TVNZ corporate spin more entertaining than Seven Sharp

Another classic quote for TVNZ spokeswoman Megan Richards in the Herald on Sunday this morning:

“Seven Sharp is a long-term proposition that recognises the fact traditional current affairs – on any channel – is not thriving in a media environment where the primary competitor these days is actually You Tube.”

Where on earth does she get this stuff from? You Tube is indeed a very popular medium but NOT for current affairs and NOT for the audience who will EVER be watching TV ONE at 7pm, or at any other time to be quite honest!

As for traditional current affairs NOT thriving in a media environment, by that I can only assume she means TV.

So on what does Ms. Richards base this very broad statement? I doubt that the BBC News Channel, CNN, Fox, Al Jazeerah or any of the ever expanding News and Current Affairs broadcasters around the globe would agree. Far from tinkering with the formats of their programmes they are very sensibly exploring new ways for their viewers to receive the message. As the BBC tag line states, On TV, On Radio, On line.

And closer to home I would venture to suggest that Campbell Live’s ratings this last week are being seen around Flower Street as very positive evidence that their ‘traditional’ approach to current affairs has seen their show  ’thrive’ in our local media environment more than ever before.

However I have to admit that I am looking forward to more statements from Ms Richards and Mr Dagan as their utterances are providing us with far more entertainment than Seven Sharp !

About the author

Nigel Godfrey

Nigel Godfrey has vast experience in the television industry: working for Thames Television (UK), Channel Ten (Australia), The Australian Film and Television School, TVNZ and Southern Star. He worked on The International Final of Miss World broadcast live from The Royal Albert Hall to an estimated worldwide audience of 500 million and the opening ceremony of The Commonwealth Games in 1990. He has enjoyed a variety of positions including numerous acting roles on television, film and stage, senior floor manager, directing, writing and producing hundreds of hours of broadcast programming and television commercials. Nigel was instrumental in the set-up and operation of New Zealand's first regional television station CTV, and founded Eureka Productions.

Nigel has worked with TVNZ on Masterchef, Idol, Stars in their Eyes, So you Think you Can Dance, Deal or no Deal and countless other primetime franchises.

NZ highlights include producing the 2009 telethon, The New Zealand Variety Show, children's show "Y", Sky Scene, The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.

When he does have any time to spare he’s normally watching TV or spending time with his partner and 3 daughters at his home in Auckland.
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  • http://www.facebook.com/ky.wadsworth Ky Wadsworth

    Hahah I thought the same! the PR spin is so ridiculous. Of course they will defend the ratings and not admit the obvious. I don’t watch YouTube for news or current affairs – it’s mainly for TV show promos and music videos for me.

    But Seven Sharp has helped me discover just how good Campbell Live is.

  • http://twitter.com/NapierinFrame Andrew Frame

    Every piece of information we have been fed by TVNZ over the last month has rather clearly been written by a PR or Marketing graduate who has absiolutely NO idea of how a television network should be run! Or that after so many years of PR and spin, New Zealanders have become immune to this sort of ignorant, self-centered BS.

  • http://www.facebook.com/david.i.batten Dave Ian Batten

    Okay, now it’s a big joke. TVNZ are wasting their time and money on this show. Nobody wants to watch it. End of story.

  • Bleak Observer

    Coming soon: Masterchef Masterclass, 5 nights a week at 7pm LOLZ!

  • bobscoffee

    TVNZ PR department is as bad as their news and current affairs department. Megan Richards sounds completely clueless. Sometimes I wonder if they even believe their own spin.

  • Marty

    Switch to Campbell Live guys (and 3 News while you are at it). TVNZ need to be taught a lesson that New Zealand is not the play ground for the dumbing down of news and current affairs. Its rife on Australian TV with 7, 9 and 10 “news” shows (and they just that – shows) filled with light weight sound bites and consumer affairs stories. Only SBS and ABC are the only viable outlets.

    If TVNZ think that You Tube is a viable source of news and current affairs then I hate to think what their news and content strategy is. It’s important to educate and draw younger demographics in this fragmented environment but to do not let standards slide.

    I’ve lived in NZ, the UK and I’m currently in Australia and the 3 News bulletin is world class. TVNZ’s One News was once a beacon of quality, but sadly the shift has been so dramatic its tabloid in tone. Switch to TV3 and watch a newsworthy and contemporary bulletin that deserves a bigger audience. It is already leading in the metro and younger demographics and it only needs 150,000 people to switch and it will be beat the TV One “service”.

  • obo

    ratings back up yesterday…. all those people quick to write it off should wait a bit longer before giving a eulogy

    • http://www.facebook.com/reganjcunliffe Regan Cunliffe

      As TVNZ would say, you can’t gauge much off one day’s ratings