Allan on Wednesday evening that she had “no idea” what TVNZ’s announcement to staff would be.
“I don’t know the details. I haven’t actually caught up with any of the messages that have come through as I’ve had a busy day today.
Lee said she did have a meeting with TVNZ last week.
“[In] the conversation that I had with TVNZ last Friday, we talked about a range of things. They were talking about some of the things they will have to do to make sure they are financially viable. I don’t think I can say that [what they said]. Because they did not tell me that they were cutting staff.
“They’re talking about programming that they will have to consider. It is for TVNZ to answer those questions [about job losses], it is an operational matter. They were looking at many things.
On RNZ’s Checkpoint on Wednesday evening, Lee also confirmed she had spoken with TVNZ on a range of matters - including the revelation, first reported by Media Insider - that Warner Bros. Discovery had approached the state broadcaster to set up a joint newsgathering service to cut costs.
TVNZ rejected that idea, and a week later Warner Bros. Discovery announced Newshub’s pending closure.
- By Shayne Currie
