Throng

ONE News:

1. Law commission alcohol proposal (Live cross, Jessica Mutch)
2. Funding the 2010 Budget (Guyon Espiner)
3. Wellington power cut (Live cross, Catherine Wedd)
4. Bomb hoax at Dunedin airport
5. Airports re-open in Europe (Live cross, Lisa Owen)

3 News:

1. Law commission alcohol proposal (Rebecca Wright)
2. Funding the 2010 Budget (Duncan Garner)
3. Wellington power cut (Live cross, Rachel Morton)
4. Rugby World Cup fakes (Simon Shepherd)
5. Bomb hoax at Dunedin airport (Dave Goosselink)

Commentary:

Kudos to ONE News, looks like they did their tax calculations correctly tonight in their alcohol report.  Also kudos for giving credit to Kiwiblog for breaking the law commission story, unlike 3 News who just said “blogsite”.

There seems to be a contradiction between ONE News and 3 News‘ calculation for spirit tax (which is the biggest, so most likely to show an error in calculation).

ONE News said a bottle of vodka would rise about $8.50, whereas 3 News said a $40 bottle of whisky will rise by $28.44. 3 News is incorrect:

$40 before GST is $35.56.  The spirit tax is currently 50%, i.e. $17.78.  The proposed tax is 75%, i.e. $26.67.  Therefore the new price before GST is $44.44, and the new price after GST will be $50.  I.e. the price will rise by $10.00.

Good to see Lisa Owen (again) reporting on ONE News this week.  She’s an excellent reporter and covered the airport re-opening story well.

Can someone please explain why interviews with politicians in the hallway at Parliament always have a horrible feedback-type sound in the background, no matter which bulletin it’s on?  It’s rather irritating – is it some air-conditioner or lift or something?

Verdict:

ONE News – crediting their source and getting the maths right.

The return of the black team to the competition doesn’t appear to have had a major impact on the overall ratings despite commentary suggesting that viewers were switching off after the unfair return of three eliminated contestants.

With a final week to go, it will be interesting to see what the numbers are for the grand final.

Brett McGregor vs Kelly Young.  Which chef do you think should be crowned Masterchef?

What do you think of this song being made the theme song for New Zealand’s 2011 Rugby World Cup campaign?

Nearly three years after launching, Freeview continues to connect with Kiwis thanks to increases in the number of channels, the imminent prospect of the FIFA Football World Cup being available free-to-air in HD® and continued free-to-air digital technology innovation.

“We’ve moved fairly quickly from five channels to 16 and with the arrival of the MediaWorks alternative music channel, C42 on May the 1st, that number will increase yet again. As well as the new channel, the Football World Cup is now less than 50 days away and some of the games are scheduled to screen live on TV One in HD® while TVNZ 7 will broadcast selected alternative live games plus replays.  So clearly the content that’s not available on analogue TV is proving to be a big part of a really attractive proposition for TV viewers,” says Sam Irvine, Freeview General Manager.

“We are also continuing to work with manufacturers and broadcasters  to enable  them to develop applications and products that will allow viewers to copy and distribute  High Definition content and access video content, direct to their TV’s,  over the internet”, he adds.

Sales figures for the first quarter of 2010 show that nearly a  quarter (23.5%) of New Zealand homes can now access free-to-air, digital TV and radio through  Freeview.

The total number of households able to receive Freeview is now 376,389 (up from 346,116 in December 2009), which consists of both Freeview satellite® homes and Freeview|HD® homes. The number of Freeview enabled satellite® households has grown to 12% whilst the number of Freeview|HD® enabled homes also grew to 11.5%.

“Freeview is committed to offering the best digital free-to-air viewing experience possible and new channels, popular content and world-class technology are compelling evidence of that,” concludes Sam Irvine.

Maori Television’s insightful indigenous current affairs series, Native Affairs, has launched its new season on air – every Monday at 8.30 PM – with international recognition for its work in public service broadcasting.

Native Affairs was a finalist in the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association’s annual awards held in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Tuesday April 20 2010. The CBA-Amnesty International Award for Human Rights Programme was judged to be a tie between the other two finalists: BBC World Service and the South African Broadcasting Corporation.

Maori Television general manager of news and current affairs, Te Anga Nathan, says the achievement is remarkable given the quality and quantity of the competition. The Commonwealth Broadcasting Association has 100 members in 52 countries.

“In its first three years on air, Native Affairs has twice been named a finalist for Best Current Affairs Series at the Qantas Film and Television Awards and was also the supreme winner last year of the Maori Sports Media Award of the Year,” Mr Nathan says. “We are humbled at this latest international accolade for our coverage of indigenous current affairs from a Maori perspective.”

The weekly hour-long live-to-air show is presented by Julian Wilcox and produced by Colin McRae with reporting by Wena Harawira, Annabelle Lee-Harris, Marisa Balle, Makere Edwards, Tina Wickliffe, Iulia Leilua and Carmen Parahi. This year, the team also includes Patrice Mousseau from the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network in Canada who is on a staff exchange as part of the World Indigenous Television Broadcasters Network.

