Boom boom.
Robertson was not the only newcomer under scrutiny on Saturday evening – Stuff’s arrival in the traditional 6pm TV news market has been one of the most anticipated and scrutinised media plays of the past five years, arising from the ashes of Newshub.
And the hot-take verdict after the first night? Slick, pacey, clean – and somewhat safe.
Stuff and Warner Bros Discovery will have every right to be pleased about opening night – a smooth debut, the half-hour weekend format ensuring a compact and engaging menu.
Laura Tupou took the newsreading reins for the bulletin, not missing a beat – it’s easy to see why she’s held in high regard.
In fact, there was only one discernible production bug and that was before the bulletin got under way – a news promo during an ad break was played without sound. They’d sorted that by the time the bulletin started at 6pm.
Three News’ top two stories – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s visit to Wairoa to announce more flood relief and the latest from the UK election – were safe bets, and some might argue a little too conservative in terms of story selection.
Perhaps understandably, this was not the night the producers wanted to experiment with one of the bulletin’s two exclusive stories up front – experienced television journalist Paula Penfold’s probe into a probation officer and weekday newsreader and journalist Samantha Hayes’ piece on a reformed gang member.
Over at TVNZ, the pace was measured. They had a stronger lead – an Yvonne Tahana piece on money laundering concerns – but that story was still going by the time Three News was on to its third item.
Sports journalist Gordon Findlater led the liveliest item of the Three News bulletin, with a live cross to Tupou from the All Blacks test build-up in Dunedin, and there were dashes of cross-promotion with Stuff – Penfold’s story was released simultaneously on its website while a Stuff quiz question led into a television ad break.
In all, there were fewer than a dozen stories in the bulletin but on a busy sports-focused Saturday night, do viewers really need more than that?
As many commentators have opined in recent weeks, this is a potentially make-or-break move from Stuff. It is an undoubtedly audacious and risky move.
Some television experts have questioned whether a digital publishing company has the skillset to produce consistently excellent bulletins, with high production values.
Based on tonight’s opening bulletin, it clearly can – the challenge now is to do it day in, day out. That includes a full hour-long bulletin on weekdays.
The bigger question remains around the business model.
Warner Bros Discovery is paying Stuff a flat annual fee – understood to be $6 million-$8 million – when other players with substantially more broadcast experience were seeking more. Only Stuff executives will know if they have the margins right – it will be likely a fine balance.
The first of the ratings will emerge in the next few days – they will give us a better understanding of how much interest there is in the new-look proprietor. The more interesting ratings will be those in a month’s time, once audience patterns and interest have settled.
For now, the first bulletin is out of the way – a safe and successful opening.
Scott Robertson will be hoping for a similarly good opening night.
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.
