TVNZ is the public television in New Zealand. The broadcaster is state-owned, but commercially funded. It operates five television channels, including TVNZ 1 and TVNZ 2, and a news program, 1News. TVNZ was established in 1980 through the merger of two government-owned television chains, Television One (now TVNZ 1) and South Pacific Television (now TVNZ 2).
Media assets
Television: TVNZ 1, TVNZ 2, TVNZ Duke
State Media Matrix Typology: Independent State-Managed (ISM)
Ownership and governance
The TVNZ Board, the highest governing structure at TVNZ, is appointed by the Minister of Broadcasting for a three-year mandate, according to the publisher. TVNZ is a Crown-owned company.
As of 2023, TVNZ was supposed to be merged with RNZ into a new public media entity called Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media. TVNZ as a Crown-owned company was going to disappear and function instead as a subsidiary of the newly created entity, according to legislation that regulates the TVNZ-RNZ merger issued by the government in June 2022. However, in February 2023, the government announced that it totally abandoned the planned merger. Some experts expected the merger to strengthen the stability and independence of the public media in New Zealand.
Source of funding and budget
Most of the funding in TVNZ’s budget, some 90%, is generated commercially, mostly through ad sales. The remainder comes from government agencies. In the fiscal year ending in June 2021, TVNZ generated commercial funding worth NZ$ 339.9m (US$ 228m), according to the company’s latest annual report. In the following fiscal year, the station earned NZ$ 341m (US$ 213m) from ad sales, according to data from the company.
Editorial independence
There are no provisions imposed by the government on the editorial agenda of TVNZ. The broadcaster is known for its editorial integrity and independence. An ad hoc content analysis carried out for this report didn’t find the editorial coverage at TVNZ to favor the government in any way.
The main document that establishes the editorial independence of TVNZ is the Television New Zealand Act of 2003.
TVNZ has a complaints procedure in place that allows viewers to submit feedback about the TVNZ programming and rules that oblige the broadcaster to respond to these complaints within 20 days.
August 2023