League pulls punters for Maori TV

Maori Television's broadcast of the free-to-air Gillette Tri-Nations League series is a coup, says the channel, which claims its alliance with the sport is winning audience share.

Maori TV's delayed coverage of the first series match between the Kiwis and the Kangaroos on Saturday night was watched by 101,000 people, making it the channel's top-rating show in the past four weeks.

Sky Sport2's live screening attracted 288,500 viewers, while its free-to-air outlet Prime TV's coverage during BP Ultimate Sports Sunday the next day attracted 153,400 viewers.

The AGB Nielsen Media Research ratings figures were for all viewers aged 5+.

Maori TV's general manager of sales and marketing Sonya Haggie said the Tri-Nations coverage was an extension to the channel's commitment to league as its "signature sport".

It had a mandate to promote culture and language, producing niche programming and content to attract a more mainstream audience, said Haggie.

Maori TV wanted to align itself with a high-profile sport, she said, and developed a relationship with league through the weekly live broadcast of a match from the top-level Bartercard Cup league series in prime time for six months.

It also screened special event matches, such as the Junior Kiwis, because "no one else was broadcasting them and we knew there would be an audience there", said Haggie.

League was a "poor cousin to rugby" and broadcast rights were relatively simple and cheap to acquire.

TV3 gave up the free-to-air league rights it previously held several years ago because small audiences meant it was not commercially viable, said spokesman Roger Beaumont.

Upcoming free-to-air coverage of the Tri-Nations League tournament on Prime TV was likely to vary between full replays and highlights packages.

New Zealand Broadcasting School head Paul Norris said Maori TV's league coverage fitted with the station's requirements to promote language and culture: "Culture embraces sport, very definitely."

The deal showed the station excelled at seizing opportunities, he said. "It suggests that Maori TV is very canny at exploiting little gaps in the market. This sport and these games should actually do well for the channel."

Norris compared league programming with Maori TV's Anzac Day coverage, co-hosted by former One News presenter Judy Bailey, which attracted 215,000 viewers.

The Anzac Day Special is a finalist in Qantas Television Awards Best NZ Sports or Event Coverage category, announced this week.

Successful shows on Maori TV included its sports chat show Code and international documentaries.

Martin Gillman, chief executive of media planning and buying agency Total Media, said the sports strategy was a good move for Maori TV.

"It gave them something good to say and some really positive PR," he said. "The level of investment to buy [advertising space on Maori TV] is not large and there's a growing level of support for paying more attention to ethnic and minority audiences, particularly in Auckland."

But Gillman said the lack of data on the station's audience share made it hard for advertisers and agencies to justify spending on Maori TV.

Rules surrounding the reporting of ratings data meant only four-weekly figures showing limited information were available from AGB Nielsen Media Research.

Gillman said it appeared the station's audience was increasing but was inconsistent - with some months showing audiences were up and some months showing they were down.

"Maori TV has survived thus far and is still growing," he said.

The station ran a low-cost marketing campaign to promote its Tri-Nations coverage through its new advertising agency M&C Saatchi.

Haggie said it was a public relations-style promotion - targeting league strongholds, sports clubs and media - supported by 600,000 stickers a week on meat packs sold nationally through Mad Butcher stores.

The Business Herald received a NZ Post change of address postcard advising the of tournament's new free-to-air location, which, with no need to use a stamp, appeared to be a cost-efficient way of spreading the word.

Maori TV's annual report was due to be tabled in Parliament by the end of the month, said Haggie, and was expected to show a surplus.


Top five shows

Maori TV's top five rating shows in the past four weeks:
* Tri-Nations League: attracted 101,000 viewers aged 5+
* Kolya (international documentary)
* The Return (international documentary)
* Ko Whanganui Te Awa (commissioned documentary)
* Feathers of Peace (NZ documentary)
Source: AGB Nielsen Media Research

League viewers
* Gillette Tri-Nations League: viewers aged 5 +
* Sky Sport2 (live) 288,500
* Maori Television (delayed from 9.30pm) 101,000
* Prime (delayed during BP Ultimate Sports Sunday) 153,400
Source: AGB Nielsen Media Research League pulls punters for Maori TV