CounselBlog

Fairfax Media is launching a new magazine to be distributed with every weekend edition of its three largest daily newspapers, The Dominion Post, The Press and The Waikato Times.

The new magazine will be launched in September and will be distributed weekly with approximately 240,000 newspapers. It will be produced by Fairfax Magazines, who are also responsible for the Sunday Star-Times’ “Sunday” magazine as well as other titles such as NZ House & Garden, Cuisine and NZ Life & Leisure.

The NZ National Party has now announced its Broadcasting Policy.

The most significant ingredients:

1. State ownership of Television New Zealand will continue, as will financial support for Maori Television, Radio New Zealand, National Pacific Radio Trust, and Access Radio.

2. The “TVNZ charter funding” will become contestable through NZ on Air - in other words, available to other free-to-air broadcasters (as well as TVNZ) on a competitive basis.

3. National intends to switch off analogue by 2015, up to ten years sooner than Labour. The final date will be confirmed once 75% of households have digital, or 2012, whichever occurs first.

4. Funding for the Freeview platform will continue, but public accountability will be demanded for the $79 million of direct funding allocated to TVNZ6 & TVNZ7.

5. National says it will insist on regular publication of rating/audience/household penetration data for any broadcasting entity receiving state funding. In other words, we’ll finally know the ratings performance of National Radio and the Concert Programme (and Maori Television). 

6. The party is also calling for transparent processes for radio frequency allocation and renewal that “create fair competition and take into account the range of community and broadcaster interests”.

This just in:

Rick Friesen, Chief Operating Officer at TVWorks, is taking up a new role at the end of next month.  He has been appointed to the dual role of Chief Executive of the Television Broadcasters’ Council and Director, Special Projects at TVWorks.

Mr Friesen’s new role will be evenly divided between the Broadcasters’ Council  and his new special projects role.  The project work includes overseeing TVWorks’ involvement and relationship with Freeview, and development of TVWorks’ additional channels on the Freeview platform.

The functions currently undertaken by Mr Friesen as Chief Operating Officer will be assumed by CEO Brent Impey and CFO Peter Crossan.

Mr Friesen has been with the Company for the last eight years, originally joining on secondment from then owners CanWest in Canada. 

“Rick Friesen has played a vital role in developing TV3 and C4 to help create the success stories they are today,” said MediaWorks CEO, Brent Impey.

“His decades of experience in the television business have been invaluable to me in my role as CEO, and I have appreciated his hard work and commitment towards the success of TV3 and C4.

“The good news for us is that we still get to retain Rick’s services to TVWorks, but also can apply his experience to the benefit of the television industry as a whole, through his appointment to the Television Broadcasters’ Council.

Rick Friesen commented: “In my eight years as COO for TVWorks I have enjoyed the strong support of an excellent management team and together we have grown the networks in audience, revenue and profitability. I also enjoyed the full support and guidance of MediaWorks CEO, Brent Impey, and I thank him sincerely for his leadership and his friendship.  I am extremely pleased to continue working on some of the projects that have been important to the long term growth of the company, including development of new channels for TVWorks.”

The changes outlined will all become effective on 1 September 2008. 

It’s July and C4 has moved — at least on Sky Digital. The channel has made the trek down to Channel 12, nestled between E! and Fashion TV and reclaiming its niche amongst the general entertainment channels. At the same time C4 has refurbished its programming, with a collection of new and familiar series (many ex-TV3) with broader appeal to the channel’s young adult demographic.

Why the reboot? In our view, this is an inevitable response to MTV’s arrival in the antipodes. In recent years C4 had adopted the MTV-like mix of longform series programming and occasional music videos, with many of MTV’s own shows anchoring the C4 schedule. Now we can have the original instead. Time for a change.

So, on the New! Improved! C4 schedule:

The Office - US variant (comedy, we think)

Get Smart star Steve Carell moves from TV3 to C4 in Season 3 as agonisingly earnest but clueless boss Michael Scott, contributing his own irreverent commentary to the daily happenings at the Scranton branch of the Dunder Mifflin paper company. As the staff deal with potential office closures, mergers, romances and advancement, Michael’s always there to say all the wrong things at all the right times.

The Mighty Boosh - Season 3 (comedy)

This show is a surreal fantasy comedy about two friends, Vince “King of the Mods” Noir and Howard Moon (an intellectually vain genius/novelist/poet/wrestler/boxer/jazz musician) who embark on a series of magical adventures.

