NZME reaches a milestone some thought impossible

NZME has reached a milestone: Its digital publishing business is now profitable on a stand-alone basis. That means it can cover its newsroom and editorial costs without relying on its print operations.

The publisher and broadcaster highlighted the landmark in an investor presentation last week that was a commendably wide and deep appraisal of the group’s current and future prospects. At the same time, it gave some useful insights into the country’s overall news media landscape.

It was common knowledge that NZME’s digital strategy was tracking in the right direction but there were still a few surprises in the two-hour session that included a 150-slide PowerPoint presentation. Continue reading “NZME reaches a milestone some thought impossible”

A better foreign owner for TV3 in an uncertain future

It was an open secret that MediaWorks was negotiating to sell its television arm to Discovery. Now that sale has been confirmed. Yes, it’s substituting one foreign owner for another but TV3 will be better off as a result of the sale.

The US-based Discovery group has an established record not only in subscription TV but also in linear broadcast. It is the owner of free-to-air channels across Europe including Norway, Sweden, Italy, Poland, Germany and the UK. Its digital portfolio includes Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, Turbo/Velocity, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Oprah Winfrey Network in the United States, Discovery Kids in Latin America, and Eurosport, which carries the Olympic Games across Europe. Last year it signed a partnership deal with the BBC.

Continue reading “A better foreign owner for TV3 in an uncertain future”