TVNZ 7

TVNZ 7
Launched	30 March 2008
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	Channel 7
SKY Television Digital	Channel 077

TVNZ 7 is 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 is produced by Television New Zealand, which received Government funding to launch two additional channels.^[2] The channel went to air just after 10am 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.

It features TVNZ News Now updates at the top of the hour from 6am-11pm, with a specialised rolling 10 minute bulletin 'zone' between 8am and 9am, where 6 bulletins will show in that zone. TVNZ 7 also features an hour long bulletin, TVNZ News At 8 at 8pm 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]

Programming

TVNZ News Now

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

Every TVNZ NewsNow bulletin is 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 is an hour-long commercial-free news and current affairs programme based on the One News at 6 bulletin of the same evening. It airs 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 is 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 includes two year-round, weekly flagship current affairs programmes:

• Media 7 - a media review programme with Russell Brown Media 7 [1][2]
• Back Benches - a weekly Wednesday show live from the Backbencher pub opposite the Parliament Buildings in Wellington by Wallace Chapman

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

• Dateline
• Earth Report
• FIFA Futbol Mundial
• Four Corners
• Foreign Correspondent Postcards
• ICC Cricket World
• Marae
• Te Karere
• This Week With George Stephanopoulos
• Unreported World
• World News Tonight

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.^[4] 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.^[5] In November 2009, TVNZ admitted using Bill English in the channel's promos was a mistake.^[6]

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, pointing to TVNZ 7 as one of the last remaining non-commercial public TV channels in New Zealand.^[7][8] They also pointed out Coleman's approval of a favourable loan to commercial broadcaster MediaWorks New Zealand, and his arrangement of a deal where pay-TV operator SKY TV was allowed to broadcast TVNZ 7 on its digital service for free.^[9][10]

External links

• Official Website
• Channel preview at YouTube

See also

• ONE News

References

1. ^ John Drinnan (2007-04-24). "John Drinnan: TVNZ voice in the Pacific". New Zealand Herald. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/3/story.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10435768. Retrieved 2007-07-20. 
2. ^ "Freeview channels given names". Television New Zealand. 2007-06-12. http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411749/1178648. Retrieved 2007-07-20. 
3. ^ Drinnan, John. "Media: TVNZ announces end to TVNZ 7". Throng. http://www.throng.co.nz/tvnz-7/tvnz-announces-end-tvnz-7. Retrieved 7 April 2011. 
4. ^ Trevett, Claire (6 November 2009). "Bill's snip-snap zaps TV's script". The New Zealand Herald. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10607619. Retrieved 11 September 2011. 
5. ^ "Editorial: Excuses ring hollow over TVNZ promo". The New Zealand Herald. 30 October 2009. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10606211. Retrieved 11 September 2011. 
6. ^ "TVNZ admits Bill English promos were 'a mistake'". 3 News. 18 November 2009. http://www.3news.co.nz/TVNZ-admits-Bill-English-promos-were-a-mistake/tabid/209/articleID/130186/cat/41/Default.aspx#top. 
7. ^ Cheng, Derek (7 April 2011). "Axe falls on last public service channel". The New Zealand Herald. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10717622. Retrieved 11 September 2011. 
8. ^ Drinnan, John (4 March 2011). "Public service television all but gone". The New Zealand Herald. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10710000. Retrieved 11 September 2011. 
9. ^ Drinnan, John (6 May 2011). "Secret squirrel deals becoming norm". The New Zealand Herald. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10723665. Retrieved 11 September 2011. 
10. ^ Phillips, Hazel (7 April 2011). "Government slams TVNZ7 business case". National Business Review. http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/government-slams-tvnz7-business-case-hp-90249. Retrieved 11 September 2011. 

• Drinnan, John (2007-04-24). "TVNZ voice in the Pacific". http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/3/story.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10435768. Retrieved 2007-05-01. 
• Sky in dark over TVNZ channels The Dominion Post. Retrieved on 15 April 2007.
• Norris, Paul (2007-02-15). "The Task facing Ellis". http://www.stuff.co.nz/thepress/3962441a12935.html. Retrieved 2007-02-17. ^{[dead link]}
• It's a Fact - Around The Clock TVNZ. Retrieved on 18 November 2006.
• Drinnan, John (2006-08-04). "TVNZ wants $10m for news channel". The National Business Review. 
• "Two new digital channels for TVNZ". www.stuff.co.nz. 2006-11-14.