Maori TV has 0.3% viewing
June 30th, 2005 at 7:24 am by David FarrarMaori TV has gone out of its way not to release ratings in a comparable way to other studios (actual number of people watching particular programmes) but even their best case figures of 14,200 viewers a day is 0.3% of New Zealanders only 2.5% of Maori.
Now I actually believe that Maori language is one area where it is appropriate the Government provide some funding. But the question is whether Maori TV is the best way to do it. $25 million a year is a lot of money, for what appears to be very few viewers.
No tag for this post.
June 30th, 2005 at 7:43 am
As I understand it (and this may be successful guvmint propaganda), it matters little how many people watch it as long as we help them do it. It’s our responsibility under the Treaty. Something niggles at me that we don’t have a choice because it’s legislated and everything.
Anyway, view it as another way to keep people off the fole and it’s another great success.
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 7:55 am
As I understand it (and this may be successful guvmint propaganda), it matters little how many people watch it as long as we help them do it. It’s our responsibility under the Treaty. Something niggles at me that we don’t have a choice because it’s legislated and everything.
Anyway, view it as another way to keep people off the fole and it’s another great success.
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 8:01 am
SBS in Oz is a great example of station that started with few subscribers, on govt. money, but has grown into one of the most interesting stations, especially interms of decent, independent news.
mind you, it took a few years to get there, but hey we can hope.
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 8:22 am
Does anyone know what coverage Maori tv has? I have not tried to tune it as yet because I have no reliable access to UHF (is it? I can’t get Prime either…).
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 8:25 am
Quite right Belt. We don’t want too many little brown pegasi running around the place. I think Maori TV has been a wonderful investment by Labour in the future of the Maori Party. I’m surprised they haven’t been spinning ths as a reason for MP supporters to vote labour.
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 8:35 am
I hope Maori TV gets hijacked by the Maori party the way state tv has been hijacled by the Labour Party and let us see what commitment Labour has to maori TV. Not much I suspect. With them it is politics first middle and last nothing elst matters, not even maori TV.
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 8:41 am
Is that $25m an annual running costs figure? If so, 14200 viewers per day works out to $4.82 per viewer per day. or, $33.67 per viewer per week. Probably not the best value! If the $25m is not an annual figure, then please ignore this post
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 8:44 am
Viewer numbers would be less than 2.5% of Maori – I’m sure I’m not the only “non-maori” to tune in occassionally (even if it is just to check out the latest racist propaganda spewing forth).
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 8:49 am
the $25m is annual , although I suspect if you fish deeper it may be more, according to this years budget MTS get $11.5M direct, and there is an additional allocation in the Maori Affairs budget for $40m for ” the promotion of Maori language and culture through television broadcasting” ie money given to other groups to make programmes, which one might expect to be shown on Maori TV…
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 8:55 am
In principle I support Maori TV but I always thought that in the fast changing world of broadcasting a seperate channel would not be viable. Using this money for Maori programming to play on regular channels might have been a better bet.
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 8:57 am
Thirt three bucks a week for Bro TV? Not bad eh? Cheaper than Sky too. Oh shit, hang on, only one bloody channell!
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 9:02 am
I’m with Che. I like Maori TV & watch it now & then (more than I would watch say, TV2).
They have some interesting movies on ow & then which I otherwise wouldn’t get a chance to see (often concerning indigenous peoples of other countries).
I hope it flourishes & I don’t begrudge any NZ on Air money that goes its way.
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 9:15 am
ditto to llew.
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 9:18 am
Che made the comment SBS is popular in Australia, and I agree it shows a diverse and substantially different type of program than mainstream TV.
It promotes itself more of a “world TV”, with a range of foreign programmes, local low budget, and indigenous fare.
That might be the way forward for Maori TV – to let Maori programs dominate, but throw in a bit of diversity to support a range of cultures and up and coming indy type efforts.
It might double its viewer base overnight!
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 9:30 am
I wrote to the Minister to get answers – all I got was parakuraism’s in code – initially they tried to put costs onto me to anser the questions – I asked them if they wanted to debate the matter with the Ombudsman – also add in the capital invested, and contributions by stealth. Many millions more.
these viwing figures are for people who tune in for 8 minutes or more – so if someone tunes into the end of a Billy T James show (I think they show 20 + year old reruns then this is a huge waste of money. It would have been much better to “buy time ” on Gummint TV. They other question is how many different people tune in regurlarly and watch for example whole programes(as opposed to the reported 14,000 per day tuning in for 8 minutes.)
I do not know anyone who has watched the Maori TV but there must be far more effective and cost effective ways of getting the maori language to the people who want to learn it.
