Two of our biggest commercial media firms face more upheaval, with TVNZ set to unveil some of the most critical strategic changes in its history; Who put the pee in The Press? Stripe Studios boss sets up a base in LA; Crunch time for massive Auckland Transport outdoor contracts; Tui’s
Media Insider: TVNZ upheaval – state broadcaster’s strategic changes, ahead of more job losses; Stuff cutting roles in Auckland; Tui rolls out new ‘Yeah Right’ campaign
TVNZ broadcasters Hilary Barry, Simon Dallow, Jenny-May Clarkson and John Campbell, and its headquarters in central Auckland. Photo montage / TVNZ, Chris Skelton.
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There may also be questions about whether TVNZ needs to continue to operate three traditional broadcast channels (TVNZ1, TVNZ2 and Duke).
TVNZ’s 600-strong workforce faces an unsettling period over the coming months, as the broadcaster strives to find $30 million in its annual budget – either through cost-cutting or revenue-raising strategies.
Just about every area of the business will be under the spotlight, with the number of staff – which has dropped by more than 130 to a total of about 600 over the past 18 months – to be reduced further by the end of the year.
“There’s just a sense of anxiety and sadness about the industry as a whole,” one staff member said.
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Another: “Day to day, the mood is okay, but under the surface it’s low... it’s been like that for a long time.”
The changes come as TVNZ embarks on a five-year digital-first transformation, while also addressing the existing tough economic conditions affecting the media sector.
Next week’s proposed strategic changes are the first stage of a two-stage plan to find the targeted $30m.
An earlier internal email from chief executive Jodi O’Donnell highlighted eight potential areas for change, including consolidating teams, outsourcing, and looking at content and websites “that aren’t profitable”.
The Herald understands 1news.co.nz and renews.co.nz might be deprioritised – or one or both potentially scrapped altogether – with an all-in focus on news for TVNZ+.
Once the broadcaster consults on its proposed changes, receives feedback and decides on which initiatives it has confirmed, it will unveil proposed structural changes as part of a second stage. That is when there are likely to be proposed job cuts.
According to its annual report, TVNZ has 601 fulltime-equivalent employees (FTEs), down from 735 in 2023 and 737 in 2022.
After a somewhat botched consultation process over the closure of Fair Go and Sunday and other cuts earlier this year, TVNZ is moving extremely carefully this time around, with effectively two consultation periods.
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While its remaining TV news programmes – including Breakfast, 1News at Six, Seven Sharp and Q+A – are all believed to be safe, staffing on those shows and other local programming might well be in the spotlight.
For example, is having four Breakfast presenters (one, Anna Burns-Francis is on maternity leave right now) a luxury in this day and age?
Having said that, the show is enjoying a surge in audience since the demise of the AM show on Three in late June.
“Next week, TVNZ is entering into consultation with our people on proposed strategic changes to our business,” said a spokeswoman.
“This consultation is focused on how we might achieve our $30 million target and deliver our Digital+ strategy. Proposals relating to individual roles are not part of this consultation. Our priority is to share proposals with our people first. We will not be commenting further at this stage.”
Stuff cuts Auckland visual/audio roles
Meanwhile - in a familiar scene across the media industry over the past 18 months - publishing company Stuff has unveiled a strategic restructure of its own with proposed job cuts.
The company is planning to bring its video and audio teams under one umbrella – it is understood it plans to disestablish two senior leadership roles and create one new one (Head of Multimedia Content and Strategy), while a number of audio roles are also proposed to be reduced.
The company is also proposing to disestablish a number of visual journalist roles in Auckland but establish new ones in Wellington and Christchurch.
The moves follow Stuff’s foray into television news - it now produces ThreeNews for Warner Bros Discovery and has been training its journalists as multimedia specialists, including for video.
In a message to staff, Stuff Digital managing director Nadia Tolich outlined aspects of the “proposed change process”, and urged colleagues to be sensitive to those affected.
“We are focused on managing this process with empathy and professionalism,” Tolich said in the internal message, obtained by Media Insider.
“Over the next few weeks please respect your colleagues’ privacy by avoiding unnecessary questions or speculation. If they choose to share their thoughts or feelings, be a good listener and offer your support without pressing for details.”