The Sarah Silverman Program - Season 2 (comedy)

Sarah Silverman stars as Sarah Silverman, who spends her time with her sister, her geeky neighbours (who may or may not be gay) and the kind-hearted and moustached Officer Jay.

30 Rock (comedy) 

Behind the scenes of a live variety show. Liz Lemon is living every comedy writer’s dream -head writer on a demanding live TV show - when a brash new network executive (Alec Baldwin) interferes with her show and bullies her into convincing a wild and unpredictable movie star to join the cast.

The Daily Show (comedy)
Now screening at 10.30pm Tuesdays through Fridays, the Daily Show has deservedly earned its title of “the most trusted name in fake news” - Jon Stewart and his team of faux correspondents and commentators slice, dice and spin the day’s news to glorious effect.

Everybody Hates Chris - Season 2 (comedy)
Comedian Chris Rock shares the ongoing saga of an African-American teenager growing up in the early 1980s in Brooklyn New York as the eldest of three children.

American Dad - Season 4 (animated comedy)
With his doting wife Francine at his side, Stan Smith - CIA agent, anti-terror operative and upstanding citizen - runs a household that includes an ultra-liberal daughter, dweeb son, lascivious German goldfish and a sarcastic alien named Roger.

Family Guy - Season 7 (animated comedy)

The distinctively twisted and irreverently outrageous trials and tribulations of a not-quite-so-average family of middle-class New Englanders. This year’s season kicks off with the legendary and long-awaited Star Wars spoof, “Blue Harvest” (tomorrow night at 7.30pm).

Roll The Dai - The Outback (local)
Comedian Dai Henwood is back for a second season - this time off to Oz, travelling around the outback, his journey determined by an inflatable dice with potential destinations on all sides.

Skins - Season 2 (drama)

The award-winning UK drama series following the chaotic lives and lusts of a group of spliff-toting British teenagers.

The Black Donnellys (drama) - NEW

A gritty new US drama series that follows the lives of four young working-class Irish-American brothers and their involvement in organised crime in New York City.

Battlestar Galactica - Season 3 (drama)

Transferring from TV3, this reimagining of the classic saga of a ragtag fleet of humans fleeing their relentless cybernetic enemies enters its penultimate season.

Friday Night Lights (drama) - NEW

In the small town of Dillon, everyone comes together on Friday nights when the local (American) football heroes Dillon High Panthers play. But the biggest challenges and obstacles happen off the field.

Rock Of Love 2 (reality)
Twenty women lay it all on the line for their chance at the ultimate rock-and-roll romance.

Who Wants To Be A Superhero 2 (reality, sort-of)

Comic-book creator Stan Lee hosts this quest to find the next real superhero, who will win the best reality competition prize yet: immortality! Huh? Well, immortality in comic-book terms, as the lucky winner’s character will be immortalized in a new comic book created by Stan Lee himself.

Beauty & The Geek - Season 2 (impossible reality)
This second instalment pairs eight beautiful, sexy and socially savvy women with eight intellectually endowed but socially stunted males, for a chance to win a $250,000 grand prize.

Flavor Of Love 2 (reality)
The quest for a new love for Flavor Flav. Twenty new unique girls. Ho hum.

The Salt-N-Pepa Show (reality)

Twelve million records sold and a Grammy for best Rap performance. Then in 2002, at the height of their success, Salt-N-Pepa called it quits. Now the two ladies are going to give it one more shot.

Cops (reality)
Real cops. Real criminals. And you are there.

But wait, there’s more: Girls Of The Playboy Mansion 2, Simple Life (season 5), Mission Man Band, the Official NZ Top 40, Special Features, Vodafone Select Live, yadda yadda yadda.

And Sunday Night Movies: 

Semi-classic movies, typically from the eighties and nineties, now presented for a new audience. Titles include: Teen Wolf (Michael J Fox), Edward Scissorhands (Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder), Class (Rob Lowe, Jacqueline Bisset), The Godfather Trilogy (Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro), Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton, Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis) …

What’s coming up on Prime for the third quarter of 2008? A quick snapshot:

NEW SHOWS

New Zealand’s Got Talent (Talent Quest)

FremantleMedia Australia and South Pacific Pictures are producing the New Zealand version of this international talent quest format which delivers the traditional blend of both stunning and abominable performances. You know the drill: auditions are filmed in front of a live theatre audience. Wannabe stars will perform in front of a panel of judges, who could take just seconds to knock them out of the show. Television presenter Andrew Mulligan and radio host Jason Reeves are the hosts while actress, presenter and novice ballroom dancer Miriama Smith is the first of three judges to be announced. Media Counsel performance expectations: a strong performer for Prime.

