Native Affairs to be cut back to half-hour format

Native Affairs will be cut back to half-an-hour and feature a single host next year.

Major changes are in store for Maori Television's award-winning current affairs series Native Affairs as it enters its 10th year.

The hour-long programme will be cut back to just 30 minutes next year, and will lose one of its presenters.

The series is currently hosted by Billie-Jo Hohepa Ropiha and Ward Kamo, following the resignation of Mihingarangi Forbes earlier this year.

However, head of news and current affairs Maramena Roderick says no jobs will be lost as a result of the changes.

In a statement, Maori Television said the programme will feature "indigenous stories from New Zealand and around the world".

Roderick says the decision is "audience driven".

"We are responding to our audience appetite for shorter and sharper stories while continuing with our investigative approach," she said in a statement.

The move follows major changes to both TV One and TV3's current affairs offerings. TVNZ's Sunday programme was the first to switch to a half-hour format in 2012, ahead of 3D on TV3 earlier this year.

Native Affairs presenter Mihingarangi Forbes resigned earlier this year. Photo / NZ Herald

Last week, MediaWorks confirmed 3D would not return next year, claiming Kiwi audiences were moving away from long-form current affairs.

Earlier this year, Native Affairs hit headlines after Forbes and producer Annabelle Lee quit the programme, just months after presenter Julian Wilcox resigned.

At the time, Roderick said Native Affairs was "poised to trail blaze a new era in New Zealand journalism".

- nzherald.co.nz