Busy Year for NZ On Air with New Funding Model

New Public Media Funding Model a Highlight of Busy Year for NZ On Air

A total revamp of the funding model was a major achievement for NZ On Air in 2016/17 as reported in the NZ On Air Annual Report, just tabled in Parliament.

Major changes in the media landscape required a significant response by the public media funding agency. That response, the result of 18 months of planning, strategising and consulting created the NZ Media Fund – a platform-neutral fund to support quality, diverse, discoverable public media content for a variety of audiences.

The changes resulted in a wider spread of funding to content creators and platforms; a clearer definition of what sets public media content part from that made commercially; and a new fully online application system.

Other key achievements in the 2016/17 year were:

• Development of a plan to create an online home (HEIHEI) for local media content aimed at primary aged children

• A ground-breaking joint project with Google/YouTube to encourage successful New Zealand YouTubers to try their hands at new creative content

• Audiences of more than 300,000 for the 15 highest-rating funded television programmes

• An audience of over 100,000 for the most viewed funded on demand series

• Expansion of our support for investigative journalism both on television and online

• Delivery of a new music funding scheme that provides more support to promoting funded songs online as well as on radio

“This has been the biggest year for NZ On Air since its inception in 1989. In an environment of static funding but a rapidly changing market, we had to find ways to deliver new content to audiences on a wide variety of platforms, yet still also keep loved and familiar content available,” said NZ On Air Chief Executive Jane Wrightson.

“The agency now has the flexibility to respond to the changing market and audience needs. Our role is more important than ever – a bastion for the local voice among the sea of global content.”

The 2016/17 Annual Report is available online here.

ENDS

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