Formerly | MediaWorks TV Limited (2004–2020) Discovery NZ Limited (2020–2022) |
---|---|
Company type | Subsidiary |
Industry | Media |
Founded | 2004 |
Headquarters | Auckland, New Zealand |
Area served | New Zealand |
Key people | James Gibbons (president) [1] |
Parent | Warner Bros. Discovery Asia-Pacific |
Divisions | Newshub [2] |
Website | discoverycorporate.co.nz |
Warner Bros. Discovery New Zealand is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery that operates several television channels in New Zealand. It operates five national free-to-air television channels, eight pay-TV channels on Sky, and the Newshub service.
It was formerly known as MediaWorks TV and operated as a subsidiary of MediaWorks New Zealand between 2004 and 2020. In 2019, MediaWorks announced that they were selling their television operations. In September 2020, Discovery, Inc. purchased MediaWorks TV with the acquisition being finalized on 1 December 2020. [3] [4] The subsidiary was subsequently rebranded as Discovery New Zealand. [5]
Three was founded as TV3 in 1989 after the Fourth Labour government allowed for a private television broadcaster. CanWest obtained TV3 between 1991 and 1997 after the National government loosened rules on foreign ownership. Under CanWest control, TV3 relaunched in March 1998 with a new brand and a 3 News bulletin hosted by John Campbell and Carol Hirschfeld.[ citation needed ]
MediaWorks TV was created in 2004, and owned TV3 and C4. In 2005, Hilary Barry & Mike McRoberts became the station's news anchors. TV3 staff also launched youth station TV4 in 1997, and replaced it with C4 on October 3, 2003. [6]
In 2009 the timeshift channel TV3 Plus 1 was launched. C4 2 was launched in 2010, then, when TV4 returned as FOUR taking over C4's Channel 4 position in early 2011, C4 converted C4 2 into a music show as it was moved to Freeview Channel 9. In 2014, timeshift channel Four Plus 1 was launched, and The Edge TV replaced C4.[ citation needed ]
In May 2016, MediaWorks and NBCUniversal Television Distribution entered into a joint venture and revamped FOUR as the new reality television channel Bravo. [7] [8] In August 2016, Michael Anderson was appointed as CEO of MediaWorks. [9]
In 2017, TV3 was rebranded as Three. On 15 April 2018, MediaWorks launched ThreeLife, a lifestyle channel. [10]
On 1 July 2019, The Edge TV moved exclusively online, and was replaced on TV by ThreeLife + 1. [11]
On 18 October 2019, it was announced that MediaWorks was intending to sell off their television division including Three, ThreeLife, and Bravo. MediaWorks also intends to sell its Flower Street head office and studios in Auckland's Eden Terrace. Several Three television programs and shows have also been canceled. Media commentator Bill Ralston has claimed that hundreds of jobs could be lost if a buyer is not found. [12] [13] [14]
ThreeLife and ThreeLife + 1 went off air on 26 March 2020. ThreeLife was replaced by The Edge TV. ThreeLife + 1 was replaced by a simulcast of The Breeze, then The Breeze TV on 16 April. [15]
On 25 May 2020, MediaWorks CEO Michael Anderson announced that the company would be eliminating 130 jobs in its sales, out-of-home, and radio divisions as a result of the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand. [16] [17] [18]
On 7 September 2020, MediaWorks confirmed that it would be selling its entire television arm including Three, Bravo, The Edge TV, The Breeze TV, streaming service ThreeNow, and current affairs service Newshub to Discovery, Inc. [3] [4] [19] [14] The acquisition of MediaWorks was finalised on 1 December 2020, with the subsidiary being rebranded as Discovery NZ Limited. [5]
On 27 April 2021, Discovery Inc. confirmed that it would be restructuring its business operations in Australia and New Zealand with the goal of incorporating Three, Bravo and Newshub into a single trans-Tasman organisation. Earlier in the month, Discovery announced that this new trans-Tasman organisation would be headed by two general managers, the Sydney –based Rebecca Kent and Glen Kyne in Auckland. Discovery had also separately acquired New Zealand's TopTV operations in 2019. [20]
On 13 May 2021, Newshub closed its Dunedin office as part of a restructuring of Discovery's business operations in Australia and New Zealand. Following the closure of the Dunedin newsroom, the network's South Island operations will consist of its Christchurch –based bureau as well as freelancers. [21] [22]
On 10 November 2021, it was announced that Choice TV would be rebranded as Gusto in March 2022. [23] However, shortly before launch the name Gusto was scrapped and changed to "eden" [24] in order to avoid confusion with the former TVNZ OnDemand food channel of the same name. The rebranded channel will retain most of Choice's programming, with the major additions of Newshub Live at 8pm, an extension of Discovery New Zealand's news brand Newshub, and more drama programming. [25] [26] [27] The channel will host British drama, game shows, and "intelligent" movies including Changing Rooms , Big Family Farm, Finding Alice , and a new local show called Great Southern Truckers.
