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TVNZ is set to outline dozens of job cuts tomorrow and possible changes to some of its biggest news and current affairs programmes, including the 6pm news.
The state broadcaster’s news operation is the latest focus of cost-cutting as it strives to move more urgently into a digital-first world - and battles a big drop in traditional television advertising.
One well-placed source said tonight the company was looking at dozens of job cuts - possibly more than 60 - but that this number could be beyond news and current affairs.
RNZ’s Checkpoint show tonight suggested the broadcaster was looking to cut the length of the 6pm news from one hour to 30 minutes; other reports suggested that certain teams - such as those who deliver Sunday and Fair Go - could be merged.
TVNZ staff leaving its Auckland building this evening declined to comment to the Herald.
New TVNZ CEO Jodi O’Donnell in the heart of the 1News newsroom. Photo / Dean Purcell
Media Insider was told earlier today that some news staff were expecting a meeting tomorrow; Newsroom reported an all-staff meeting was lined up for tomorrow, followed by emails and follow-up meetings on Thursday and Friday with staff directly affected.
A senior TVNZ source said tonight they believed a meeting invitation would be sent to staff at 9am on Thursday and that union delegates were being briefed today about the timeframe.
TVNZ would not answer any questions directly today about a staff meeting, issuing a broader statement that said the company had been upfront about reducing jobs and needing to develop “a more sustainable operating model to take us into a digital future”.
It has cut back its executive and middle management numbers in recent months and it has been widely expected that its newsroom numbers would come under scrutiny.
“We’ve been upfront with TVNZers that we will need to reduce our headcount to meet the immediate revenue challenges facing the business,” a TVNZ spokeswoman told Media Insider on Wednesday.
“We also need to develop a more sustainable operating model to take us into a digital future.”
One source says a meeting has been scheduled to discuss a future strategy but the spokeswoman would not confirm this or any details.
“We will always take our people through proposed changes first, and so we have no comment to make on the timing or details of any business restructuring at this stage.”
Last week, TVNZ told Media Insider that its headcount had come down over the past 12 months.
“We report on FTE [fulltime equivalent] each year in our annual report, for FY23 this was 735 and today we’re around 700,” said the spokeswoman. “We do not have an FTE target that we’re working towards. As a commercially funded business, we’ll always need to align our costs with our revenue position.”
There are just under 300 news and current affairs employees.
On Friday last week, TVNZ delivered a “tough” interim financial result reflecting a challenging media market - an EBITDAF of $100,000, a $4.6 million operating loss and an impairment of $12.2m, resulting in an after-tax loss of $16.7m for the six months to December 31, 2023.
The impairment pushes the six-month loss past the full-year forecast loss of $15.6m.
In a recent interview with Media Insider, TVNZ chief executive Jodi O’Donnell was clear there were no “sacred cows” as the state broadcaster considers all of its costs.
Media Insider understands that includes one of the biggest sacred cows of all, Shortland Street, TVNZ 2′s 7pm weekday show, which has been a staple of the New Zealand television diet for 32 years.
TVNZ fully funds Shortland Street to the tune of millions of dollars a year (it stretches to eight figures but the exact costs are deemed commercially sensitive) and with no assistance from the likes of NZ on Air.
“Everything is under the spotlight,” said a TVNZ spokeswoman. “There are no changes for any shows that I can give you information on today.”
Several options are likely under consideration - production costs most definitely, but also the frequency of the shows, and whether the 7pm linear timeslot might be freed up for a more commercially attractive offering.
Broadcasting Minister Melissa Lee. Photo / RNZ, Samuel Rillstone
Broadcasting minister Melissa Lee told Newstalk ZB’s Heather du Plessis-Allan on Wednesday evening that she had “no idea” what TVNZ’s announcement to staff would be.
“I don’t know the details. I haven’t actually caught up with any of the messages that have come through as I’ve had a busy day today.”
Lee said she did have a meeting with TVNZ last week.
“[In] the conversation that I had with TVNZ last Friday, we talked about a range of things. They were talking about some of the things they will have to do to make sure they are financially viable. I don’t think I can say that [what they said]. Because they did not tell me that they were cutting staff.
“They’re talking about programming that they will have to consider. It is for TVNZ to answer those questions [about job losses], it is an operational matter. They were looking at many things.”
On RNZ’s Checkpoint on Wednesday evening, Lee also confirmed she had spoken with TVNZ on a range of matters - including the revelation, first reported by Media Insider - that Warner Bros. Discovery had approached the state broadcaster to set up a joint newsgathering service to cut costs.
TVNZ rejected that idea, and a week later Warner Bros. Discovery announced Newshub’s pending closure.
Du Plessis-Allan asked Lee what the Government could do to help media.
“There aren’t that many levers that a Broadcasting Minister actually has.”
One way to potentially help was with regulation. However, Lee told du Plessis-Allan: “I do not believe the Government should be propping up media companies.”
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.