Ashes to Ashes (British Drama)

This BBC drama is the follow-up to “Life On Mars”, this time set in 1981 and focussed on DCI Alex Drake. Single mother to daughter Molly, Alex has rapidly risen through the ranks of the Met and, in the modern world of 2008, skilfully uses psychological profiling to capture suspects. When Alex and her daughter are kidnapped, she makes a daring attempt at escape, resulting in a horrific accident. Alex suddenly finds herself in 1981 interacting with familiar characters, not just from her own life time, but also from the detailed reports logged by none other than Sam Tyler, which Alex has previously spent months poring over. Media Counsel performance expectations: will rate well with devotees of Life On Mars.

The Kill Point (US Drama)

A group of marines recently returned from service in Iraq decide to pull off a daring bank heist. But things go terribly wrong and two men wind up going head to head in a hostage situation. Stars John Leguizomo and Donnie Walhberg. Media Counsel performance expectations: This eight-part series, which screened on Spike TV in the States 12 months ago, averaged 1.8 million viewers during its run, improving Spike’s performance in the time period by 65 percent in household ratings and 59 percent among male viewers ages 18-34. Depending on when the show airs on Prime, we’d expect solid ratings in NZ.

The Dead Zone (Drama)
Based on characters from the Stephen King novel, this series, formerly screening on Sky1 (aka ‘The Box’) , tells the ongoing story of Johnny Smith, injured in a near-fatal car crash who awakens from a six-year-long coma with extraordinary psychic abilities. These powers allow him to see into the past and future through visions triggered by touch, which he is compelled to act upon in order to help others. In episodes ranging from high-stakes adventures to political thrillers, Johnny tests the potential and the limits of his psychic gifts while struggling to deal with a recurring vision of the future which lies at the heart of the series – a terrifying glimpse of Armageddon. Media Counsel performance expectations: will attract the types of audiences who go for “Ghost Whisperers” and “Medium”.

Texas Ranch House (Reality)
Welcome to Texas, 1867, where modern-day time-travellers find themselves struggling to get a real-life ranch up and running. Transplanted into the actual living and working conditions of the era, outfitted with period tools, technology and clothing, a brave family and a diverse group of cowboys-at-heart discover how the myth of the American West meshes with reality. 110 degrees. 200 cows. 47,000 acres. And 15 people. Can they make it? Media Counsel performance expectations: Think Pioneer House, American style. Are we over this yet?

Wild China (Documentary)

Stunning images characterise this six-part look behind the bamboo curtain. For the first time in a century China is opening up to the world. This BBC/CTV/Travel Channel co-production introduces us to the world’s most mysterious and magnificent country, with unique images of the creatures and communities that inhabit China’s varied landscapes. Media Counsel performance expectations: if only it was screening in HD!  

Bonekickers (Drama)

Bonekickers is a new six-part BBC drama series about a dynamic team of archaeologists that draws its inspirations from the likes of CSI, The Da Vinci Code and Indiana Jones. Set against the backdrop of Bath, a city steeped in 3,000 years of history, each week the team uncovers a compelling mystery from the past that tells viewers something profound and revelatory about the present. Archaeology has never been so dramatic. Media Counsel performance expectations: the series is still a week away from making its debut on BBC Television but it should deliver strong ratings over there (and over here). 

Old Skool (Reality)
Old Skool with Terry and Gita will put a new spin on discussing pop culture topics, as 77-year-old former actress Terry Moore and 72-year-old ex-model Gita Hall explore what’s hip in the 21st century in this seven-episode series. Media Counsel performance expectations: think “Golden Girls try to understand Paris Hilton”. Culture Shock abounds. Could be a surprise rating hit.

Janice Dickinson’s Modelling Agency (Reality)

Created by Dickinson herself, the reality series follows the supermodel and former America’s Next Top Model judge as she runs her very own modelling agency.  With 30 years of experience under her belt, Dickinson believes she has much to teach the models she has carefully chosen to be part of her agency. Media Counsel performance expectations: Very, very familiar territory. And yet — this show debuted in the US in 2006 and has already completed its third season, so the show obviously meets its audiences’ needs. 

Surf Patrol (Reality)
The Australian equivalent of our own Piha Rescue, but with better-looking participants. Media Counsel performance expectations: average ratings. 

Australian Gladiators (Game Show)
Regional version of the revamped Gladiators franchise that’s enjoying good ratings in the US and the UK. Media Counsel performance expectations: another reasonable performer.