A second channel called Rush will host "high energy shows" within the survival and adventure genres including Wheeler Dealers , Man vs. Wild , Street Outlaws and Treehouse Masters . Discovery also confirmed that its working on several local productions including MasterChef New Zealand , The Masked Singer NZ , Dancing with the Stars, Match Fit, Patrick Gower: On series, David Lomas Investigates, and 7 Days. [26] [27] In addition, Discovery also announced plans to launch a new Newshub Live at 8pm bulletin and AM Early show in 2022. [28]
On 8 April 2022, Discovery, Inc. acquired WarnerMedia from AT&T, with the two companies being merged into a new entity called Warner Bros. Discovery. [29] As a result, Discovery New Zealand and its assets Newshub and channel Three became part of the new media company. [30]
As a result, Discovery New Zealand was rebranded as Warner Bros. Discovery New Zealand. On 20 April 2022, World Rugby and Spark Sport announced that Warner Bros. Discovery NZ's channel Three would be the free-to-air broadcaster for the delayed Rugby World Cup 2021, held in New Zealand from 8 October to 12 November 2022. [31] [32]
On 28 February 2024, Warner Bros. Discovery announced a proposal to shutter the news division of Three, Newshub, permanently beginning 1 July. [33] 300 staff are expected to lose their jobs. The head of Warner Bros. Discovery Asia Pacific cited a significant decline in TV ad revenues as the key motivator for the decision. [34] Initial reactions of shock have been compounded by concerns over the effects this could have on media concentration in New Zealand, leaving the country with only two television news broadcasters, the state-owned 1 News and Whakaata Māori. [35]
On 10 April 2024, Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed that Newshub would air its final bulletin on 5 July 2024, resulting in about 300 job losses. The company rejected a staff proposal for a pared down news bulletin service. [36] [37] On 16 April 2024, Warner Bros. Discovery and newspaper company Stuff jointly confirmed that Stuff would produce 6pm news bulletins for Three, commencing 6 July. [38] Stuff publisher Sinead Boucher also confirmed that Stuff would hire several former Newshub staff (less than 40-50) to produce the 6pm bulletins. [39]
Ownership | Channel Year | 3 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 18 | Online only |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
TVWorks | 1989 | TV3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
1997 | TV4 | |||||||||
2003 | C4 | |||||||||
MediaWorks | 2004 | |||||||||
2009 | TV3 Plus 1 | |||||||||
2010 | C4 2 | |||||||||
2011 | Four | C4 | ||||||||
2014 | Four Plus 1 | The Edge TV | ||||||||
2016 | Bravo | Bravo Plus 1 | ||||||||
2017 | Three | ThreePlus1 | ||||||||
2018 | ThreeLife | The Edge TV | ||||||||
The Edge TV | — | |||||||||
2019 | ThreeLife + 1 | The Edge TV | ||||||||
Discovery | 2020 | The Edge TV | Breeze TV | — | ||||||
Warner Bros. Discovery | 2022 | Eden | — | ThreePlus1 | Rush | Eden+1 |
Three, Bravo, Eden and Rush are operated out of Auckland. Television advertising was sold by the MediaWorks offices in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Melbourne, Sydney and Hamilton. There were Newshub bureaus in the Three Headquarters in Auckland and MediaWorks offices in Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin, with news staff working out of other offices as needed.[ citation needed ] Three provided mature content, Newshub bulletins, current affairs and sport. The Edge TV launched in 2014 and broadcasts music videos and entertainment news.[ citation needed ] All are available via all digital platforms such as terrestrial, satellite and cable. TV3 and Four were the only ones previously available via analogue terrestrial on the VHF band before the 2013 switch-off. The Edge TV was added in 2018. Bravo and Bravo Plus 1 replaced Four and Four Plus 1 in 2016. [40] ThreeLife was added in 2018, and ThreeLife + 1 replaced The Edge TV on terrestrial in 2019. On 25 March 2020, ThreeLife went off air, and was replaced by The Edge TV, and its timeshift channel by Breeze TV. [15] In 2022, The Edge TV and Breeze TV went off air to make way for the new Rush, Eden and Eden+1 (timeshift) channels. [41]
