Television with Attitude

15 November 2004

Television with Attitude

NZ On Air’s strong commitment to Special Interest programming has resulted in funding for a range of television programmes that will meet the needs of widely diverse audiences in the year ahead.

"In a number of cases old favourites are returning, " said NZ On Air Deputy Chief Executive, Bernard Duncan. "They include Praise Be, Asia Down Under and Open Door – programmes that have carved out a real niche for themselves, and attracted a dedicated and loyal audience among interested community groups.

Almost five million dollars of its Special Interest television budget was allocated at NZ On Air’s October meeting, and part of that funding will also support 100 hours per week of Teletext captioning next year, in addition to The Mâori Sports Awards 2004 and a new series dealing with disabilities.

"We have had a major review of our funding of programming for people with disabilities, including a symposium we convened in July. As a result of that we issued a tender for new ideas,” said Mr Duncan.

“The successful proposal came from RSVP Productions, and the programme, Attitude, is something we’re excited about. It’s a weekly magazine programme that will screen on TV ONE from March next year. It will feature a mix of sport, travel, medical and technical stories, and also include personal profiles and a mailbag segment.

"It is important for NZ On Air to support Special Interest programming because the size of the audiences for these types of programmes is such that they would be unlikely to be produced in a commercial environment. NZ On Air has the ability to ensure they proceed, and that they are screened on free-to-air channels that reach a nation-wide audience.

"We also make sure that they are available for rescreening on regional television channels at no charge after their first free-to-air broadcast, and that means an even larger audience has the opportunity to see them," Mr Duncan said.

Funding details:

Open Door 6 $300,621 10 x ½ hour Broadcaster: TV3 Producer: Keith Lambert Morningside Productions

Asia Down Under 2005 $1,119,160 40 x ½ hour Broadcaster: TV One Producer: Melissa Lee Asia Vision Ltd

Praise Be 2005 $654,175 45 x ½ hour, 1 x 1 hour Broadcaster: TV One Producer: Ron Pledger TVNZ Avalon Productions

Attitude $1, 203,047 40 x ½ hour Broadcaster: TV One Producer: Robyn Scott-Vincent RSVP Productions

Mâori Sports Awards 2004 up to $51,000 1 x 1½ hour Broadcaster: TV One Producer: Derek Wooster TVNZ

Captioning 2004 $1,570,000 100 hours per week Broadcaster: TV One, TV2 and TV3 Producer: Alison Munro, Captioning Manager, TVNZ TVNZ

ENDS

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