THE Ever-Changing MEDIA LANDSCAPE

According to the JMAD New Zealand media ownership report for 2019, we are seeing the biggest structural changes to media in over a decade. RNZ’s restructuring of concert radio; the possible sale of Three to the Aussies; the sale of Lightbox to Sky and the broadcaster’s move towards paywall VOD services; newspaper paywalls at the NZ Herald – all significant moves in terms of media ownership and pay models contributing to a media landscape that is seeing more movement than New Zealand has earth tremors.

And that’s not even the full picture. Since the publication of the report, there has been even more movement; the possible merger of TVZN & RNZ into a super public broadcaster has be floated by Government; magazine publishing giant Bauer Media has terminated its New Zealand operations; Ovato New Zealand have announced a new publishing division; Neon and Lightbox are to merge and the sale of Stuff to Sinead Boucher for $1. Not to mention the many job losses the industry has seen as a result of these seismic shifts – and the Covid-19 climate.

With the help of industry insiders and experts we unpack the latest developments in New Zealand’s more traditional media – sometimes described as a rather fraught environment – as we question the future of advertising in media ownership in the country.

A FRAUGHT FIGHT?

This fraught environment is, however, nothing new. “There has been a decade of fraught in the New Zealand media, and it