Throng

World Flight are offering the chance to spend an hour with a New Zealand celebrity at the controls of a Boeing 737 flight simulator as part of a fundraising exercise for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.

The stars:
Beth Allen, Ido Drent, Dai Henwood, Renee Wright, Toni Street, Pippa Wetzell, Mike Puru, Andrew Mulligan, Jeremy Corbett, Paul Ego, Rodney Hide, Jono Pryor, Miriama Kamo, Neil Waka and Clinton Randall.

The auctions are live on Sella.  Check out World Flight NZ for more info.

In 2009, TVNZ still managed to turn a profit which, it has to be said, is a fairly praiseworthy achievement in the current environment.  But what about 2010?  What is TVNZ banking on that will return another dividend?

As revenue is directly related to ratings, it has been interesting to watch TVNZ deliberately remove what one would have expected to have been two of the most watched events of 2010.  Firstly, the 2010 Dehli Commonwealth Games, which they had the rights to but decided that the income would not have justified the expense.  Secondly, Tuesday nights Jason Gunn extravaganza Dancing with the Stars.

While the screening of these offers enormous revenue opportunities independently, they also provide TVNZ with lead ins to other shows and the ability to promote other TVNZ content.  So what do they have in store instead?  Are there any major television events that will reach the same audience and achieve a better result?

TVNZ has decided against commissioning a production of Dancing With The Stars in 2010.

The decision has been made, reluctantly, because the current market conditions do not support such an expensive show.

Despite its huge popularity the cost of mounting the multi-million dollar, BBC-format production has made Dancing With The Stars a very marginal venture for TVNZ - even in strong market conditions.

In a recessionary environment the network can no longer absorb losses made by big-budget productions.

TVNZ is treating the decision as a ‘rest’ for the programme, and will re-evaluate the situation for the following year.

If market conditions have improved significantly, TVNZ will look to re-establish the show in 2011.

Provisional amounts have shown that $433,053.81 was raised for charity this year in TV ONE’s hit show Dancing With The Stars.

Dancing With The Stars winner Tamati Coffey's chosen charity, Rainbow Youth, will receive a record amount from the series, $259,990.79. UpsideDowns Education Trust, the charity represented by 2009 series runner-up Barbara Kendall, will receive $99,009.02 and semi-finalist Josh Kronfeld's charity, Koru Care Otago, will receive $37,276.01.

In Brief

Congratulations Tamati and Samantha for winning Dancing with the Stars 2009!

"I'm stunned, I'm speechless right now, I'm, I don't know...Hi to everybody at Rainbow Youth, we did this for you guys, it's been about you the whole time," said an overwhelmed Tamati on winning the title.

Tamati & Samantha or Barbara & Johnny?  The voting lines are now closed.

While we're running this live blog, at the bottom of this post you'll be able to find the live blog being run by GayNZ.com who are at the Langhom Hotel Ballroom with Tamati's fans and those from Rainbow Youth.

Jason Gunn takes to the floor with a couple of songs.  Dancing in the Moonlightt and Night Fever.  It's going to be a big night of entertainment so settle back and enjoy the show!

Jason reminds us that if the scores are tied at the end of the night then the winner will be determined by the one with the highest public vote.

Tamati Coffey & Samantha Hitchcock
Dance: Waltz
Song: What'll I Do

The team from Gay NZ are live blogging the Dancing with the Stars finale from the Rainbow Youth party in support of Tamati.

They're inviting you to join in on the fun and note that they’ll be moderating all comments.

To be a part, just join up in the window below.