"'Sky TV is buying Discovery NZ Ltd, whose business centres on free-to-air television channel Three, for $1 in a debt-free deal.' ...
"That begs two questions:
"If TV3 is worth only $1, what is TVNZ worth.
"[And] why is that business still publicly owned?"~ Ele Ludemann from her post 'What’s TVNZ worth?'
Wednesday, 23 July 2025
"If TV3 is worth only $1, what is TVNZ worth."
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6 comments:
Meh. Over at HomePaddock I've suggested that Elle direct this question to her National Party. I'm sure I'd be wasting my time sending the question to any of its MP's but given how plugged in she is, and has been for many, years, she might get more than the back of their hands.
In any case, this is what I wrote on the subject in 2008 on Kiwiblog on yet another thread where DPF and others were complaining about yet another "beat up" of National on TVNZ:
Why on earth is any right-winger surprised by this event.
We have an Oldsmobile TV network that is slowly dying along with it’s demographic, as it plays an endless stream of British drama and comedy to middle-aged and oldies who grew up with the NZBC. It’s missed the change in the youth market and this sort of stuff is an attempt to catch up with TV3 in that area, while Youtube and co. relentlessly grow in influence with better Internet connections.
They’re doomed and the probably know it now. They will increasingly be dependent on government revenue for their survival and know that at some stage they might simply be shut down by a future right-wing government as yet another useless government department. After all – how many right-wingers can honestly say that they see much of their values reflected in what iis shown.
Forget privatisation, that train left the station a long time ago even if National had the appetite for it. TV1 and TV2 just really are not worth selling. At some future stage their ‘market’ value might drop to the point that somebody would risk picking them up – but that will be someway down the line and by the time any future government realises, probably no price will reflect how useless they are.
Substitute British reality TV for British drama and comedy and that still stands, but more so, almost two decades later - plus the "middle age and oldies" audience have turned into "oldies and in the grave". Two rellies of mine still switch on the 6pm news, but they're in their late 70's and even they admit they only do it to see what the Left is screaming about now.
The obvious risk is that a future Labour Government will try, once again, to merge TVNZ and RNZ into a taxpayer funded mouthpiece for statist news and current affairs and to feed the local arts lobby's appetite to produce its post-modernist culture narcissism (that not enough people are willing to pay for). The shrinkage of free to air TV shows little sign of stopping.
Yes. It's one of the things that piss me off about the National-led goverments of the last twenty five years that they just can't or won't see that possibility.
But then that's another argument I and many others have made, as I'm sure you and PC know well, that leaving all these state institutions standing just weaponises the next Lefty government as they find existing institutions ready and waiting to be pumped up with spending and staff.
Back in 2021 DPF put up a chart showing the massive growth in the numbers of public servants and how the Key government had plateaued that for nine years. My response (There shall be minor changes) was that was nothing to boast about and the next Left would simply use that as the new base. I even calculated that if we returned to the bureaucrat:citizen ratio of 2000 (1:136) we'd be at 36,000 "civil servants" rather than 60,000+ (1:83) - and was told in the comments by a good, solid National man that it was "pie in the sky stuff and won’t happen even if there were to be an ACT/National government "
TVNZ and RNZ are just part of all that.
The history of the National Party excluding 1990-1993 (and in a handful of areas 1993-1999) was classic "conservative" - don't embark on much change to reverse what Labour did. This Government unwound some policies that were started by the Ardern/Hipkins government, but National is not a party of reform. Replacing the RMA might be the one big exception this time.
In principle it likely has the same value as an old building on a parcel of land ripe for redevelopment. i.e. something negative, with the demolition cost being a liability rather than asset.
Steady on there Tom. That's being too harsh on Oldsmobile. The Oldsmobile was a great car. I particularly enjoyed W30 power in the 442. Unlike the mighty Olds, TVNZ can't get out of its own way.
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