Morning Report presenters Corin Dann and Ingrid Hipkiss, and former Newshub Nation host Rebecca Wright.
RNZ is performing well digitally but faces a big battle to stabilise and revive radio listenership; Rebecca Wright eyes new current affairs format; MediaWorks and auditors part ways; New TVNZ, RNZ board appointments; TV3 newsreader’s autocue ordeal; A fitting tribute for Rod Vaughan.
RNZ’s radio ratings have plummeted with several top shows, including Morning Report, losing thousands of listeners in a matter of months – part of a longer-term downward trend for the public broadcaster, according to new survey results.
While RNZ is highlighting its creditable performance across digital platforms and the likes of podcasts - saying its content reaches more New Zealanders than ever - chief executive Paul Thompson acknowledges that RNZ National’s radio ratings are “concerning” and “a cause for soul-searching”.
Among considerations that he raises in an interview with Media Insider is a bigger and stronger presence in Auckland – including RNZ’s very likely move into TVNZ’s headquarters and more modern studios in the central city.
GfK ratings released this week show RNZ National now has a cumulative audience of 494,500 – falling below 500,000 for the first time in at least four years. It had a cumulative audience of more than 700,000 in mid-2020.
The broadcaster has dropped 35,300 listeners between the first GfK radio ratings survey of 2024 and the second, latest survey.
In the same period, RNZ National’s commercial news competitor, Newstalk ZB, gained 10,900 listeners, for a cumulative audience of 648,900 (Disclaimer: Newstalk ZB is owned by NZ Herald publisher NZME).
ZB’s lead of 154,400 over RNZ is its biggest in many years – in fact, RNZ had a lead of more than 100,000 listeners over ZB at the start of 2020.
Thompson said in a statement: “While live radio numbers obviously only reflect a portion of our total audience, it is an area that we want to do better in, and we will be looking at ways we can improve.”
The overall ratings drop is reflected in several of RNZ National’s key shows, according to data released exclusively to Media Insider.
Morning Report is now down to 347,400 listeners, from 376,500 in the first survey of 2024.
Since early 2020, the show has lost more than 150,000 listeners.
In the same period, Newstalk ZB’s breakfast show – hosted by Mike Hosking – has gained listeners, for a lead now over Morning Report of just over 100,000 listeners.
Other RNZ National shows are also languishing.
Nine to Noon has dropped to 264,100 listeners from 286,600 in the first survey of 2024 and Checkpoint has fallen to 188,600 listeners, from 217,800 earlier this year.
Saturday Morning, which lost longtime host Kim Hill late last year, now has 195,400 listeners, down from 211,100 in the first 2024 survey.
RNZ will be hoping its new Saturday Morning pairing, Susie Ferguson and Mihingarangi Forbes, who appear together for the first time this weekend, will be able to turn the ratings around in that timeslot.
The question now is whether RNZ’s executive has the appetite to look at other big changes as part of any review of its radio performance.
In a press release, RNZ highlighted the results of its own internally commissioned audience survey which shows more people than ever – 77% of New Zealanders aged over 18 – are accessing its content, across various platforms including its website.
“Two decades ago, RNZ reached around 20% of adult New Zealanders through two radio stations,” said Thompson.
“Since then we’ve introduced a website, the RNZ apps, online audio players and a podcast section among other changes. We’ve increased our content on social media and started sharing our content with other media, meaning there are now more than 65 different places where you can potentially access RNZ’s content. We are truly a multiplatform media organisation, reaching more New Zealanders than ever before.”
But in this age of convergence, most major media organisations can (and do) make similar statements.
Following the demise of Newshub, RNZ’s website now has a record monthly audience of 1.4 million people – sitting third behind Stuff and the NZ Herald, each of which has a monthly audience of more than 2 million.
While it might be expected that traditional radio listenership is challenged – just like that of newspapers and linear television – RNZ’s latest ratings do not compare favourably with that of the commercial radio brands under NZME and MediaWorks. Overall listenership is up, but RNZ is, for some reason, down.
The public broadcaster is also in a unique position in the media market, with a $25 million boost to its annual budget under the previous Government.
That budget increase has been continued by the National-led coalition Government, although Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith has insisted on clearer performance reporting.
Thompson said last August that he expected Morning Report – then with a reasonably new pairing of Corin Dann and Ingrid Hipkiss – to increase its ratings over the following 12 months.
