TVNZ 7

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TVNZ 7
Launched 30 March 2008
Closed 30 June 2012
Owned by Television New Zealand
Picture format 576i 16:9 (SDTV)
Country New Zealand
Broadcast area New Zealand
Pacific Islands[1]
Headquarters Auckland, New Zealand
Formerly called TVNZ News 24 (working title)
Availability
Terrestrial
Freeview|HD Channel 7
Satellite
Freeview Satellite Channel 7
SKY Television Channel 077

TVNZ 7 was a commercial-free New Zealand 24-hour news and information channel on Freeview digital television platform and on SKY Television Digital from 1 July 2009. It was produced by Television New Zealand, which received Government funding to launch two additional channels.[2] The channel went to air just after 10 am on 25 March 2008 with a looped preview reel. After a countdown which lasted at least an hour, the channel was officially launched at 12 noon on 30 March 2008 with a special "kingmaker" political debate held within the Parliament building and featuring most of the elected minor party leaders. The last day of broadcast for the channel occurred on 30 June 2012. The channel went off air on 30 July 2012 at 12 am.

It featured TVNZ News Now updates at the top of the hour from 6 am–11 pm, with a specialised rolling 10-minute bulletin 'zone' between 8 am and 9 am, where 6 bulletins had shown in that zone. TVNZ 7 also featured an hour-long bulletin, TVNZ News At 8, at 8 pm each night, hosted on weeknights by ONE News Tonight presenter Greg Boyed and on week-ends by Miriama Kamo.

While it was originally reported to be a 'rolling news channel', similar to Sky News and CNN Headline News, Eric Kearley, head of TVNZ's Digital Launch team, has stated about 70% of the schedule would be "factual variety" programming – a mix of local and overseas documentaries, and programmes that discuss current events and sport, with the remaining 30% being the news updates. A full schedule was released on 28 February 2008.

The channel was relaunched on 1 March 2011, taking some programming from TVNZ 6, another Freeview-based digital channel, when TVNZ decided to transform into an interactive broadcast station TVNZ U. On 6 April 2011, it was officially announced that TVNZ 7 cease broadcast in June 2012; this was confirmed when Broadcasting Minister Jonathan Coleman stated on behalf of the government that they would not extend further funding for the channel due to low ratings.[3] This was despite viewing figures that suggested half of all households with Freeview at the time were watching TVNZ7 – around 700,000 people – and not the 207,000 claimed by Coleman.[4] In March 2012, Television New Zealand confirmed this decision once again and announced there would be no eleventh-hour reprieve for TVNZ7.[5]

TVNZ 7 was replaced on 1 July 2012 by TV One +1, a new timeshift channel of TV One, similar to TV3 Plus 1.

Programming

TVNZ News Now

TVNZ 7 operated as a rolling news channel between 80 and 24:00, with bulletins ranging from 4–7 minutes on the hour. This included hourly bulletins from 08:00 to 23:05 every day, except for at 20:00.

Every TVNZ News Now bulletin was researched, written, produced and presented by a single journalist. These include Glen Larmer, Jenny-May Coffin, Brooke Dobson, Ben Christie, Susana Guttenbeil, Lisa Glass, Sandra Kailahi, Christopher Lynch, Sonia Voigt and Katie Chapman.

Because of this limited staffing scheme, the bulletins are scripted from news gathered from wire sources. These include One News and TVNZ affiliates Newstalk ZB, ABC America, ABC Australia, and the BBC.

TVNZ News at 8

TVNZ News at 8 was an hour-long commercial-free news and current affairs programme based on the One News at 6 bulletin of the same evening. It aired seven days a week at 20:00 on TVNZ 7. Because the programme is commercial-free and has less sports coverage and simpler weather forecasts than One News, it is able to include the extended interviews that were the basis for the shorter One News reports, as well as more world news reports from international affiliates such as ABC America, ABC Australia, the BBC and CNN.

The programme was presented by Tonight host Greg Boyed on weekdays and One News at 6 Weekends host Miriamo Kamo on weekends, as part of their shifts for One News. The programme originally had a two presenter format, with Geraldine Knox on weekdays and Sonia Voigt on weekends.

Original programming

TVNZ7 included two year-round, weekly flagship current affairs programmes:

On 23 September 2008, starting from 9pm, TVNZ 7 hosted a one-off live debate on Internet-related issues from Avalon Studios in Wellington. The debate, co-sponsored by InternetNZ, was hosted by Damian Christie, and moderated by the NZ Herald's Fran O'Sullivan and Russell Brown. The debating panel included ICT Minister David Cunliffe, Opposition ICT spokesman Maurice Williamson, ACT leader Rodney Hide, and Green Party ICT spokeswoman Metiria Turei. In a first for TVNZ, the debate was also broadcast over a live stream on the web site Debate.net.nz, complete with a live IRC chat feed.

