Newshub Live at 6 newsreaders Samantha Hayes and Mike McRoberts. Photo / Getty Images
Newshub Live at 6 newsreaders Samantha Hayes and Mike McRoberts. Photo / Getty Images
The owners of Newshub have quietly given the biggest hint yet of the new name for the 6pm news on Three (TV3). And seems it could well be a case of in with the old.
Warner Bros Discovery has applied to have the terms “Three News” and “ThreeNews” registered asa trademark, ahead of its newsroom closing on July 5 - marking the end of the Newshub brand - and its new news service, provided by Stuff, starting from July 6.
A Warner Bros Discovery spokeswoman said today: “We can confirm that Three News is one of the names being considered for the new bulletin.”
The new name, if confirmed, would mark an almost complete U-turn - the Newshub brand was launched with much fanfare in February 2016, replacing the name 3 News.
The NZ Media News social media account first revealed the trademark application on Tuesday night, and commented: “This move hints that ‘Three News’ might be the chosen name for the upcoming bulletin produced by Stuff.”
According to the application - which is marked by the Intellectual Property Office as “under examination” - the trademark covers various broadcasting and media services and content across multiple platforms including news and current affairs and education, entertainment, sporting and cultural activities.
And to cover all bases, it lists a wide range of transmission methods - including television, radio, video on-demand, audio on-demand, wireless broadcasting and streaming.
The application was lodged on April 15 - on Monday last week, the day before Stuff was announced as the new provider of the 6pm bulletin.
Warner Bros Discovery’s (WBD) New Zealand boss Glen Kyne told reporters last week that many details were still being worked through with Stuff but that WBD would have a say on the newsreader/s, tone and design of the bulletin.
Three’s 6pm news bulletins through the years. Image / Tina Tiller, The Spinoff
As The Spinoff’s Alex Casey wrote earlier this year, TV3′s evening news bulletin was originally called 3 National News when it launched in November 1989 - initially, it was a shorter, sharper half-hour bulletin that started at 6.30pm and was fronted by Philip Sherry.
It became a one-hour bulletin, from 6pm, when the Gulf War started in 1991, and it has been retained at that length ever since.
Over the years, TV3′s newsreaders have included Sherry, Joanna Paul, Neil Waka, John Hawkesby, John Campbell, Carol Hirschfeld, Hilary Barry, Mike McRoberts and Samantha Hayes.
On the new bulletin to be provided by Stuff, he said: “It has been described as a lifeline but it didn’t seem like a lifeline to me. I felt like I’d done my dash and I really want to step away from TV3 with those incredible memories... intact.”
Stuff is working on plans for a half-hour bulletin at weekends and an hour-long bulletin on weekdays.
Almost 300 jobs are being axed by Warner Bros Discovery - across news and other divisions - as its American owners cut costs from the lossmaking operation. Stuff is expected to hire no more than 30 to 40 people for the new news operation.
Stuff is being paid an annual fee to provide the news service - likely to be in the single-digit millions - while Warner Bros Discovery retains all the advertising revenue, likely to be in the tens of millions.
Further details of how the deal has been structured have not been confirmed - for instance, what happens if Stuff exceeds, or does not meet, audience targets and KPIs.
Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.
