Programmer John McCready has had a significant impact on the television industry in New Zealand. After extended time in music and radio he joined TVNZ in 1989 as Manager of Presentation and Promotion, just as TV3 came on air. The following year McCready became TVNZ's Director of Programming, and revamped both TV1 and TV2 over a four year period. After time overseas he became Director of Programming and Marketing at Sky TV. Before retiring in 2007, McCready successfully launched The Living Channel and Food TV on Sky.

In this ScreenTalk interview, McCready talks about:

• Getting into television by accident 
• Taking on fledgling TV3 as Director of Programming for TVNZ, and highlighting the differing branding of TVNZ's channels
• How changing TVNZ into a competitive venture was his biggest challenge
• Overseeing the beginnings of reality TV on New Zealand screens
• Being proud of his part in commissioning Shortland Street, and fighting internal opposition to cover Australian Rugby League
• Having to rethink his mindset when moving to Sky TV
• Why he launched Sky News in New Zealand
• The importance of reality television to the local TV production industry
• Needing public service TV to create good drama shows, and the unfortunate cancellation of the Nothing Trivial series
• What the future of TV is likely to be
• Looking back on a varied and interesting career — and one of his biggest regrets