It is understood the company is planning to reduce the number of visual journalist roles in Auckland but reinvest in roles in cities such as Wellington and Christchurch.
The company did not respond to specific questions on this but said there were no changes to the overall number of Stuff visual journalists.
It has confirmed, however, that it is planning to reduce the number of permanent audio roles.
“In audio, our move into subscription podcasts has been really successful and we are proposing to put our resources into audio audiences will pay for,” Tolich told staff in the internal message.
“The proposal is for a more flexible workforce with fewer permanent roles and the ability to scale up around individual subscriber podcasts.”
She said video and audio were “a huge part of Stuff’s future”.
“We need to always be looking to innovate around our audience and advertiser demand which I know can be a difficult process for those involved in change.”
In a statement reiterating much of what Tolich had told staff, a Stuff spokesman also said: “Video and audio creation and distribution remain an increasingly important part of Stuff’s content offering.
”In all media organisations, innovation is constantly required as audience and market needs evolve. Details of individual staff proposals are confidential to those involved.”
That point about constant innovation and reorganisation is well made.
NZME, publisher of the NZ Herald, went through a similar exercise earlier this year, cutting some roles in regional newsrooms but saying it was reinvesting in new roles in major centres to reflect audience demand and population.
Just about every major commercial media organisation has been through – and continues to go through – rapid change.
The Press and the piddler
Eagle-eyed readers of Christchurch’s daily newspaper may have got more than they bargained for on their front page on Wednesday.
The front-page lead story, about a local river needing protection from four-wheel-drives, carried a photograph of a group of vehicles on the riverbank, including a driver relieving himself in full view.
It is not quite clear whether the use of that particular piddler photo was intentional.
“Quite simply, the photograph in The Press yesterday reflects the reality of 4WD gatherings at the Rakahuri Ashley River and the reason why conservation groups and iwi are looking to protect native birds’ nests,” said The Press editor Kamala Hayman.
I went back to her and asked, then, if she was comfortable with the image, and whether she was aware of its details before publication.
She did not directly answer the question but did say: “We have published this exact image before.”
Crunch time for massive outdoor contracts
Outdoor advertising firms are on tenterhooks with Auckland Transport (AT) in the final throes of landing upon successful tenderers for some of the biggest advertising contracts in New Zealand history.
There is much speculation and rumour in the industry, with some suggesting MediaWorks and Go Media are among frontrunners for some of the five contracts on offer – but AT insists no one is “in or out”.
“We are aware of the stakes for all involved here and it’s challenging (for all) to hear the rumours,” said AT head of partnerships and experience Simon Soulsby.
“We can categorically state that no participant is ‘in or out’ at this stage despite these rumours. We can also state that we are not yet at the ‘negotiation’ stage of our RFP.”
It had been expected that contracts would be awarded by late September, given they come into force on January 1.
“Our focus is on the RFP outcomes and we’re confident that we’re still very much on track for the new contracts to roll out in January,” said Soulsby.
“Whilst we understand that an announcement is important for all involved [including the ratepayers], we need to maintain a laser focus on the task in hand. If an announcement ends up being slightly later than we had first anticipated, we don’t see that impacting our January launch date.”
AT is deciding which companies will look after all the advertising and marketing deals on the likes of buses and at bus shelters, transport hubs, billboards and for promotional activations.
The five separate contracts have been described by AT as “the largest media procurement in New Zealand history” – valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
The contracts might all go to one company or – more than likely – be shared around a small group of outdoor advertising companies.
All the big players are in the mix including oOh!media, which has the current contract for bus shelters, and MediaWorks, which has the contract for bus exteriors and some billboards; as well as the likes of Lumo, JCDecaux and Go Media.
The outcome of the contracts will dictate the immediate futures of many of the companies. Successful bidders will likely need to gear up; others may face cost-cutting.
Regardless of who wins the street furniture tender (such as bus shelters), AT will take ownership of the assets. Right now, oOh!Media owns the bus shelters - AT will buy them from the company.
OOh!Media general manager Nick Vile said he would not comment on any rumours or speculation.
“We have received no formal commentary from AT regarding RFP outcomes and until such point that we do then it is our view that we remain in the process. Again I cannot comment on the status of the process itself as it a confidential process and ultimately it is up to AT to provide commentary on their process.”