A year on, it has so far failed to do that.
Earlier this month Thompson cited Morning Report as an example of RNZ’s expanded delivery platforms – its content helping lift RNZ’s website traffic, while audiences are also streaming it live or listening to a dedicated Morning Report podcast.
“This means that live radio ratings provide an incomplete picture of the audience for Morning Report’s work.”
In an interview yesterday, Thompson said the latest radio ratings were “concerning”.
“We’ve got some really good trends on our overall audience and our strategy is working,” he said referring back to the broader reach across multiple digital and audio platforms.
“We really love radio. We’re very proud of our radio heritage, and when you see the downward trend that we’ve experienced, it’s a cause for soul searching.”
He wanted time to complete a full analysis of the latest numbers, but there were some top-of-mind issues.
Firstly, he paid tribute to the commercial networks which, he said, were doing a good job in an “intensely competitive” market.
He also spoke of needing to build a bigger and stronger presence in Auckland, especially in light of current and future population trends.
Auckland was, he said, “a challenge for us ... it’s never been an area of strength.”
“We’ve moved a lot of our programming and people to our Auckland building over the last few years. We’re nearly 50-50 with Wellington. But that in itself is not getting us the relevance that we need in the biggest and fastest-growing market. So I really want to have some thinking about Auckland and how we can get cut through there.”
Asked if that meant relocating all hosts and other talent to Auckland, he said: “It’s not on the agenda at the moment.”
Asked if he thought RNZ’s executive team and the broadcaster’s head office should be moved north, from Wellington, he said: “No, I don’t. That’s not to say that decisions won’t be taken in future. That’s not a consideration for me at the moment.”
It would always be important to have a strong presence in Wellington and Christchurch; where the execs sat was “less important to me than knowing we’re based where audiences are”.
The GfK ratings show RNZ’s overall Auckland audience is 141,900 - down from 155,300 earlier in the year. Newstalk ZB’s Auckland audience is 265,700 - down from 277,900.
RNZ is in negotiations to move into the TVNZ headquarters in Victoria St, away from its current Hobson St building. Staff there are packed in, sardine-like, making it difficult to attract new talent.
“We obviously need new premises in Auckland, we have got a few options. The option of the TVNZ building is one we’re carefully looking at,” said Thompson.
“That will give us options to modernise our studios and to grow in the most important and biggest market.”
Any move into TVNZ wouldn’t happen until later in 2025.
“I think TVNZ scrubs up really well. I would say that we’re in an early phase of actually working through that, with what that would look like, and getting it to approval for both boards.
“But think it is a good option. I think there are advantages in being in a building that’s already a media hub, if you like, just in terms of technology.”
Asked directly if he was looking at any talent changes on radio, he said: “No, I’m not. I’m at the process of getting my head around the numbers. I do want to do a deep dive into it. We will continue to evolve everything we do on all platforms, but I don’t have anything to share at the moment.
“This is concerning for us, and we need to have a real think about it and do some things better. I just am not in a position to go into the detail of that on this call; I’m working through my thoughts.”
On Morning Report specifically, and his earlier expectation that ratings would grow, he said: “That was my expectation a year ago, and it hasn’t happened, and we haven’t got the formula right in terms of what we’re delivering to some of the listeners who are less engaged than they were in the past. And we are going to have to think again.”
He also had to keep a balanced view of the overall strategy.
“Radio New Zealand used to be effectively two radio stations reaching about 20% of New Zealanders a week.
“I always was really challenged by that, because our key job is to deliver our charter and to get to more communities and to connect with more New Zealanders, that that’s why our strategy is to be readily available in people’s lives, wherever they’re spending their time, in terms of content.
“Within that, we want all our platforms to perform well. Radio is really important to us, and we are accountable, and we do step up, and we’re going to be focusing on it, but the radio ratings can no longer define us because our strategy is very much about delivering our charter across platforms.”
I asked Thompson what lapsed listeners were saying. “We’re probably going to have to go in and ask some more questions, because I’m not sure we have the full picture.”
He said existing listeners were “highly engaged”, with the measurement of “time spent listening” staying up.
He said content might be playing a part in listeners’ decision to leave.
He said some audiences were looking for opinion.
