Now 68 job cuts loom at TVNZ

Update 9 am Thursday: TVNZ has announced 68 job cuts across its business by next month. “Unfortunately, we’re now at the point where we need to reduce the size of our team to bring our costs more in line with our revenue,” said chief executive Jodi O’Donnell. Detailed consultation with staff now starts Friday. The Sunday current affairs programme of almost 20 people appears to be first up with a proposal to change their roles being discussed from 9 am.

A week after the closure of Newshub was announced, with up to 300 jobs at risk, TVNZ is about to call staff together to outline business restructure plans for its news and current affairs operation.

News and current affairs employees are expected to hear from 9am on Thursday at the company’s network headquarters on Victoria St in Auckland or across the country the details of a plan approved by its new chief executive and board.

One source told Newsroom staff had informally been alerted to expect “a world of pain”.

Among the changes, it’s possible popular and longstanding shows like Fair Go and Sunday could somehow be proposed for changes, with possible team mergers.

RNZ’s Checkpoint reported on Wednesday evening that the flagship 1 News at 6 pm could be cut from a one hour to 30 minute show.

The company reported last year it employed a total of 770 people but that has reportedly fallen already by 10 percent.

TVNZ announced an operating loss of $4.6m last Friday, widening to $16.7m from an impairment charge of $12.2m, promising there would be a need for cost cuts to help put its finances right.

Its total revenue was down 13.5 percent in 2023 from 2022, to around $156m. About four-fifths of the business’ income is from advertising.

On Wednesday afternoon a TVNZ spokesperson declined to confirm a Thursday all-staff meeting but said:

“We’ve been upfront with TVNZers that we will need to reduce our headcount to meet the immediate revenue challenges facing the business.

“We also need to develop a more sustainable operating model to take us into a digital future. 

“We will always take our people through proposed changes first, and I don’t have a comment to make on the timing or details of any business restructuring at this stage.”

A spokesperson later told 1News no all-staff meeting had been scheduled as of last night.

It’s understood news and current affairs staff would be told on Thursday afternoon by email whether they were individually affected by the announcements from the all-staff presentation in the morning.

And on Friday a series of meetings are planned at the heaquarters to advance the proposal with those affected.

The possibility of substantial reductions in the number of journalists at 1 News would heighten community and political concern at a potentially sudden hollowing out of news organisations charged with public interest journalism.

Newshub owner Warner Bros. Discovery announced on February 28 that it intends to close its entire news operation, including almost all news and current affairs shows and bring to an end 35 years of TV3 and Newshub journalism on air and online.

Staff have been given until the week after next to consult with executives on the closure proposal. One group of journalists and advisers has said publicly it hopes to investigate options to keep the Newshub brand and journalism alive beyond the June 30 WBD deadline.

WBD said it had not found it possible to make news a viable business option.

TVNZ’s problems come in part from the same direction – the constant and sharp reduction in audiences for free-to-air television, and reductions in the advertising revenue delivered can no longer cover the substantial fixed costs of big television news operations.

TVNZ told Parliament’s economic development select committee last month in a submission on the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill that its team of 270 news and current affairs staff produced around 240 news stories a day, around the country and world.

“It’s an expensive business,” the head of news and current affairs Phil O’Sullivan said. “Huge overseas companies like Google, $1.8 trillion companies, earning $77 billion in the last three months of their financial year, are taking our content. It’s simply not a level playing field.”

He added, presciently: “This is a really big fight for survival for us.”

O’Sullivan said more senior journalists were leaving the profession and that was a real concern for TVNZ.

“With less journalists, there’ll be less oversight of people in power. There’ll be less ability for us to cover stories of great importance for the population of this country.”

In a statement of intent published at Parliament last year, the company had warned of five years of cost cuts: “In response to the changing nature of the NZ media industry, TVNZ will continue to review all areas of its business to identify efficiencies and ensure a sustainable business.”

It will “manage change with transparency, respect and support for individuals in order to meet the changing needs of the company”.

TVNZ told Parliament it was responding by immediate cost cuts across the business and had made “cost transformation a key workstream” in a five-year change plan known as Horizons.