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 9:54 am
“but throw in a bit of diversity to support a range of cultures and up and coming indy type efforts.”
ZenTiger – that, indeed, is what they do.
Peter McKeefry… I’m feeling a sense of de ja vu…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/timelines/wales/television_channel.shtml
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 10:52 am
Nats are just bashing maori tv in principle. Too many brown faces on tv, next they’ll want political representation and to participate in power sharing, can’t have that.
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 11:09 am
I have to say that I totally disagree with those being upset at the cost.
Vote:I believe that Maori TV is not only the best way to extend the language and culture it is the most cost effective. i have been impressed with the programming. Yes production values leaves something to be desired in some cases, however the budgets for shows are very small by industry standards. And if we compare for instance the money TVNZ gets for amount of viewers, I think you’ll find Maori TV running about 50% more cost effective (Include revenue and it becomes a joke!)
And then compare what MTV is meant to achieve against what TVNZ achieves against the charter and TVNZ becomes a joke.
June 30th, 2005 at 11:15 am
Also I think you find that most right thinking Nats support MTV. We have nothing to fear from it. Lab does
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 11:48 am
Is it the best way to extend Maori language and culture? If no one watches it then the money is a waste and would be better spent on projects that do effectively promote these goals. I’m skeptical that TV can do this but if there is evidnce to show that it does then fair enough. But I’d like to see the evidence.
As for SBS many conservatives see it is state subsidised liberal nonsense so it’s not a great comparison.
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 12:05 pm
llew, thanks for the info. Sounds sensible. I’d be embarassed by my ignorance, but given that I rarely watch TV, I don’t feel so silly.
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 12:07 pm
Sock thief in Wales they found in the beginning that a lot of radicals tried to (and in fact did to some extent succeeded) in hi-jacking Wales TV However in the long term it provided for a huge increase in the use of the native language. (dont have exact figures with me but remember seeing them in 1992 and being impressed.)
Vote:It is really sad that we do not read as much as we used to and that the trend is now education by audio visual.
As you can see from my posts English is not my first language (not even second) so I have a grasp of languages to a small extent. And watching MTV has helped me no end to understanding and learning Te Reo. (long way to go yet)
Teaching a language is not and never will be the purpose of a broadcaster, but in today’s climate where our lives are more and more influenced by multimedia, it certainly has a place.
June 30th, 2005 at 12:17 pm
llew, thanks for the info. Sounds sensible. I’d be embarassed by my ignorance, but given that I rarely watch TV, I don’t feel so silly.
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 1:07 pm
Wasn’t there a guy with the expensive underpants that was to do with the previous incarnation of Moari Television, who was a drinker from the National trough?
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 1:14 pm
That was a radio station.
And Zen, forgive me, I wasn’t implying you are ignorant.
Maori TV does have some programming that isn’t Maori-centric, particularly (I’ve noticed, sometimes after they’ve screened, worst luck), some notable movies about other indigenous cultures (Inuit, Aboriginal & Native American if memory serves) that I’ve wanted to see for a while & wouldn’t otherwise get the chance.
Pretty sure thay have some good documentaries too.
As I writethis, I realise I don;t watch it enough.
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 1:51 pm
I reckon that MTS is more likly to cause another Maaori rennaisance than a hundred Wanangas………
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 2:24 pm
I think Maori TV is a great idea. I also think Chinese TV is a great idea. The only difference is that the Chinese TV stations in this country are self-funded. Why should my tax dollars pay for something I will never watch nor benefit from? Maori TV should be funded from a trust by iwi, advertising and private individuals, not by the government.
Ditto for funding Maori language. It’s obvious many many New Zealanders care deeply about its viability. Why don’t they put their money where their mouths are instead of taking mine?
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 2:41 pm
When I went to school in the 70′s evreyone had to do Maori as part of the curriculum… it was great fun as a kid! I believe it’s something we should still do… so the concept of Maori television doesn’t offend me. But let’s face it Maori TV is dull.. no one’s watching it because it’s so unwatchable… most the time when i flick it on all I see is a photo of a fisherman and some weather stats. There’s better ways to get people, particularly kids interested in our culture. If Maori TV goes then I won’t be crying
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 3:23 pm
It was designed to fail and so has done quite well considering:
The govt. knee-capped the network by refusing to buy a distressed TV4 from Canwest. (Could have been TV Wha) in return fro two radio frequencies in Auckland. Why? They wanted to the bolster state-owned transmitter, BCL’s revenue and (much like Canwest itself) did not understand the value of a product that was automatically No. 4 in every household. Opportunities pissed away on many levels here.