“I think that there are some challenges around delivering the wide breadth of our charter content on air that is challenging for some audiences in part. You know, we’re not a commercial, ratings-driven organisation.
“We have to deliver our charter with that whole range of content, not just news and current affairs, but [with] our mandate around RNZ Pacific, our coverage of arts and culture, reflecting all the ethnicities, Māori language and culture. For some audiences, that’s not a great mix at the moment.
“We also focus on news and analysis. We don’t do commentary.
“There are some trends of some of the research we’ve got, which is that audiences are really looking for opinion from some of their media sources. That’s not a thing we can do.
“So that’s challenging. We need to just understand how we can continue to roll up our sleeves and do the best we can to respond to those audience needs.”
RNZ has come up against a juggernaut in Hosking and Newstalk ZB in recent years.
Hosking’s relentless approach in questioning the Government’s response to Covid 19 saw him attract and retain a stronger audience, especially as the pandemic evolved.
Many New Zealanders believe he held then PM Jacinda Ardern, government MPs and public officials to account more strongly than other broadcasters.
As Media Insider reported recently, ZB also has the benefit of stability – since 2000, it has had just two breakfast hosts, Paul Holmes and Mike Hosking – and radio insiders believe that has helped play a part in its ratings success.
The co-hosted Morning Report has had significantly more names in the same period, including Geoff Robinson, Sean Plunket, Simon Mercep, Guyon Espiner, Susie Ferguson, Dann and Hipkiss.
Many of Newshub’s best-known newshounds and broadcasters have landed roles at the likes of NZME (Ryan Bridge, Michael Morrah), Stuff (Samantha Hayes, Paddy Gower, Laura Tupou) and NBR (Mike McRoberts and Simon Shepherd).
Another of their star performers, Rebecca Wright, has yet to announce her own future.
One of New Zealand broadcasting’s best interviewers, she’d actually be a superb option for RNZ.
However, the former Newshub Nation host has been linked to a new on-screen political current affairs show and format.
The Newsroom website and its co-founder Mark Jennings are understood to have been discussing with Wright a new venture, with a likely funding application to NZ on Air.
It is understood Newsroom and Jennings have been also considering partnering up with other media industry players.
Neither Jennings nor Wright returned messages yesterday.
On the day that Newshub closed in July, Wright told Media Insider that she planned to stay in journalism. She talked of the magic of Three News and the difference it had made for New Zealand. “No official announcements yet but I’ll keep you posted!”
NZ on Air used to fund Newshub Nation to the tune of almost $1m a year.
It has just opened its latest round for non-fiction funding, with applications needing to be in by mid-September.
There is about $5 million in funding available for journalism projects in this round.
NZ on Air has outlined some key priorities:
As usual, there is likely to be a big oversubscription on available funding. Successful projects will be announced in November.
Laura Tupou’s professionalism was on full display for the Stuff-produced Three News this week.
The news presenter clearly lost use of her autocue on Saturday, referring to notes and her laptop throughout the 30-minute bulletin.
She handled it brilliantly, even if her eyes were regularly averted from the camera.
A Stuff spokesman said: “As those who work in live TV know, small technical issues like we experienced with our autocue on Saturday can happen. Laura is an absolute pro and delivered Kiwis the news as she always does without missing a beat.”
TVNZ has posted an after-tax loss of $85 million - including an impairment of $62.1m - with more cost-cutting set to impact the state broadcaster as it reshapes itself for a digital-first future.
The broadcaster announced today an EBIT (operational earnings) loss of $28.5m for its financial year ended June 30 - in line with its earlier market disclosure of an expected $28m-$33m loss.
It expects a similar loss this financial year, although it is working with staff on ideas to either raise revenue and/or cut more costs to close this $30m gap.
Two of New Zealand’s most experienced media executives are among new appointments to the TVNZ and RNZ boards.
As Media Insider has been reporting in recent weeks, former Sky chief executive John Fellet has been appointed to the TVNZ board - he will bring a strong commercial perspective, and extensive pay-TV experience to the board, as TVNZ looks to broaden its revenue opportunities.
Also confirmed yesterday were Media Insider’s earlier predictions of the three RNZ board appointments - the highly experienced Brent Impey, along with former Mighty Ape chief executive Gracie MacKinlay and entrepreneur and professional director Mads Moller.
“These appointments will bring new experience and a fresh perspective to both boards to help lead our public media into the future,” said Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith.
