By JOSIE CLARKE
TVOne is to replace its flagship 60 Minutes show with a new local current affairs programme from next year.
Television New Zealand has told CBS that it will not renew the rights for the American-based programme when they expire at the end of this year.
Head of news and current affairs Heaton Dyer said the station wanted to move away from a foreign-branded and formatted programme to one that was "distinctively New Zealand".
Mr Dyer was TVNZ's first executive producer of 60 Minutes in 1993.
The significant fees spent on the rights for 60 Minutes would be spent on the new show.
Mr Dyer said the decision was part of a wider review of news and current affairs.
The 60 Minutes move needed to be made now so that CBS could be informed and planning could be started on the proposed programme.
Shaun Brown, head of TVOne, said money saved would be better spent on local reporting.
"This is certainly not a cost-cutting exercise," he said.
TVNZ spokesman Glen Sowry said it was too early to say which journalists would work on the new programme, but existing staff as well as "new talent" would be considered.
A CBS representative was not available for comment on the decision yesterday.
National's broadcasting spokeswoman, Katherine Rich, said 60 Minutes was the first casualty as TVNZ struggled to prepare for the looming broadcasting charter with no extra funding.
The irony was that the first show to be axed was one of the top current affairs formats that set international benchmarks in quality reporting.
TVNZ to axe 60 Minutes for 'distinctive' local show
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