Programming

Controversy

Starting in October 2009 TVNZ 7 ran a promo for a new series of shows under the title "Spotlight on the Economy". The promo in question was publicizing a new show featuring finance minister Bill English. Critics pointed out that the promo voiced by Bill English was done in the style of a political advertisement and promised to explain the recession in "Plain English" - the name of Bill English's weekly email newsletter. It later emerged in papers released under the Official Information Act that Bill English had re-written the majority of the script to replace lines written by TVNZ with rhetoric that might be considered more conducive towards National Party policies.[7] TVNZ claimed that because they were not in an election year and that the promo in question was promoting another programme that they did not have to present a balanced view and that many of their viewers did not care about giving other voices equal time.[8] In November 2009, TVNZ admitted using Bill English in the channel's promos was a mistake.[9]

Further controversy ensued when Broadcasting Minister Jonathan Coleman announced that TVNZ 7 would not have its funding renewed. This prompted a campaign by TVNZ 7 supporters to oppose the decision as TVNZ 7 is all that remains of non-commercial public TV channels in New Zealand.[10][11] In April 2011, TVNZ7 supporters also pointed out that the government has happily given a handout to TVNZ competitor MediaWorks, in the form of a government-initiated deferral of payments scheme worth $43 million.[12][13] They also cited the hypocrisy of shutting down TVNZ7 while local shows with imported formats, such as The G.C. and New Zealand's Got Talent,[14] were receiving taxpayer funding from NZ on Air. Media commentator Brian Edwards points out that without TVNZ7, New Zealand is about to join Mexico as the only other country in the OECD without a public service television channel.[15]

A report released under the Official Information Act in November 2012 showed 91 percent of people who were aware of TVNZ7's existence believed it was important to have a publicly funded news and information TV station. The survey, conducted before the decision was made to close the TVNZ7, was not released to the public due to being "commercially sensitive", despite the station being non-commercial.[4]

Closure

TVNZ 7 ceased broadcasting on 30 June 2012 just before midnight. It closed with Goodnight Kiwi with "Goodbye from TVNZ 7" superimposed on it.[16] At 7 am next day, TV One Plus 1 started on the same channel.

On Thursday 28 June about 200 people marched through Wellington in protest of impending closure.[17]

On the day of TVNZ7's shutdown, a mock funeral procession was held in downtown Auckland. Among the more notable participants was Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom, who had warmed to Media7 for its championing of Internet freedom.[18]

External links

See also

References

  1. ↑ John Drinnan (2007-04-24). "John Drinnan: TVNZ voice in the Pacific". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 2007-07-20. 
  2. ↑ "Freeview channels given names". Television New Zealand. 2007-06-12. Retrieved 2007-07-20. 
  3. ↑ Drinnan, John. "Media: TVNZ announces end to TVNZ 7". Throng. Retrieved 7 April 2011. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Stifled report didn't save TVNZ7". 3 News NZ. 26 November 2012. 
  5. ↑ No eleventh hour reprieve for TVNZ7, NZ Herald, 1 March 2012.
  6. ↑
  7. ↑ Trevett, Claire (6 November 2009). "Bill's snip-snap zaps TV's script". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 11 September 2011. 
  8. ↑ "Editorial: Excuses ring hollow over TVNZ promo". The New Zealand Herald. 30 October 2009. Retrieved 11 September 2011. 
  9. ↑ "TVNZ admits Bill English promos were 'a mistake'". 3 News. 18 November 2009. 
  10. ↑ Cheng, Derek (7 April 2011). "Axe falls on last public service channel". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 11 September 2011. 
  11. ↑ Drinnan, John (4 March 2011). "Public service television all but gone". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 11 September 2011. 
  12. ↑ Drinnan, John (6 May 2011). "Secret squirrel deals becoming norm". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 11 September 2011. 
  13. ↑ Phillips, Hazel (7 April 2011). "Government slams TVNZ7 business case". National Business Review. Retrieved 11 September 2011. 
  14. ↑ John Drinnan (2012-04-20). "Reality bites for public TV". NZ Herald. 
  15. ↑ TVNZ7 - adopt it out.
  16. ↑ YouTube: TVNZ 7 closes down for good
  17. ↑ Metherell, Suze (2012-06-28). "TVNZ7 funeral march protest in Wellington". Dominion Post. Retrieved 2012-06-30. 
  18. ↑ Marika Hill (2012-06-30). "Kim Dotcom joins TVNZ7 funeral". Fairfax NZ News. 
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