Governance is through an electoral college system and the usual hard-liners who don’t like subtitles have won that war. Only a few programmes have English subtitles – immediately limiting the entire stated excercise of increasing language availability and familiarity.
Having acknowledged those major faults their are some good programmes (Gerry) apart from Kia Time: On the Road, including overseas documentaries and movies about indigenous people/dealing with the residue of British colonialism. The debate programme is often humourous. The Aunties are so good (Agony Aunt panel) as a unit and a concept they should not be given the ratings death slot against the news. Coast is about as good as you’ll get as far as live entertainment goes, if a little too amateur night at the Kings Arms for me to appreciate.
I think you will find if the viewer rates are derived from the AC Nielsen peoplemeters they are unreliable to start with as there are only about 600 in the whole country. They would tend to under-represent Maori viewers from what I’ve heard about who gets to have one.
The service is one year old, and even the million dollar man is having the shite kicked out of him outside of the big three.
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 3:52 pm
I know where you’re coming from Whig, I demanded that NZ on Air only fund those shows that I watch & sent them a very short list. The bastards have yet to get back to me.
AND I’ve canvassed TVNZ to please stop wasting our money on crappy overseas programmes! Leave that to CanWest, Prime & Sky in my opinion.
But seriously…
There are Chinese channels available? How do I tune in?
Yeah, I wonder if anyone’s surveyed Sky patrons to see what they watch – that’s where I catch Maori TV. Most things I seem to catch are either in English or are subtitled. Can’t think of one that wasn’t actually. But then I’m not constantly viewing.
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 4:07 pm
3% is 3% more than the finance minister will get tonight.
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 5:04 pm
Whig: “Why should my tax dollars pay for something I will never watch nor benefit from?”
Indeed, indeed! In fact, I haven’t needed a policeman in decades, why are my taxes being siphoned off for these tossers? I’ve certainly never ever needed an army, and yet these commos in govt keep handing my hard-earned cash over for one. And look at these bloody roads all over the place that I never drive on! It’s the world’s greatest ripoff!
T. Selwyn: “Governance is through an electoral college system and the usual hard-liners who don’t like subtitles have won that war. Only a few programmes have English subtitles – immediately limiting the entire stated excercise of increasing language availability and familiarity.”
Vote:Spot on. The whole point is to promote the Maori language. I hardly speak any Maori, so the only way I’m going to learn any from Maori TV is if they include subtitles. If they don’t, it’s just a luxury TV service for the small number of fluent speakers. I’m with Whig when it comes to paying for that.
June 30th, 2005 at 5:09 pm
Yes! In fact, the money we save from canning Maori TV, roading, police, defence, and overseas programmes, could obviously go towards tax cuts!
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 7:47 pm
“SBS in Oz …has grown into one of the most interesting stations, especially interms of decent, independent news.”
Indpendent news from SBS? ABC is bad enough, but SBS news is so far left of the ABC in that it is mind-boogling. Ditto all their anti-war documentaries as well.
Apart from their news/current affairs, SBS is quite good and does serve a niche market. They have foreign language news, a lot of sport, particularly soccer, but also the rights to the Ashes this year & always shows the Tour de France. They also show a number of good foreign movies with English subtitles.
Maori TV should be replaced by something like SBS. I have no problem with the new channel showing 2-3 hours of Maori programming a day, but is it really necessary to have 7-8 hours a day when virtually noone is watching.
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 8:27 pm
Argh! after reading all the posts I realise Zentiger was also making the same point.
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 10:23 pm
Jay: It’s worth making the point a few times. Saves me double posting
Llew: No offence taken.
Whilst I could easily support the slash and burn approach to government spending – ie not fund Maori TV!,
I can see the need to get it off the ground and give it a chance to build up a viewer base. Some seed money, with a formula to match government dollar to advertising/IWI dollar, and have a cap on that, plus a time limit (5 years?). Sink or swim.
As taxes go down, funding for fringe stuff like this can also go down, sending the message that those groups who want to see it, can put in for it.
In return, a bit of commitment from Maori TV to make time slots available to slot in other shows from our minority groups, who might get limited funding in the same way.
Vote:June 30th, 2005 at 10:40 pm
You are correct about SBS in Oz… it is by all accounts a stunning independant channel.. and have oddles of docos and debates and foregn stuff…SBS Oz is world-reknown for its language translation services.. and whatever you interest… you will find it on SBS at some stage… There’s also lots of independant political stuff from around the globe… it’s on news often, I believe, rivals ABC. Plus, that don’t have the Wiggles! Hava look: http://www.sbs.com.au
Vote:July 1st, 2005 at 2:08 am
I with Che too- SBS is a little beauty! Has Maori TV aired SBS’s ripper of a show called “bush Mechanics”? Hilarious and very clever on a very low budget.