Gene Simmonds Family Jewels (Reality)
Welcome to the unconventional family life of KISS front man Gene Simmons. Simmons and actress Shannon Tweed have been happily unmarried for twenty years and have two children, Nick and Sophie. Media Counsel performance expectations: if you liked ‘The Osbornes’ …

Life In Cold Blood (Documentary)

Sir David Attenborough explores the extraordinary success of reptiles and amphibians, creatures that have survived ice ages and mass extinctions, have been around for millions of years and easily outnumber mammals and birds. This definitive natural history epic completes Attenborough’s overview of life on the planet which began in 1979 with “Life On Earth”. Media Counsel performance expectations: reptiles, amphibians … what’s not to like? But oh for some HD!

RETURNING FAVOURITES

Psych Series 2 (Comedy) - Wednesday 7.30pm
Dr Who Series 4 (Sci-Fi Drama) - Sundays 7.30pm
Stargate Atlantis (Sci-Fi Drama) - Monday 7.30pm
Midsomer Murders (Drama)
Lewis (Drama)
Mythbusters (Factual Entertainment)
 

SPORT

INTERNATIONAL RUGBY - delayed coverage of nine All Blacks Games
LOCAL RUGBY - Air New Zealand Cup
NRL - Delayed coverage of all Warriors games
Wimbledon - Live coverage

In 1999, the world’s population hit six billion. Made for a bit of a crowded globe, but we could manage - just had to take turns breathing in and out, not all jump up and down at once, try not to tip the planet over by all leaning to our right at the same time. Easy really.

Now comes the news, courtesy the US Census Bureau, that some of us (no names) have been busily populating like — well, like bunnies. As a result, looks like we’ll have seven billion mouths to feed by 2012.

Any good news? Well, perhaps. Apparently things are slowing down. The Census Bureau’s latest projections show world population growing at a slower pace during the first half of the 21st century than in the latter half of the 20th century. The world population doubled from 3 billion in 1959 to 6 billion in 1999, but is projected to increase by only 50 percent between 1999 and 2040.

So — only nine billion by 2040, then. That’s a relief.

The new MySky HDi service had its official press send-off this morning, ahead of the 1 July launch for the new service.

We’ll be covering it in more detail in this month’s Marketing Manifesto enewsletter (subscribe for free by clicking here), but here’s what you need to know:

• The MySky HDi is a Personal Video Recorder (PVR), just like the original MySky box launched two years ago:
• If you’re already a MySky user (as 40,000 Kiwis are), you probably won’t get too excited about the new box — except for the stunning High Definition output (and Surround Sound) that the new box delivers to HDMI-capable TV sets;
• The new box has twice the theoretical capacity of the original MySky (320 gigabytes vs 160 GB); in practice, however, as consumers we can only access 160GB to store recorded programmes (vs 100GB on MySky V1.0) — the remainder is for operating system software and to store pay-per-view programming downloaded to the box;
• The MySky HDi comes with four tuners, but only two are enabled in the first release — so initially you’ll be able to record two Sky channels at once, just as the existing box offers. You’ll have to wait for the additional tuners to be enabled via software upgrades at a later date;
• If you’re an existing MySky subscriber, you’ll be able to switch to the new box for a one-off fee of just $49;
• If you don’t already have a MySky box, you’re up for a one-off fee of $599 or a monthly $15 rental (not including the cost of any Sky subscription);
• At launch, High Definition offerings will be available for Sky Sport 1, Sky Sport 2, Sky Movies, Sky Movie Greats — and TV3, offering HD content where available through the MySky HDi platform;
• You’ll pay an extra $10 a month to access the High Definition content — unless you hang onto your existing Sky box as well as the new MySky HDi. Then the extra fee is waived (but you’ll pay $25 a month for the extra decoder);
• The “i” in MySky HDi refers to interactive offerings — in about 12 months the box will be enabled to receive internet-delivered television (IPTV) from Sky.

The focus this morning was on High Definition, with Sky promising that at launch around 60% of the movies screening on the movie channels will be in HD, expected to be around 90% by the end of 2008.

Sport is also a no-brainer for HD, and some 500 hours of HD sporting content will be screened on Sky Sport in August, with the amount continuing to grow as more content is provided in that format. Rugby, League, Soccer, Motor Racing, Cricket and many other sports will be offered in HD, from both international and many local fixtures. One fully-equipped-for-HD Outside Broadcast van was on display for the media launch, with three more on order over the next twelve months.

