Television New Zealand Charter repealed

The dual mandate which shackled Television New Zealand (TVNZ) has been removed following the third reading of the Television New Zealand Amendment Bill tonight, says Broadcasting Minister Jonathan Coleman.

‘’The Bill replaces the current TVNZ charter with a less prescriptive list of functions and leaves the state broadcaster free to concentrate on being a successful television company without the constraints of an unrealistic dual mandate,’’ Dr Coleman says.

The other core purpose of the TVNZ Amendment Bill allows the rescreening of TVNZ’s archived pre-1989 television programmes and to provide a process for compensatory payments to individuals with an interest in the works when the archived programmes are rescreened.

‘’The removal of the Charter will have little impact on what is shown on the screen. TVNZ will still screen content of relevance to a broad cross section of New Zealanders, and they will still screen high levels of New Zealand content.

‘’At the same time, TVNZ will have the flexibility it needs to effectively pursue commercial objectives, and to continue its transition from a traditional broadcaster to a multi-platform digital media company with diverse income streams and services.’’