Talkback: TV unites to cash in on gong shows

It is the season for awards and last weekend the television industry patted itself on the back.

The Qantas Television Awards are a new venture by the free television industry and illustrate that, despite the daily competitive battles between them, the networks understand the value of celebrating success together.

The awards were shown on TV One on Saturday night to an audience of more than 200,000 people, some of whom would have voted in the four Woman's Day Readers' Choice Awards.

This year was the first time news and current affairs had been joined by the other mainstream programme genres such as drama, entertainment, comedy, reality, sport and information.

In other words, all sectors of the television production industry were competing against each other for honours.

More than 400 entries were received from which 31 winners were chosen by about 50 judges (including four leading Australian television heavyweights).

For the awards ceremony and TV show, three of the most powerful brands in New Zealand (TV One, TV2 and TV3) combined with the newer names in the business (Prime and C4).

So, in marketing terms, why would fierce competitors get together and agree to share their patch? Where is the value to them? And why have the three companies making up the Television Broadcasters' Council agreed to rotate televising of the awards event itself?

The answer to the first question is simple.

The production and broadcasting of New Zealand-made programmes is expensive and risky and it's in everyone's interests to invest in the success of this large area of the industry. Awards help to raise standards.

Local shows perform really well against imported competition. So far this year, 11 of the top 20 shows among people aged 18 to 54 were New Zealand-made.

Off the Rails is the outstanding example of a show with an absolutely local feel which resonates with the TV One audience, and Fair Go and Shortland Street continue to bring pleasure to many. On TV3, Downsize Me was a real success, showing the value of tapping into a high-profile issue in an informative way.

So where is the value to the broadcasters? The most significant investment made by broadcasters is in local content production and building audience support for these thousands of hours is central to their commercial success.

The sale of prime time commercial airtime to advertisers provides their central source of revenue. The commercial value of a programme depends on the audience a show is expected to draw and the more viewers a series builds up the more attractive it is to advertisers.

We want New Zealand-made shows to be really successful, encouraging even more local production.

For all the talk about the impact of fragmentation, interactivity and new consumer products, the mass audience cannot be provided to advertisers with the same potent sales and marketing power of free television.

So to the third question: why are the networks rotating the Qantas Television Awards, having started with TV One?

This decision underlines the industry commitment to the awards. The awards themselves are intended to be a long-term part of our television scene but putting them on screen represents an extra investment of airtime. Sharing that broadcast around the broadcasters enables each of them to take ownership of the show while reinforcing the collective character of the awards.

Last Saturday, Petra, Jason and Charlotte were the highly visible personalities from TVNZ, TV3 and Prime working together but appearing on TV One.

Next year, TV3 plans to host the show and again it will seek to reflect the character of the awards through its presenters.

What better way for an industry to entertain its audience and delight its advertisers?

* Bruce Wallace is executive director of the NZ Television Broadcasters Council.