“Brent Impey is an experienced executive leader and director with a background in the media industry, particularly in radio. He will bring sound financial and commercial acumen and well as significant governance experience, including seven years as chair of NZ Rugby.
“Gracie MacKinlay has a background in technology-driven businesses, including media and retail, having recently served as the chief executive of the e-commerce company Mighty Ape.
“Mads Moller brings over 30 years of experience as a technology entrepreneur and chief executive of his tech startups. He has a broad technology business background both in New Zealand and internationally and has held global executive leadership roles at Google and Vodafone.
“John Fellet is a seasoned executive leader within the media industry and was previously chief executive and managing director of Sky TV for many years until 2019. He brings strong commercial expertise as well as financial management and business transformation capabilities.”
This week, we catch up with Cancer Society Auckland/Northland chief executive Andrew Young, a former journalist, to talk about today’s Daffodil Day.
MediaWorks and auditor PWC have parted ways.
Media Insider understands PWC elected not to participate in a recent RFP (request for proposal) process with MediaWorks.
MediaWorks – which owns a suite of entertainment radio stations and an outdoor advertising business – announced in May a net after-tax loss of $107.1 million after an impairment of $86.5 million. At the time, it said its “turnaround” was on track, despite a challenging economy and media market.
For the second consecutive year, PWC said in the financial statements that “material uncertainties” existed which cast “significant doubt” on MediaWorks’ ability to operate as a going concern but the company said at the time this was before refinancing was completed and it was confident it had the capital to deliver the company’s strategy.
A MediaWorks spokeswoman said this week: “MediaWorks and PWC have a strong and longstanding relationship.
“Ahead of existing engagement arrangements expiring, the MediaWorks Board ran a competitive RFP process for audit services. There were multiple respondents to the RFP and a preferred party has now been selected. MediaWorks’ arrangements with its auditors are confidential and as such we are unable to comment any further.”
It’s not clear whether the RFP was sparked by PWC deciding to end its relationship with MediaWorks, or MediaWorks opted to go through the RFP process off its own bat.
“Thanks for getting in contact with us but we don’t comment on client matters,” said PWC senior communications manager Louise Poppelwell.
Media stories this week have included:
We reported yesterday the sad news of the death of one of our most respected TV journalists, Rod Vaughan.
Repeated here is the tribute from one of Vaughan’s former colleagues, another television journalism hall-of-famer, Rob Harley.
By Rob Harley
New Zealand has lost one of its most accomplished television news and current affairs specialists in the past week.
Rod Vaughan passed away in Christchurch after a short illness.
Rod, who was 77, was a familiar face and voice to viewers for several decades, reporting and producing hard-hitting stories and investigations on TVNZ and TV3.
Probably best remembered as the reporter who was punched in the face by an angry Sir Bob Jones and appeared on camera with a bloodied face to make the point, Rod was hugely respected by his colleagues in broadcasting.
His career started back in the days of the old NZBC, and over the years he undertook many roles including as a studio director, news reporter and a current affairs master of the craft.
Scores of his colleagues paid online tributes to Rod this week as news of his passing spread. Fellow journalists, camera and sound operators and senior news editors remember him as what one colleague called “the epitome of journalistic excellence”.
In what some referred to as Rod’s “golden era” on the Assignment programme, he conducted searching investigations into the Christchurch Civic Creche affair and a ground-breaking inquiry into the mystery of British Airways Flight 149, asking why the plane was allowed to fly into Kuwait just after the start of Iraq’s invasion in 1991, and how 367 passengers and crew were taken hostage by Saddam Hussein’s troops.
In later years, Rod proved to be a lucky escape artist in a couple of mishaps in his beloved light planes.
In March 2018, while flying with his son Richard, the windscreen popped and it was only Rod’s quick thinking and flying skills that got them down safely.
(Images at the time show the plane having crash-landed – Vaughan later speculated a drone may have hit the windscreen).
A few years later, sunstrike caused Rod to have another near miss near Thames, and he and his wife decided Rod’s flying days were over.
Rod is survived by his wife Lois, two sons, a daughter, a stepdaughter and 10 grandchildren. A small funeral with close family and friends will be held in Christchurch on Friday and it’s expected many will attend a larger memorial event for Rod in Auckland in the near future.
Farewell to a true maestro of journalism.
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.
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