Last Monday’s premiere episode featured two exclusive stories: Wena Harawira reporting from New York on the eve of the announcement that the New Zealand Government would support the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and confirmation by Team Tua on the heavyweight’s next fight in Brazil. Executive producer Wena Harawira says the fourth series of Native Affairs will continue to break new ground.

“Native Affairs dishes up debate, analysis, opinion and insight by getting to the core of the most challenging stories in Aotearoa today and bringing these important issues – from a Maori perspective – into the homes of all New Zealanders,” Ms Harawira says. “Indigenous stories from international sources also feature in the line-up and include news, views and interviews from throughout the Pacific.”

Featuring Cindy Ruakere and the Masterchef contestants

What do you think?  Looks like they’re all having a lot of fun filming this.

The contestants were shocked when both Tracey Gunn and Steve Juergens were eliminated in tonight’s episode leaving just two finalists to go head-to-head in next week’s MasterChef New Zealand: Grand Final on Wednesday 28 April at 7.30pm.

In tonight’s show, the four finalists created three dishes which had to convey their vision for a cookbook, in preparation of the winner’s prize which is an exclusive deal to publish a cookbook with Random House. The four were judged by the three MasterChef judges, plus guest judge, bestselling cookbook author and chef Al Brown.

Despite a shaky start with his soup, Brett McGregor triumphed and Brown said, “lets face it he’s pretty much nailed it.” The judges were also initially unsure about Kelly Young’s book concept around food and feelings, but were blown away by her dishes, and in particular her pineapple dessert.

However the judges were un-moved by Gunn’s dishes, branding them ‘safe, boring, bland but pretty’. And despite Juergens confidence the judges weren’t happy with his tomato and kiwi-fruit combination, and felt he took too great a risk in cooking fish for an expert like Brown.

The judges agreed Juergens and Gunn had to go and both were eliminated. Gunn said, “it was a bit of a shock to hear that two of us were going home,” and Juergens added, “I really wasn’t expecting that today, the whole competition has been an emotional rollercoaster, obviously it’s hugely disappointing I’ve come this far, the goal was to get into the final and I haven’t met my objective but hey I’ve come really close.”

Gunn became emotional after the elimination and said, “it’s really hard to stop yourself getting upset. You know I’m really proud of myself, I’m certainly a much better cook than I was when I came into it, it’s disappointing to come this far and then not quite make it, but when I came into the competition I didn’t think I’d get to the top four so that’s an achievement.”

Gunn said, “the biggest thing I’ve taken from this, is proving to myself that I can do it, I’m still going to move to the South Island and open my café. I’ve certainly learnt a lot here about what goes on in the real [cooking] world.”

For eliminated contestants’ thoughts on their eviction; the winning recipes; and exclusive MasterClasses, head to the official TVNZ MasterChef New Zealand site – www.tvnz.co.nz/masterchef-nz

MasterChef New Zealand continues Wednesdays at 7.30pm on TV ONE. At stake for the remaining contestants is the MasterChef New Zealand title and more than $100,000 worth of prizes, including a Toyota Prius i-Tech Hybrid car, state-of-the-art Izona appliances from Fisher and Paykel, a stunning range of kitchenware courtesy of Stevens, and an exclusive cookbook deal with Random House.

The final two contestants are: Brett McGregor (Christchurch) and Kelly Young (Auckland).

With all the excitement of Justin Bieber in town next week – MTV has some very special exclusive ‘BIEBER’ programming scheduled:
 
Diary of Justin Bieber
- 30 min Special

Saturday, 4pm & 9.30pm & Sunday, 2.30pm and again on Wed 26th, 5pm

MTV Diary hits the road with teen singing sensation Justin Bieber.  Our cameras document Justin’s every move as he travels to Paris and New York City to meet the press, greet his fans, promote his upcoming album, all while trying to stay a normal 16-year old teenager.
 

Justin Bieber’s Top 20 Teen Stars
 - 2 Hour Special

Saturday, 6pm & Sunday, 9am & 3pm

Teen Canadian YouTube sensation and Usher’s latest signing Justin Bieber talks through some of the greatest teen pop sensations from across the world and talks about their success and rise to fame! Includes videos from Paramore, Michael Jackson & Justin Timberlake.

After a long wait for us here in NZ, the fifth season of re-launched UK series Doctor Who will kick off on Prime on Sunday May 2 at 7.30pm.

The new series will feature the brand new Doctor, 27-year-old Englishman Matt Smith, as well as another new face, that of 21-year-old Karen Gillan who plays Amy Pond.