A hint of things to come — Sky are promising that the 2010 Winter Olympics will see Prime go HD with 12 hours a day of Olympic content (and four channels on Sky offering Olympic content 24 hours a day). By the London Summer Olympics of 2012, Prime will be carrying 22 hours a day of HD Olympic content, whilst at least 8 Sky channels will be covering the action 24 hours a day.

The MySky HDi represents evolution rather than revolution — more goodies, but basically the same service already available via MySky. The most important difference, however, is in marketing of the new service. Sky deliberately held off promoting MySky beyond its launch phase, waiting for the next generation box that it knew was just around the corner (although, as is the way with technology, delayed from its original launch date). Even so, the company sold 40,000 boxes.

This time, the gloves are off. The MySky HDi will get some serious promotion, which will inevitably drive significant penetration. And, well, once you’ve got a PVR, you just don’t want to give it back …

In the headlines this week: Fairfax Business weekly The Independent moves to Thursday, drops its longwinded and never-really-adopted title “The Independent Financial Review” and gets a visual makeover and a collection of new contributors.

Jenni McManus is once again contributing to The Independent’s editorial team. Her return to writing for The Independent is part of her new role at Fairfax Business which sees her reporting and breaking business news across the range of Fairfax’s print and online business channels.

Jenni joins other new-to-The-Independent columnists drawn from the Fairfax journalistic team, including Vernon Small, Political Editor of the Dominion Post, and David Hargreaves of Business Day.  Longtime columnists Chris Trotter and Chalkie will continue to pound their respective beats in the new-look weekly.

According to David Gadd, Fairfax Managing Editor – Business, The Independent will have a totally different look when it hits the newsstands tomorrow.

“One of the most successful business publications in the world is The Economist, and we’re responding to our own customer research which tells us there is a distinct lack of edge and personality in the business magazine market here.

“The front page will be dominated by a graphic relevant to the lead story inside the paper. Its purpose is to capture attention and reflect the agenda set by the editorial inside. Our review of The Independent is timely and allows us to take the successful elements of The Economist’s look and tailor it to the local market here. When you combine this with Nick Stride driving The Independent’s editorial direction, supported by the best bench of journalists in the country, I think our readers are going to respond well to the improvements made.”

Looking forward to seeing the results.

Another sign of the times: The New Zealand Press Association (NZPA) is proposing to streamline its news gathering operations by “reducing staff and other costs and investing in new technology”.

NZPA, 128 years young and owned by the country’s major newspaper publishers, provides news, images and other services to all daily and Sunday newspapers, as well as television, radio and internet customers.

The agency’s international wire services are to be rationalised as well, fairly inevitable given the ready access to this information through the internet.

Staff reductions being proposed amount to seven full time equivalent positions (out of a total of 55) spread across most departments of the agency. 

It’s never pleasant to contemplate job losses. Unfortunately, newsgathering is amongst those roles under threat in today’s 24/7 news environment, especially when anyone with a cellphone can also be a Citizen Photojournalist.

TVNZ is under fire for planning to use monies granted to it from the Crown under the TVNZ Charter to contribute towards the “absolutely enormous” production costs of broadcasting the Beijing Olympics.

Is it a fair criticism of TVNZ? Let’s review the TVNZ Charter.

The Charter states that TVNZ will:

(i) feature programming across all genres that informs, entertains, and educates New Zealand audiences; [arguably the Olympics could be included in this criterion]

(ii) strive always to set and maintain the highest standards of programme quality and editorial integrity; [agreed, although somewhat irrelevant]

(iii) provide shared experiences that contribute to a sense of citizenship and national identity; [in the sense that sports prowess reflects citizenship and national identity, yes]

(iv) ensure in its programmes and programme planning the participation of Maori and the presence of a significant Maori voice; [not really]

(v) feature programming that serves the varied interests and informational needs and age groups within New Zealand society, including tastes and interests not generally catered for by other national television broadcasters; [no, other broadcasters would be keen to carry the Olympics]

(vi) maintain a balance between programmes of general appeal and programmes of interest to smaller audiences; [arguable]

(vii) seek to extend the range of ideas and experiences available to New Zealanders; [no]

(viii) play a leading role in New Zealand television by setting standards of programme quality and encouraging creative risk-taking and experiment; [definitely not]

(ix) play a leading role in New Zealand television by complying with free-to-air codes of broadcasting practice, in particular any code with provisions on violence; [not relevant]

(x) support and promote the talents and creative resources of New Zealanders and of the independent New Zealand film and television industry. [absolutely not]

On balance then, sorry, but the Olympics just don’t stack up as a worthy recipient for Charter Funding.