ScreenTalk

Fascinating. I'm out of the loop here in the uk so might have it wrong but it seems:

first TVNZ decide they can make money by selling archival TV to sky, ignoring freeview. They have to make money cause the Government wants TVNZ to stand on its own two feet.

Then the government come up with a bill to maximise the money that can be made from this commercial venture by ensuring TVNZ will have the right to use older material, irrespective of the contracts in effect at the time the shows were made, with provision for a standard payment to producers. So the government will be using their power to reduce the commercal cost of operating Heartland

Do we know if TVNZ specifically asked for this Sky Discount legislation, or did it just pop into the Minister's head?

It seems like they're gearing up to sell off TVNZ, not a big surprise, but it would be a tragedy to have our archives in foreign hands!

TVNZ Archives should be retained in NZ ownership, it's our culture, our screen heritage - keep it local!

AnneMcLaughlin wrote

It seems like they're gearing up to sell off TVNZ, not a big surprise, but it would be a tragedy to have our archives in foreign hands!

TVNZ Archives should be retained in NZ ownership, it's our culture, our screen heritage - keep it local!

I've purchased some old school material from the Archive (network idents and openers) and as a budding archivst of said material I would not want to see the likes of Gliding On or McPhail & Gadsby owned by foreign interests and I'd say the Aussie's would see this as a great opportunity to take over.

Submissions to this bill are due by 17 July 2010. See here for details. 

Hi. Please find our Resources and Notes from the Broadcasting Landscape Forum the Screen Directors Guild held in April on our website. Find this under the 'Submissions' section on our 'About' page: http://www.sdgnz.co.nz/about.asp

The latest copy of our publication Take magazine also has a number of articles that discuss the issues of public broadcasting. Please contact us if you would like to purchase a copy. You can view the contents and read the article by Peter Thompson on our website: http://www.sdgnz.co.nz/take.asp

Click here to hear part of our submission to the Commerce Select committee on Thursday 26th - Teresa Shreves doing a sterling job of presenting our position to the committee.  

Note you have to get through a couple of minutes of other news first.

The report has now been released from the Commerce Committee. You can find it here.  We'd be interested in your thoughts!

This Bill has now had its first reading in Parliament. Read more here. 

The Bill passed tonight with a vote of 64-56.

So, can we expect an avalanche of archive TV screenings on free to air chanels and DVD, or will the New Zealand public need to go and subscribe to Sky etc to see NZ's broadcasting history?

Darren Schroeder wrote

So, can we expect an avalanche of archive TV screenings on free to air chanels and DVD, or will the New Zealand public need to go and subscribe to Sky etc to see NZ's broadcasting history?

Not judging by what Jonathan Coleman said on the night the bill went through, and I quote:

"The Māori Television Service currently has arrangements with TVNZ regarding the use of material held in the archive. I am aware of how invaluable this material has been for Māori Television. Section 29C, inserted by clause 10, permits TVNZ to make archived works, covered by the scheme, available to the Māori Television Service. It does not in any way supersede the existing arrangements between TVNZ and Māori Television in respect of wider access to material in the TVNZ archive. Similarly, TVNZ will be able to enter into an arrangement with New Zealand On Screen in respect of a work previously screened by TVNZ or Māori Television."