Name | Freeview Channel | Sky Channel | Launched | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Three | 3 (13 - Plus1) | 3 (503 - Plus1) | 1989 | |
Bravo | 4 (9 - Plus 1) | 12 (512 - Plus 1) | 2016 | Co-owned with NBCUniversal. |
Eden | 8 (18 - Plus 1) | 13 (505 - Plus 1) | 2012 | Acquired by Discovery, Inc. in 2019. Known as Choice TV until 2022. |
Rush | 14 | 24 | 2022 | |
HGTV | 19 | 21 | 2016 | Acquired by Discovery, Inc. in 2019. |
Name | Launched | Closed | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Four | 1997 | 2016 | Formerly TV4. Replaced by C4 in October 2003. Relaunched as Four in February 2011. |
C4 | 2003 | 2014 | Replaced by The Edge TV. The first and final ever music video to air on C4 was The D4 - Exit To The City . |
C42 | 2010 | 2011 | Replaced by Four and converted to a music show for C4. |
The Edge TV | 2014 | 2022 | Extension of the MediaWorks-owned radio brand, The Edge. |
ThreeLife | 2018 | 2020 | ThreeLife and ThreeLife + 1 replaced by The Edge TV and Breeze TV respectively. |
Breeze TV | 2020 | 2022 | Extension of MediaWorks-owned radio brand, The Breeze. |
Name | Sky Channel | Launched | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
TLC | 16 | 2015 | |
Living | 17 | 2001 | Acquired by Discovery, Inc. in 2014. |
ID | 18 | 2021 | |
Discovery | 70 | 1994 | |
Discovery Turbo | 75 | 2015 | |
Animal Planet | 76 | 2003 | |
CNN | 87 | 1990 | Acquired from the merger of Discovery, Inc and WarnerMedia in 2022. |
Cartoon Network | 102 | 1997 | Acquired from the merger of Discovery, Inc and WarnerMedia in 2022. |
Name | Launched | Closed | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Food Network | 2005 | 2021 | Acquired by Discovery, Inc. in 2014. |
Newshub is a New Zealand news service that airs on TV channel Three and has articles on their website and app. The Newshub brand replaced 3 News service on the TV3 network and the Radio Live news service heard on MediaWorks Radio stations on 1 February 2016. [42] [43]
Website Name | Primary purpose |
---|---|
discoverycorporate.co.nz | Corporate website for various TV channels |
threenow.co.nz | On-demand service for Three, Bravo, Eden, Rush and HGTV |
newshub.co.nz | Global and New Zealand news content |
Website Name | Primary purpose |
---|---|
choicetv.co.nz | On-demand service for Choice TV |
hgtv.co.nz | On-demand service for HGTV |
Television New Zealand, more commonly referred to as TVNZ, is a television network that is broadcast throughout New Zealand and parts of the Pacific region. All of its currently-operating channels are free-to-air and commercially funded.
Sky Network Television Limited, more commonly known as Sky, is a New Zealand broadcasting company that provides pay television services via satellite, media streaming services, and broadband internet services. As of 31 December 2022, Sky had 1,023,378 residential television subscribers consisting of 517,003 satellite subscribers and 506,375 streaming subscribers. Additionally, Sky had 23,156 broadband customers. Despite the similarity of name, branding and services, such as Sky Go and MySky shared with its European equivalent, Sky Group, there is no connection between the companies.
Three, stylized as +HR=E, is a New Zealand nationwide television channel. Launched on 26 November 1989 as TV3, it was New Zealand's first privately owned television channel. The channel currently broadcasts nationally in digital free-to-air form via the state-owned Kordia on terrestrial and satellite. Vodafone also carries the channel for their cable subscribers in Wellington and Christchurch. It previously broadcast nationally on analogue television until that was switched off on 1 December 2013.
Discovery, Inc. was an American multinational mass media factual television conglomerate based in New York City. Established in 1982, the company operated a group of factual and lifestyle television brands, such as the namesake Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Science Channel, and TLC. In 2018, the company acquired Scripps Networks Interactive, adding networks such as Food Network, HGTV, and Travel Channel to its portfolio. Since the purchase, Discovery described itself as serving members of "passionate" audiences, and also placed a focus on streaming services built around its properties.
