Editorial: Maori TV's ambition welcome in NZ market

For years, many people have lamented the absence in this country of a high-quality public broadcaster along the lines of Australia's ABC or Britain's BBC. Step forward the Maori Television Service. In just five years, it has gone a long way towards fulfilling that role. While meeting its core responsibility of promoting and revitalising the Maori language, it has also won wide acclaim for its coverage of events such as Anzac Day commemorations and, only this week, Sir Howard Morrison's tangi.

Given that record of excellence and enterprise, it should come as little surprise that Maori Television wishes to fly even higher by securing the 2011 rugby World Cup free-to-air broadcast rights. Its $3 million taxpayer-funded bid, backed by Te Puni Kokiri funding, overshadows the bids by Television New Zealand and TV3, and may concern some because the spending of other government departments is being closely scrutinised.

But Te Puni Kokiri has backed other major Maori Television local programming initiatives without controversy. These have proved highly successful in extending the channel's profile and viewership. So much so that more than two-thirds of Maori Television's audience is now non-Maori. Sporting coverage, such as that of the Breakers in the Australian basketball league, has been part of the attraction. Everything suggests the channel would make a good fist of the World Cup.

A potential bugbear is that Maori Television broadcasts are available to only 83 per cent of New Zealanders via the UHF frequency. But given the broadcaster's can-do attitude, that is probably more of a challenge than a problem. Time remains to ensure maximum coverage. Alternatively, Maori Television could end up as part of a joint bid with TVNZ and TV3. Either way, its ambition should be applauded. New Zealand's television landscape is much the richer for its presence.