TVNZ Is Circling the Drain

TVNZ staff are getting the Newshub treatment now. They were all aghast at the closure of Newshub but now they are on the receiving end, and no one but them is shedding any tears.

TVNZ is set to axe its 1News website from early next year, outsource some roles, and change rosters under a new proposal, in what is being called a battle for its life by experts.

The company said in a statement that it had shared with staff “proposed strategic changes” to help achieve $30 million in savings.

The proposed changes at TVNZ included:

• Stopping 1news.co.nz in February 2025, and focus the youth platform Re: News solely on video storytelling
• Outsourcing some areas across TVNZ’s content workflows and technology (in FY26)
• Investing in news on TVNZ+ and establishing a new, dedicated team for this function
• Changes to some roster patterns

All TVNZ staff were called into a meeting at 1pm. A spokesperson told Stuff earlier: “TVNZ is entering into consultation with our people on proposed strategic changes to our business.

“This consultation is focused on how we might achieve our $30m target and deliver our Digital+ strategy.”

Stuff

Smart move.

The world media is going digital so, in order to compete, you cancel your online digital presence. Way to go: that’s gotta be a winning move.