TVNZ upheavals savage ratings

The row over Judy Bailey's axing from TVNZ appears to have hit the ratings of TV One.

October ratings from AGB Nielsen Media Research show One News is down from 32 per cent in September to 27 per cent in the Auckland 25 to 54 age group.

Rival TV3 rose, from 40 per cent to 44 per cent.

The slip coincided with the decision not to renew veteran newsreader Bailey's contract.

Unitec media lecturer Peter Thompson suggested media attention could also be contributing.

"Suggestions that TVNZ is becoming less fashionable may well persuade some people to check out the other channel, particularly if the news suggests that other channels are improving."

Other ratings data also contains bad news for TVNZ.

TV One has been particularly hard hit, losing nearly a third of its prime-time audience since 2001.

AGB Nielsen Media Research figures show TV One had 40.3 per cent of the television audience from January to October in 2001.

This year, it had 30.8 per cent. Most of the change came in the last year alone - in 2004 it still held nearly 39 per cent of the audience.

But TVNZ's battle has not been with TV3, which has remained steady on 19 to 20 per cent of audience share for the past five years.

Instead, it has been the growth of Sky that is grabbing the viewers.

Sky went digital in 1998 and now over 40 per cent of New Zealand households subscribe and it has more than 50 channels, not including the pay-per-view or radio channels.

TV2 has also lost some share - dropping from 25.2 per cent to 20.9 per cent in the prime-time slot.

The ratings will ultimately hit TVNZ's bottom line - kept rosy by an advertising market boom.

TVNZ's annual report is expected to show a 9.7 drop in advertising revenue in the past quarter and the predictions are for no improvement.

Ian Fraser, who resigned last week as chief executive, took over at TVNZ in 2002.

His tasks included introducing the Charter, and turning TVNZ from a heavily profit-driven state owned enterprise into a Crown-owned company that returns a profit while posing as a public broadcaster.

Head of the broadcasting school at the Christchurch Polytechnic, Paul Norris, said part of TV One's problems was its programming. TVNZ has introduced new programmes to try to attract a wider audience to the traditionally conservative channel.
"It has obviously not been sufficiently competitive and I think TV3 have been more careful in their lead-in programmes to the 6pm news."

But Mr Thompson saw some positives for TV One.

"One News has sustained an audience share twice that of 3 News. So suggestions that TVNZ is completely out of touch with its audience or in terminal crisis are, at best, misplaced and at worst, politically motivated."