It’s the end of an era at Three as MAFS NZ and Guy Williams’ new show cancelled and 7 Days cut to bone, writes Duncan Greive. A trio of shows which have been among Three’s most important local productions are either being cancelled or severely cut back, as the channel’s agonising winter extends to spring. … Read more
Vodafone TV is yet another damn thing to plug into your television – but one you really should take a look at, says Duncan Greive. What is it? A small box – about the size of a sandwich – which you plug into an HDMI port on your television, along with a simple remote to … Read more
Facing streaming giants with multi-billion dollar budgets, the state broadcaster has announced it expects a big 2020 loss. Duncan Greive goes to find out why TVNZ CEO Kevin Kenrick is still smiling. Kevin Kenrick is dreaming big. “I think our biggest competition, because of their ability to wrap their hands around the digital revenue streams, … Read more
It’s the grand finale of The Block NZ: Firehouse, but after a snooze of a season some fans are past caring. Long time Block NZ fan Tara Ward has a few ideas on how the show could get its mojo back. For eight long years, I’ve lived and breathed The Block NZ until my veins pulsed with … Read more
A shocking Herald story alleging serious violence by of one of its grooms has forced an unprecedented move from MediaWorks. After further details emerged around the alleged behaviour of Chris Mansfield, a groom on the upcoming third season of Married at First Sight NZ, Three has made the unprecedented decision to cut his storyline entirely. … Read more
For years, New Zealand has bemoaned the gap between much of our television drama and the cutting edge out in the world. That gap might finally be closing, writes Duncan Greive. He’s just a minor character, eating an ice cream. It doesn’t seem all that revolutionary, but in the context of New Zealand drama, it … Read more
MediaWorks’ CEO asks us to imagine a world with only government-owned TV news. Unless something is made to change at TVNZ, he tells Duncan Greive, that could be a reality. The New Zealand media executive in 2019 is an individual suffering from a very specific type of exhaustion. This is true of people from all … Read more
Commissioners are among the most powerful and coveted roles in television. Suddenly, after years of little movement, there are five vacancies. Two stories hit players in the local television industry hard and in quick succession. The first came early in July when TVNZ announced the departure of its longtime head of scripted, Kathleen Anderson. Then, … Read more
The state-owned broadcaster has quietly announced it sees no prospect of paying a dividend in the ‘foreseeable future’ TVNZ has told its government owner that it will in effect become a not-for-profit, with the goal of returning a dividend jettisoned in favour of a focus on “the future sustainability of the business”. In the annual … Read more
Kris Faafoi sits down with The Spinoff’s managing editor to discuss all that bedevils a rowdy sector with big problems and high expectations. After months of trying, the new broadcasting minister Kris Faafoi finally arrived at The Spinoff’s offices for an interview in early March. It was 4pm on Friday, and we drank a beer … Read more
While researching NZ on Air for a recent history, Duncan Greive noticed a shocking 30 year trend. News broke over the weekend that Love Island NZ, Three’s biggest announcement of the year, will now not screen in 2019, and realistically is unlikely to be made at all now. The fall of a much-discussed, much-critiqued reality TV … Read more
They’re the two most important shows for TVNZ 2 and Three. And their ratings are changing radically, writes Duncan Greive. TV channels tell different stories about themselves depending on whom they’re talking to. When speaking to funding bodies, they emphasise the diversity of genres they air, and interest groups whose needs are met. When speaking … Read more
The latest season of British reality show Love Island is set to hit TV screens at the unconventional tea-time hour of 5pm. Jihee Junn explains why the decision is troubling. Update, 1 October 2019: The Broadcasting Standards Authority has ruled that the edited version of Love Island that ran at 5pm on Three earlier this … Read more
Love Island has smashed streaming records all over the world and Three’s purchase of the global rights, along with a pricey local franchise, will complete a radical transformation of the channel. This week The Spinoff learned that Mediaworks, parent company of Three, plans on launching a New Zealand version of ITV’s megahit Love Island. The … Read more
