Media Insider: Newshub closure - Samantha Hayes to host new-look 6pm Stuff bulletin on Three

Newshub anchor Samantha Hayes has been confirmed as the host of the new Stuff-provided news bulletin from July 6.

Samantha Hayes will continue to host the 6pm news on Three, after Newshub closes in early July.

As the NZ Herald exclusively revealed earlier this morning, Hayes is among several familiar faces to feature on the new bulletin, provided by Stuff, from Saturday, July 6.

Other Newshub staff to be hired include political editor Jenna Lynch, reporter and presenter Laura Tupou, sports reporter Ollie Ritchie, Christchurch reporter Juliet Speedy and weather presenter Heather Keats.

The yet-to-be-named 6pm bulletin’s executive producer will be Claire Watson.

Hayes said she was delighted to front the new bulletin, which will be broadcast for an hour on weekdays and 30 minutes on weekends.

“I’m thrilled to be starting a new chapter of my career with Stuff, after nearly two decades at Three. It’s an honour to be anchoring this new iteration of the 6pm news and I’m grateful it will keep Newshub’s legacy alive.

“This is the most exciting news project in the country and I hope our viewers will trust us and come along for the ride.”

Earlier, industry insiders had confirmed Hayes was the frontrunner to host the bulletin - likely to be called Three News.

“Without her, they might as well shut up shop now,” one senior source said.

Samantha Hayes and Mike McRoberts host the current 6pm news.

It is further understood senior Newshub journalist Nick Truebridge has signed for Stuff.

There will be a lot of media industry interest in the future of senior investigative reporter Michael Morrah, one of Newshub’s biggest names.

He is likely to be the focus of interest from various media companies.

Newshub senior investigative reporter Michael Morrah. Photo / Alyse Wright

Morrah led the internal staff pitch to try to save the 6pm news at Warner Bros Discovery and is one of New Zealand’s best journalists.

Those joining Stuff will have been handed a broadcasting lifeline of sorts - and on the back of a generous Newshub redundancy package.

For example, those who have been in the company for nine years or more will receive a redundancy payout of nine months’ salary.

In an exclusive interview today, outgoing Warner Bros Discovery boss Glen Kyne told Media Insider that a Stuff team had been in the Newshub studio last week, observing production of the 6pm bulletin.

At the moment, Newshub Live at 6 generates an audience of around 200,000 people each night.

Asked if he expected the number to stay at that level, Kyne said: “We don’t know is the real answer at the moment.

“When we built in the modelling, we built a variance below that and above that, of what the tolerances could be.

“And we’re reflecting that back in our agreement with Stuff to make sure that there are performance measures to make sure it’s fit for purpose.”

Stuff is planning an hour-long weekday bulletin and a 30-minute bulletin for Saturdays and Sundays.

Warner Bros Discovery's Glen Kyne and Stuff's Sinead Boucher announce the 6pm news deal. Photo / Michael Craig

Kyne said the two companies were setting up governance structures to keep a close eye on ratings.

“There’s a lot of subtlety around that news bulletin, very small things that most viewers wouldn’t see or notice, but that can make a big difference to how a viewer stays through that hour - the organisation of stories, what comes after a break, when do we trigger the break?

“So many little broadcasting kind of know-how things.

“We’ve got to make sure we’ve got a very good dialogue with them going on about that all the time.”

“When we built in the modelling, we built a variance below that and above that, of what the tolerances could be.

“And we’re reflecting that back in our agreement with Stuff to make sure that there are performance measures to make sure it’s fit for purpose.”

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.