If I were planning to set up a shonky, shady business to rip off consumers (and I assure you that would be entirely out of character) I would wait until Fair Go ceases broadcasting.

The programme that has been protecting the rights of consumers for 47 years faces the axe under the cuts announced last week by Television New Zealand although its staff – characteristically and courageously – will not admit defeat until they are deep into the Valley of Death.

It is unlikely that it will stay as part of the TVNZ inventory. There may be a faint hope that the format could be sold to another media entity but TV3 is out of the question given the imminent demise of its entire news and current affairs offering. Stuff and the New Zealand Herald could pick it up for streaming on their websites as could Sky but each possibility must be seen as unlikely in the current financial climate. It carries the added burden of being inherently local and therefore not attractive to a streaming service looking to maximise its value on the international market.

So, barring miracles such as a financial rescue package from the coalition government, Fair Go is destined to disappear.

I will mourn its passing not so much because it came so close to racking up the magic half-century but because New Zealand will lose a unique form of consumer power. Continue reading “Where will consumers turn to get a fair go?” →