Alex Casey woke up at 6am this morning to flick between the first episode for 2019 of both The AM Show and Breakfast. Here are some of the highlights. Nothing captures Monday morning ennui like The AM Show. “Welcome back my friends,” belts out prog rock band Emerson, Lake and Palmer, “to the show that never … Read more
The home of Three and radio stations like The Edge has been owned by private equity for 10 years now. As part of his series on NZ media in 2018, Duncan Greive talks to anonymous executives within and without of the company to find out whether it might be close to getting an owner that … Read more
Mediaworks launched their 2019 slate today. Sam Brooks has the lowdown on what you should be watching (and voting) for. 2018 is almost over and what a ride it’s been. Now, as we look ahead to 2019, who’s going to be dancing with other stars? Who’s going to be getting married at first sight? And … Read more
A lawsuit has revealed Facebook inflated its video statistics for years, inspiring the ‘pivot to video’ which made thousands of journalists redundant. Duncan Greive looks at its impact on New Zealand. So Facebook’s been lying again, at least according to a suit filed last week. Days after admitting that its new portal device would eavesdrop … Read more
Three’s Pilot Week is done – but how good were the pilots, and which ones should get commissioned? Sam Brooks reviews. It’s been a wild week, y’all. I can’t remember the last time we had two and a half hours of new New Zealand comedy content for an entire week on our screens. (Probably the first … Read more
Stuff-Me is dead, with the merger between media companies Stuff and NZME once again denied by the courts. A different combination now looms large as a possibility, but would it work? At a certain point, you probably have to accept that they’ll never let you be together. That’s the harsh lesson for Stuff and NZME, … Read more
Three’s Comedy Pilot Week starts this Sunday night on Three – but what is this newfangled thing? Sam Brooks gives you the low down. Five new shows over four nights? Isn’t there already enough TV to consume? Yes, reader, there is. But this one is worth your time, even in this age of peak TV, … Read more
Because it’s suffrage week, we’ve got ourselves a right lady-fest on The Spinoff TV tonight. Tonight on The Spinoff TV, we celebrate suffrage week with an all-women episode featuring Anika Moa: queen of television, burps and oversharing. We talk about her new album, revisit the paranoia of Y2K and get stuck into what ads really … Read more
Gogglebox NZ takes a bunch of ordinary Kiwis, chucks them onto a sofa and films them as they watch television. Tara Ward watched them watching. “Don’t laugh too much, your teeth might land on the table.” Last night three new stars flew into our lounge rooms like a pair of falsies hitting the coffee table. Retirement … Read more
Alex Casey crunches the numbers on the new Married at First Sight NZ contestants and returns with some shocking predictions. Ahhh, time. She’s a fickle mistress. She’s a relationship-ruining text sent from your Nokia 3315 to the person that the text was about. She’s a pig that’s nicked your toothpaste, slipping through your fingers as you … Read more
We’ve been waiting for the tipping point, where online really surges against broadcast media. It just arrived, says Duncan Greive, who has read NZ on Air’s epic new audience behaviour survey so you don’t have to. The release of NZ on Air’s audience survey is on its way to becoming the most important event in … Read more
The hugely popular British show about people watching telly is finally getting a New Zealand version. And Calum Henderson, for one, can’t wait. Good news: TV’s not dead. There are still people out there who regularly sit down, in their living rooms, and just… watch it, sometimes for hours at a time. Now, some of … Read more
National leader Simon Bridges went on Radio Live this afternoon and came out in favour of the two big NZ media print companies’ bid to merge. Does that mean it will become a partisan issue? Doing a long radio spot as a politician is difficult. An issue can come up basically out of nowhere, the … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Māori King’s office raided by the SFO, disgraced TV man Matt Lauer hits back over walking access, and major case of Catholic church child abuse revealed. The Serious Fraud Office has raided the offices of the Māori King. An initial complaint of financial mismanagement at the Ururangi … Read more
With all 12 Dancing with the Stars NZ contestants now announced, Sam Brooks already knows who is going to win based on their promo videos alone. These are his absolutely correct predictions. They’re all out now. I’ve watched them all at least 20 times each, especially the first one, and my hard drive is stuffed … Read more