‘Yeah right’ - Tui’s resurrected campaign
Talking of outdoor advertising, are we ready for the revival of one of New Zealand’s most famous billboard campaigns?
Tui beer’s ‘Yeah Right’ slogans - the 2024 version - will roll out on billboards from Saturday, almost a decade after they last appeared.
Media Insider has had a sneak peek of some of the initial, new executions.
In a statement, Tui owner DB and its agencies said the revival of the billboards was in response to “making beer brand marketing fun again, stepping away from the recent ‘do it by the book’ approach and walking the precarious line of cancel culture to bring Kiwis a good laugh”.
Tui’s Fraser Shrimpton said: “We’re living in a world where everyone has an opinion about everything, all the time. There’s no avoiding feedback, so we’ve decided, as a brand, we’re not afraid to say what we’ve all been thinking.
“The billboards are our way of connecting with Kiwis, aiming to help them lighten up and have a laugh,” he said.
The strategy, idea and advertising have been brought back to life by long-term DB partner Saatchi & Saatchi.
The agency led the initial campaign for the original billboards that ranfor 16 years from 1997, with lines such as “Of course I like your Mum. Yeah right” and “Let’s hear what Gareth Morgan has to say about it. Yeah right.”
Other agencies involved are Special (PR and media relations) - it has also created a hotline for feedback - and Dentsu for integrated media placement.
One Good Text
The Herald on Sunday officially turned 20 yesterday. There’s a celebration tonight, with an open invitation for anyone who’s had a close connection to the paper. This week, we catch up with launch editor Sue Chetwin.
Alex Breingan’s LA Story
Stripe Studios boss Alex Breingan, whose 13 companies in receivership owe more than $20m, appears to be setting up a base in Los Angeles but is at the centre of allegations he owes money to a couple who sold him homeware and furnishings to help him establish himself in Hollywood.
A writer says he was introduced to Breingan several weeks ago in Los Angeles, through one of the writer’s lifelong friends.
The writer and his wife were making plans at the time to relocate back to the UK and were hoping to sell as many of their household items as possible before the trip across the Atlantic.
The writer’s friend – who is understood to have been collaborating with Breingan on some TV projects and pitches in California – told the writer that Breingan might want to buy some of their goods as he was setting himself up in Los Angeles.
The pair met and initially, says the writer, Breingan seemed keen on most of the furniture items and his car – the goods were valued between $US10,000 and $US12,000.
After much back and forth, the writer says Brenigan eventually settled on two televisions, a dining room table and chairs, a couple of side tables, and kitchen items and other furnishings including a Dyson fan, a record player and speakers, lamps, two soundbars, a patio furniture set, close storage units, a six-piece crockery set, a coffee maker, glasses, mugs, cutlery and two large rugs.
The writer says the items were valued between $US3000 and $US4000, but he says he told Breingan he’d be happy to take between $US2000 and $US2500.
Breingan collected the goods over a couple of visits.
On the final occasion, “my wife was just there, and they spoke very briefly”, says the writer.
“He was like, ‘Okay, how much do you want? How does $250 sound?’ This is for about roughly $4000 worth of stuff. My wife was just looking at him - she wasn’t sure if he was joking or not, but he was being serious. And she said, ‘No, I think you should talk to [her husband] about this, and get it figured out’.
“I had already said to him, ‘We’re fine with $2000-$2500 for everything’.”
After that, he says communication with Breingan fell silent. The writer says his wife was able to eventually speak to him from the UK, using an English number.
He says Breingan told her he was having trouble moving money out of New Zealand but promised to pay via PayPal within 24-48 hours.
The writer says the money did not appear.
Only more recently – following a social media post by the writer and unanswered media inquiries from the Herald – has Breingan been back in touch.
He last week paid $US500 via the mutual friend. The writer says he is owed another $US1500 and has been promised that in the coming month.
*UPDATE: At 10.30am on Friday, the writer emailed to say another $US250 had been paid off the debt.
Right now, says the writer, the situation is in flux. He feels let down by Breingan and the delays, especially as the money was needed as he and his wife set themselves up back in the UK.
“It’s just been one excuse after another... to him, it might seem a trivial amount of money but, to people who are in debt, $2000 is still a lot of money and having to chase someone around for it is unpleasant.”