Most watched

1. One News: 680,000 (TV ONE, 6:00pm – 7:00pm)
2. Shortland Street: 642,730 (TV2, 7:00pm – 7:30pm)
3. Coronation Street: 573,820 (TV ONE, 7:30pm – 8:30pm)
4. Close Up: 537,400 (TV ONE, 7:00pm – 7:30pm)
5. Grey’s Anatomy: 470,250 (TV2, 8:35pm – 9:35pm)

Most watched evening (7.30pm – 11pm)

1. Coronation Street: 573,820 (TV ONE, 7:30pm – 8:30pm)
2. Grey’s Anatomy: 470,250 (TV2, 8:35pm – 9:35pm)
3. The Apprentice New Zealand: 455,950 (TV2, 7:30pm – 8:30pm)
4. Private Practice: 357,310 (TV2, 9:35pm – 10:30pm)
5. Target: 341,100 (TV3, 7:30pm – 8:00pm)

Most watched daytime (9am – 5pm)

1. ONE News Midday: 165,660 (TV ONE, 12:00pm – 12:30pm)
2. Emmerdale: 119,830 (TV ONE, 12:30pm – 1:30pm)
3. ONE News 4:30: 100,280 (TV ONE, 4:30pm – 4:55pm)
4. Good Morning: 98,200 (TV ONE, 9:00am – 12:00pm)
5. Studio 2: 73,470 (TV2, 3:55pm – 4:05pm)

Most watched on TV ONE

1. One News: 680,000 (6:00pm – 7:00pm)
2. Coronation Street: 573,820 (7:30pm – 8:30pm)
3. Close Up: 537,400 (7:00pm – 7:30pm)
4. I Shouldn’t Be Alive: 300,790 (8:30pm – 9:35pm)
5. Gangs of Oz: 264,510 (9:35pm – 10:30pm)

Most watched on TV2

1. Shortland Street: 642,730 (7:00pm – 7:30pm)
2. Grey’s Anatomy: 470,250 (8:35pm – 9:35pm)
3. The Apprentice New Zealand: 455,950 (7:30pm – 8:30pm)
4. Private Practice: 357,310 (9:35pm – 10:30pm)
5. My Wife and Kids: 185,350 (6:30pm – 7:00pm)

Most watched on TV3

1. 3 News: 385,130 (6:00pm – 7:00pm)
2. Target: 341,100 (7:30pm – 8:00pm)
3. Hitched: 271,960 (8:00pm – 8:30pm)
4. Campbell Live: 260,740 (7:00pm – 7:30pm)
5. Home and Away: 258,040 (5:30pm – 6:00pm)

Most watched on C4

1. Tough Love: 65,870 (9:30pm – 10:30pm)
2. Family Guy: 65,480 (7:00pm – 7:30pm)
3. Rock of Love Bus: 63,220 (8:30pm – 9:30pm)
4. Malcolm in the Middle: 51,150 (6:00pm – 6:30pm)
5. How I Met Your Mother: 48,840 (8:00pm – 8:30pm)

Most watched on PRIME

1. Prime News: 167,180 (5:30pm – 6:00pm)
2. Danger Beach: Muriwai: 146,400 (8:00pm – 8:30pm)
3. The Best of Top Gear: 140,790 (8:35pm – 9:35pm)
4. True Stories: 132,120 (9:40pm – 10:45pm)
5. Deal Or No Deal: 118,810 (5:00pm – 5:30pm)

Most watched on Maori TV

1. International Documentary: 31,150 (8:30pm – 9:30pm)

Most watched on the BOX

1. Law & Order Spec.Victims Unit: 46,200 (8:30pm – 9:30pm)
2. CSI Miami: 39,500 (9:30pm – 10:30pm)
3. Monk: 34,970 (7:30pm – 8:30pm)

Most watched on SKY Movies 1

1. Zack and Miri Make a Porno: 43,500 (8:35pm – 10:10pm)

Biggest increases

1. The Apprentice New Zealand: TV2 455950 – up from 296270 (7:30pm – 8:30pm)
2. Shortland Street: TV2 642730 – up from 509160 (7:00pm – 7:30pm)
3. Coronation Street: TV ONE 573820 – up from 470980 (7:30pm – 8:30pm)
4. One News: TV ONE 680000 – up from 589730 (6:00pm – 7:00pm)
5. Breakfast: TV ONE 224650 – up from 147350 (7:00am – 8:00am)

Biggest decreases

1. Milly Molly: TV2 28720 – down from 107020 (8:40am – 8:55am)
2. I Shouldn’t Be Alive: TV ONE 300790 – down from 367920 (8:30pm – 9:35pm)
3. Roary The Racing Car: TV2 28720 – down from 79690 (8:55am – 9:05am)
4. Neighbours: TV2 34650 – down from 84970 (2:30pm – 3:00pm)
5. 30 Rock: C4 33400 – down from 79550 (7:30pm – 8:00pm)

New

1. Customs: PRIME (7:30pm – 8:00pm)
2. Danger Beach: Muriwai: PRIME (8:00pm – 8:30pm)
3. International Documentary: Maori TV (8:30pm – 9:30pm)
4. Grey’s Anatomy: TV2 (8:35pm – 9:35pm)
5. Gangs of Oz: TV ONE (9:35pm – 10:30pm)

Channel Share

• TV ONE: 29.5%
• SKY Network: 21.7%
• TV2: 20.5%
• TV3: 15%
• PRIME: 7.1%
• C4: 3.2%
• Other TV Channels: 2.1%
• Maori TV: 0.6%

Source: AGB Nielsen, 5+