We are now watching the death throes of public broadcasting in NZ. Helen Clark’s Labour-led government did timidly set the stage for some possible positive developments. This was done with the advent of TVNZ 6 & 7, and the shift of the Auckland regional analog channel Triangle onto the digital channel Stratos. But the measures were weak, and some of the digitisation enabling agreements privileged powerful commercial players, that have no interest in non-commercial, not-for-profit, public service broadcasting.
Of course, Key’s government, as we have seen with so many things, has dismantled the good, though timid, public service broadcasting initiatives. And are further enabling blanket corporate domination of NZ’s television channels. This can be changed. We need a Cunliffe government to honour his general and indicative statements of resurrecting public broadcasting in conjunction with digital, online platforms. (I posted on this here.) Strong and, if possible, future-proofed policies are needed to provide the kind of communications and screen productions needed for democracy to thrive.
The Campaign for Better Broadcasting has sent out an email (copy at yournz) about the Digital Switch Over that will be final on 1 December. David Beatson has been investigating the Nat’s treachery in destroying public broadcasting behind the smokescreen of technological change and the legislation that has enabled it. Beatson has hosted some excellent interviews on Auckland’s analog Triangle TV station.
An email from Save TVNZ 7 and the CBB:
Not many people watch our non-commercial regional television stations – they are horribly under-resourced, under-funded and under-the-radar. The most well-known is Triangle TV in Auckland which is about to disappear from free-to-air screens thanks to Digital Switch Over (DSO).
Although the Ministry of Culture and Heritage declares one of its main aims is to promote non-commercial local and regional broadcasting, they have seemingly allowed it to disappear completely with absolutely no provision of non-commercial frequencies after the DSO. At the same time commercial broadcasters are enjoying expanded spectrum allowing them to create more shopping channels and +1 hour repeats of TV1, 2 and 3.
The ray of hope here is that recently Sky TV chose to not take options on several multiplexes (ten channels in one) of digital television spectrum. This leaves our Minister of Broadcasting, Craig Foss to decide what to do with these frequencies. We think he should set aside a multiplex exclusively for use by non-commerical broadcasters – local, regional or national.
The danger is that Mr Foss and the Ministry of Business, Industry and Enterprise will auction the extra spectrum off. This would be a bad idea commercially as well as ideologically because there are no buyers left after the disappointing digital dividend and commercial television broadcasters are backing out of digital channels. But we have noticed that the current government runs less on economic sense and more on economic ideology so nothing is certain.
If you have the time and passion for this, please send an email to Craig Foss, the Minister of Broadcasting, your local MP or a newspaper of your choice. Tell them you’d like to see a digital television multiplex reserved for non-commercial broadcasters, with the same broadcast requirements as the previous analogue, non-commercial licences.
It’s easy, do-able and positive future-proofing of NZ’s digital spectrum for generations to come. There is more information on this subject below – many thanks to David Beatson.
All the best and we’ll be in touch soon about the CBB
Myles Thomas
Coalition for Better Broadcasting
The campaign did not finish here.
Technologies are shifting and online screen productions are becoming more significant. The politically-driven changes so far:
Beneath the CBB email is a report by David Beatson on his investigations, which includes information gained from some OIAs. The report was originally published on The Daily Blog last week.
He begins with a 2006 agreement (under the Helen Clark government), which privileged BCL/Kordia, TVNZ and Media Works:
The 2006 Agreements provided licences to Kordia, TVNZ, and MediaWorks to simulcast nationwide and near-nationwide channels in analogue and digital form during the transition period leading up to the Digital Switch Over. At or before DSO, this privileged trio can convert these transitional licences into long-term licences securing their digital spectrum space for up to 20 years.
The Agreements also outlined the processes to be followed by the three organizations to allocate surplus digital capacity provided by their digital licences to other broadcasters.
[…]
The 2006 Agreements effectively secured Kordia’s position as the dominant supplier of free-to-air digital television transmission services in the transition from analogue to digital television.
TVNZ and MediaWorks have retained all the capacity they were granted in 2006. A substantial amount of it is unused. These digital landlords have no incentive to let competitors for audiences and advertisers move into their digital space.
The 2006 Agreements not only stalled competition in the commercial free-to-air television broadcasting market broadcasting over the last seven years – they also set the scene for the termination of New Zealand’s fledgling non-commercial television channels.
Beatson is scathing about the impact of these agreements on later developments:
The 2006 Agreements effectively secured Kordia’s position as the dominant supplier of free-to-air digital television transmission services in the transition from analogue to digital television.
TVNZ and MediaWorks have retained all the capacity they were granted in 2006. A substantial amount of it is unused. These digital landlords have no incentive to let competitors for audiences and advertisers move into their digital space.
The 2006 Agreements not only stalled competition in the commercial free-to-air television broadcasting market broadcasting over the last seven years – they also set the scene for the termination of New Zealand’s fledgling non-commercial television channels.
However, he is even more scathing about the treachery that followed under the National government:
The Ministry for Culture & Heritage – as the Crown Agent administering the Crown-Kordia Agreement
– failed to enforce provisions intended to protect the interests of regional commercial and non-commercial television broadcasters.
He catalogues a series of ideologically-driven, irrational, bad faith, underhand, agreement breaking moves during the term of the National government, resulting in the demise of regional television.
Read Beatson’s report in full to see all the little moves that have resulted in not honouring even the weak protective provisions in the original 2006 agreement.
And if you want to do something to support the CBB campaign, (repeating a quote from above)
send an email to Craig Foss, the Minister of Broadcasting, your local MP or a newspaper of your choice. Tell them you’d like to see a digital television multiplex reserved for non-commercial broadcasters, with the same broadcast requirements as the previous analogue, non-commercial licences.
And especially urge David Cunliffe’s Comms, Broadcasting, ICT team to keep working for a truly democratic, public service screen delivery of digital broadcasting, on and offline.
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