Um, on topic– I heard the CEO or whatever of Maori TV on Nat Rad say that most viewers are Pakeha (and that’s spelt with a capital P, fellas, have some pride)
Vote:July 1st, 2005 at 2:09 am
I with Che too- SBS is a little beauty! Has Maori TV aired SBS’s ripper of a show called “bush Mechanics”? Hilarious and very clever on a very low budget.
Um, on topic– I heard the CEO or whatever of Maori TV on Nat Rad say that most viewers are Pakeha (and that’s spelt with a capital P, fellas, have some pride)
Vote:July 1st, 2005 at 11:14 am
I think they must be airing Bush Mechanics – someone was telling me about it just last night.
Vote:July 1st, 2005 at 3:56 pm
The government must fund the police and the military because these are essential to the security and survival of the people and the nation, and therefore paying tax for them is justified.
TV is not essential to anything.
There is no rational, practical or moral reason why the state should own or fund any television at all, let alone Maori TV.
And to do so at a time when crime victims are sent a taxi after calling the police for help, when our defense forces are incapable of defending the nation, and when people are dying on health waiting lists is obscene and utterly unjustified.
The next government should sell off TVNZ, Maori TV, National Radio and any other braodcasting assets it has and use the money to fund genuinely essential services and tax cuts.
There are lots of things I like to watch that are not on mainstream television. I buy them off the net on DVD with my own money. Expecting someone else to pay for them would be selfish in the extreme.
Vote:July 1st, 2005 at 4:03 pm
“most viewers are Pakeha (and that’s spelt with a capital P, fellas, have some pride)”
I do have pride. Im a European New Zealander. Pakeha is a Mori word, and I am not Maori. I have no problem with Maori calling me Pakeha, but I object to being told be liberal elites that I should reject my own culture and heritage and accept a name that has no meaning and no cultural relevance for me.
Vote:July 1st, 2005 at 4:36 pm
Oh Shawn… take your hands off it. No-one’s suggesting you reject your own imported culture, and you say “Liberal Elite” like its a bad thing.
Vote:July 1st, 2005 at 5:07 pm
“No-one’s suggesting you reject your own imported culture,”
Actually yes they are. I have heard enough from the multi-culti crowd to know what they are saying and what they want. Every time we here some pc liberal-leftist claiming we should reject the British Anglo/Celtic heritage that this nation was founded on in favour of some amorphous “Pacific” identity thats exactly what they are saying. And pushing European New Zealanders to call themselves Pakeha is just part of the process.
“and you say “Liberal Elite” like its a bad thing.”
Not at all. Bad would be far to mild a term to use. Evil, dispicable, gutless and monumentally stupid would be closer.
Vote:July 1st, 2005 at 5:15 pm
Any culture that has been here for well over one hundred years, and that has been the primary culture for as long, cannot reasonably be called “imported”. The very use of that word is an example of pc liberal-left propaganda, and an example of its essential dishonesty.
Vote:July 1st, 2005 at 6:07 pm
SBS is ok, it has John Safran and Fat Pizza, both fucking awesome shows. Unfortunately, it is also the place you will find “documentaries” on the evils of Walmart, McDonalds, the CIA’s secret past, American hegemony and wanky revisionist “history” programs about Wiccans, treating the current ones as the direct descendants of the original.
Vote:July 1st, 2005 at 6:55 pm
Sounds a lot like the BBC, the worlds greatest distributer of Arab Fascist propaganda.
Vote:July 2nd, 2005 at 3:48 am
The Arabs couldn’t teach Shawn anything about Fascism…
Vote:July 3rd, 2005 at 1:22 am
“The Arabs couldn’t teach Shawn anything about Fascism…”
On the contrary, I have always opposed socialism in any form, including its fascist versions.
Vote:July 25th, 2005 at 9:55 am
Just for informations sake, MTS is not eligible for funding from NZ on Air.
Eligibility requires the broadcaster to have a footprint/reachability of 90% of the country’s population via UHF. MTS only reaches around 80% of the nation via UHF, which automatically precludes them from NZ on Air funds, limiting them to the crumbs of contestable funds (those monies that ALL broadcasters can apply for) swept off the Te Mangai Paho table that aren’t scooped up by the mainstreamers – of which TVNZ gets the most.
Vote: