For immediate release

07 April 2011

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*Abandonment Of Public Service TV ‘Tragic’ For New Zealand*

The Government’s decision to scrap TVNZ 7 has torpedoed New Zealand public broadcasting to third world levels, lobby group Save TVNZ 7 said today.

As widely expected, Broadcasting Minister Jonathan Coleman yesterday announced that the Government would not continue to support digital channel TVNZ 7 after June 2012.

‘Next year there will be no such thing as public service TV in New Zealand. Not only does that put us behind the rest of the developed world, it also puts us behind much of the third world,’ said Myles Thomas, founder of the Save TVNZ 7 campaign.

‘Every other developed nation can provide it – even Estonia, and many third world countries. Australia doesn’t provide just one public service channel – the SBS has two. But apparently New Zealand can’t even stretch to one.

‘Why do other countries invest in public service TV? Because it’s a valuable cultural asset. You can have highly commercial series from all over the world, but you need at least one place for quality local programming that does more than just attract advertising dollars,’ Mr Thomas said.

‘By the time it’s axed, TVNZ 7 will have been going for less than five years. All the investment to date – around $50 million – will be money down the drain. It just isn’t long enough to properly establish a channel, particularly when it’s digital and a lot of Kiwi TV sets are still analogue. It’s like trying to teach a child to walk with its legs tied together – and then when it can’t, you abandon it.’

Mr Thomas said it was highly ironic that the decision to scrap TVNZ 7 was announced on the same day that the channel launched its TVNZ 7 Learning Hub – a website with educational resources based on its programmes.

‘Even TVNZ chief executive Rick Ellis said the channel offers a unique perspective that mainstream commercial channels can’t. Now there is nowhere for that unique content to go.’

The Save TVNZ 7 Facebook page is less than a month old, and has over 1,000 supporters. The online petition has gathered more than 820 signatures in just two weeks.

Mr Thomas urged New Zealanders who care about public service TV to sign the petition, visit the Facebook page, and to make a point of watching TVNZ 7 – while they still could.

The Save TVNZ 7 petition can be viewed at www.savetvnz7.co.nz, and the Facebook page can be found by searching Save TVNZ 7.

ENDS

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