Breingan has not responded to phone and email messages.
Breingan is the managing director of Auckland-based Stripe Media, which – along with 12 related companies – has been placed in receivership.
Creditors of the companies, including Kiwibank, financing firm Fulcrum Media Finance and American TV stars David Hasselhoff and Iliza Shlesinger, are owed more than $20m and the receiver claims its investigations have uncovered “irregularities” in the company’s finances.
The receiver says these alleged “irregularities” have been referred to “relevant authorities” – this follows the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) referring its own concerns about Stripe to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) last year.
Last month, it was revealed that Breingan is under investigation by MBIE’s (the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment) integrity and enforcement team (IET).
“[IET] is currently investigating Alexander James Breingan’s suitability for prohibition pursuant to section 385 of the Companies Act 1993,” said Vanessa Cook, national manager, criminal proceeds integrity and enforcement.
That section “allows for the prohibition of directors who have had at least one company fail due to mismanagement”.
TVNZ and NZ Herald partner up
Further to the earlier point about TVNZ’s focus on news for TVNZ+, the broadcaster is trialling a new news partnership with the NZ Herald and Newstalk ZB.
NZ Herald video content has started appearing on TVNZ+, and nzherald.co.nz will take TVNZ news video.
The new deal follows Stuff taking over production of ThreeNews earlier this year. The digital news battleground appears to have been drawn.
“We have a tonne of new content on offer for our TVNZ+ news audience and we’re excited to be able to now deliver our audience NZME’s top video content too,” said a TVNZ spokeswoman.
“It’s great to be able to share our news video expertise with NZME over the next eight weeks as well. TVNZ is always open to partnerships that will work for our audience, our business and the media sector.”
She said the commercial details were confidential.
NZ Herald editor-in-chief Murray Kirkness said: “NZME is open to collaboration opportunities with industry partners to further grow our audience so more people get to enjoy our fantastic content, and this relationship opens up the potential for more commercial sharing opportunities between us and TVNZ in the future.”
IAB Awards - grand award finalists
Congratulations to all of the finalists for this year’s IAB Digital Advertising Awards, to be announced in November. Here’s a rundown of finalists for the ‘grand awards’.
Digital Product or Service of the Year
“Back to News”, GroupM
Transforming the Advertising Experience: NZ Herald’s Strategic Redesign, NZME
Scroll Gaming, Scroll Media
Stuff – The Replatform, Stuff
TVNZ+ Activate, TVNZ
The Transformation of ThreeNow, Warner Bros. Discovery
Council Member of the Year
Extra Mile Achievers: Celebrating Those Who Inspire Us All, Travena Addenbrooke, Spark NZ
Courage Over Comfort: Leading with Impact, Sarah O’Carroll VDX.TV
Emerging Talent
Jeanie’s Remarkable Journey, Jeanie Patterson Hearts & Science
Abby McDowell: Rising Star in Digital Media at NZME, NZME
Ishal Eshna: The Swiss Army Knife of Digital Ad Operations, NZME
Jacob Elder Emerges as a Catalyst for Digital Growth and Team Empowerment at NZME, NZME
Lauren Simpkins NZME
Georgia Yurjevic – Stanley St Star, Stanley St
Ana Rezende, Warner Bros Discovery
Justin’s Portfolio: Just-In-Digital, Webzilla
Service to the Industry
NZ Media’s Own Keanu Reeves (aka Christophe Spencer), Christophe Spencer
Tony Boyte: 18 Years of Championing Collaboration and Innovation in New Zealand’s Media Landscape, Tony Boyte
Kris Hadley, Together
Media Publisher of the Year
NZME – Media Publisher of the Year, NZME
Stuff.co.nz and the “Conscious Uncoupling” of Premium Mastheads, Stuff
TVNZ’s Digital Horizon, TVNZ
Media Agency of the Year
Leading the Industry in Digital ‘Connections That Matter’, Hearts & Science
PHD Aotearoa, PHD Media
Today, Tomorrow, Together; Together
Creative Agency of the Year
DDB Group Aotearoa, DDB
Thompson Spencer, The Greatest Little Agency in the World, Thompson Spencer
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.
