TVNZ has responded, saying it is working hard on growing digital revenue while managing costs and expects to be back in profit this financial year. It says it undertakes a dividend assessment each year.

In the opening episode of the new weekly Media Insider podcast, Goldsmith also reiterated his desire to see RNZ place more focus on rebuilding its radio audience reach and trust levels.

RNZ has fallen from being the radio market leader in 2020 to eighth today. RNZ National’s total cumulative audience has dropped from a peak of 703,048 to 467,700 today.

Goldsmith said RNZ had done a good job in building its digital engagement.

“Yes, you can have an app which a lot of people read and engage with and use the material that RNZ is developing, but they should never lose sight of the fact that the core business is having live radio and doing that well in a competitive environment.”

He said could never interfere with RNZ editorial decisions, “but as a shareholding minister, I am interested in the performance of the organisation and there are a couple of really core measures”.

“Are people listening, and how they are competing, and then secondly, the broad issue of trust and how does the general public feel about their trustworthiness as a source?”

Goldsmith also discusses other industry issues, including the progress of his media reforms and the state of the industry generally.

TVNZ performance, dividend

TVNZ, like most commercial media companies, has been through the wringer over the past 18 months, with a big drop in advertising revenue.

It posted an after-tax loss of $85 million for the 12 months to June 30, 2024, including a non-cash impairment of $62.1m.

TVNZ posted a first-half operating profit of $11.8 million for the six months ended December 31 – a positive sign the state broadcaster is on track with its digital transformation.

This came after a challenging year which saw the loss of dozens of staff and top-rating shows such as Sunday and Fair Go.

While TVNZ is a Crown-owned entity and does not receive taxpayer funding (its revenue comes from advertising), it has not returned a dividend to the Crown since 2022.

“They’re actually making some progress,” said Goldsmith, who received a Treasury report on TVNZ’s performance in April.

That report has not yet been made public.

“Last year and the year before, they were in terrible ways,” Goldsmith told the Media Insider podcast.

“They were losing money hand over fist, as well as losing audience, and, like all the sectors of the media, they are struggling with much more competition for advertising revenue, compounded with a cyclical downturn.

“So they’re making some progress but they’ve still got a long way to go.

“They’re also wanting to make big investments in digital, which fundamentally is important. If you want to stay in the game, you’ve got to keep making those investments.

“Ultimately, as shareholders, we’re looking at it and saying we would like to have a dividend eventually.

“This is meant to be a commercial company that returns money to its owner, the Crown.

“That is the ongoing sort of tension for us, and so we’re pushing them hard to get that performance improved. It’s still a long way to go.”

Goldsmith praised the work that had gone into TVNZ+ and said a lot of New Zealanders still tuned into TVNZ.

Goldsmith was sure there was a range of views within the coalition Government as to why the state still owned TVNZ.

But he countered that: “Why do we own it? Fundamentally, we want to ensure that there’s a plurality of voices in the journalistic landscape. TVNZ is an important part of that.

“Also, we have an interest in seeing New Zealand’s stories and entertainment available to us.

“TVNZ still has a very large audience. People have got a world of choice, of course … but I think there’s still a place for them and they do a good job.

“They’ve had to really change. I’ve been pleased to see over the last couple of years … they’ve really [been] getting their cost structure into a reasonable shape. [They’ve] still got more work to do but ultimately, to be successful, people need to be watching them and they also need to be producing good local material as well as bringing in stuff that people enjoy seeing.”

On the dividend specifically, Goldsmith said it was hoped it would be back within two to three years: “I wouldn’t be banking on it immediately … certainly my strong challenge to the board is we need to see a path to getting back to paying a dividend.”

TVNZ responds

While TVNZ warned in February that it might still fall into an operational loss for the full year – partly because of continuing challenging economic conditions and the requirement to invest in new technology -the company appeared to be more upbeat in a response to Goldsmith’s comments yesterday.

“We’ve worked hard to grow digital revenues and manage our cost base,” said a spokeswoman.

“We anticipate our full year result being at the higher end of what was signalled to the market and in the black. We’re confident about our future and our ability to deliver our 2030 Digital+ strategy.

“We undergo a dividend assessment every year, this year will be no different. TVNZ paid a dividend in FY22 of $15 million, and we look forward to being in that position again soon.”

TVNZ had 601 staff last July, at the start of its financial year. That number is now believed to be down to about 550. The broadcaster had about 730 staff two years ago.

Watch Media Insider – The Podcast on YouTube, or listen to it on iHeartRadio, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.