Sky Open is a New Zealand free-to-air television network. It airs a varied mix of programming, largely imported from Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Stuff Ltd is a privately held news media company operating in New Zealand. It operates Stuff, the country's largest news website, and owns nine daily newspapers, including New Zealand's second and third-highest circulation daily newspapers, The Post and The Press, and the highest circulation weekly, Sunday Star-Times. Magazines published include TV Guide, New Zealand's top-selling weekly magazine. Stuff also owns social media network Neighbourly.
Hilary Ann Barry is a New Zealand journalist and television personality who co-hosts Seven Sharp with Jeremy Wells on TVNZ 1. She was a newsreader on TV3 for many years and until 2016, presented the 6 pm Newshub show with Mike McRoberts. She also worked on the Paul Henry morning TV show since its launch, reading the news. Barry resigned from these roles in April 2016.
Newshub is a New Zealand news service that airs on the television channel Three, and on digital platforms. It also operated on radio stations run by MediaWorks Radio until December 2021.
Freeview is New Zealand's free-to-air television platform. It is operated by a joint venture between the country's major free-to-air broadcasters – government-owned Television New Zealand and Radio New Zealand, government-subsidised Whakaata Māori, and the American-owned Warner Bros. Discovery.
Dafydd Morgan "Dai" Henwood; born 7 February 1978) is a New Zealand stand-up comedian and television host. Henwood started performing comedy when he was studying Theatre and Film at Victoria University of Wellington. His career in television began in 1999 when he appeared on the TV2 comedy show Pulp Comedy. Henwood then went on to began touring internationally as a stand-up comedian in 2004 to then hosting the television show Insert Video Here on C4.
The mass media in New Zealand include television stations, radio stations, newspapers, magazines, and websites. Media conglomerates like NZME, Stuff, MediaWorks, Discovery and Sky dominate the media landscape. Most media organisations operate Auckland-based newsrooms with Parliamentary Press Gallery reporters and international media partners, but most broadcast programmes, music and syndicated columns are imported from the United States and United Kingdom.
MediaWorks New Zealand is a New Zealand-based company specialising in radio, outdoor advertising and interactive media. It is jointly owned by U.S. company Oaktree Capital Management and out-of-home advertising company QMS. It operates eight national radio brands, eleven websites and one locally operated radio station.
Duncan Garner is a New Zealand broadcaster and journalist.
Four was the second New Zealand television channel owned and operated by MediaWorks New Zealand, broadcast via the state-owned Kordia transmission network. The channel launched on 29 June 1997 as TV4 and was replaced by C4 on 3 October 2003. It was relaunched on 6 February 2011 as a separate channel from C4.
Eden is a privately owned, national free-to-air television channel in New Zealand and has been on air since 2012. The channel features programs on topics such as: lifestyle, news, travel, reality, movies, entertainment, comedy, game shows and drama.
The Edge TV was a New Zealand online streaming channel that was officially launched as a television channel on 27 June 2014 as an extension of The Edge radio brand, which is owned by MediaWorks New Zealand. In September 2020, MediaWorks sold The Edge TV along with its entire television arm to the United States multinational mass media company Discovery, Inc., with the acquisition being finalised in December 2020. MediaWorks still produces the content which is broadcast on frequencies owned by Discovery Inc. On 21 March 2022, The Edge TV returned to being an online-only streaming channel, alongside sister channel Breeze TV. Both The Edge TV and Breeze TV were closed in December 2022.
Bravo is a New Zealand television channel owned and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery and NBCUniversal International Networks, broadcast via the state-owned Kordia transmission network, Sky and on the website ThreeNow. The channel launched on 3 July 2016. Much like its American cable network counterpart, Bravo focuses on design, food, glamour and pop culture.
Breeze TV was a New Zealand music streaming channel that was launched by The Breeze radio station on 16 April 2020 as a replacement for MediaWorks New Zealand's former ThreeLife + 1 on channel 14. Breeze TV was launched alongside sister channel The Edge TV, which replaced ThreeLife on channel 11. On 1 December 2020, Discovery, Inc. acquired Breeze TV as part of its acquisition of MediaWorks' television operations. On 21 March 2022, Breeze TV became an exclusively online streaming channel, alongside sister channel The Edge TV. In December 2022, Breeze TV and The Edge TV ceased broadcasting.