New Zealand’s government is backing a bid for free-TV rights

Financial support has been pledged by the National Government for a joint TVNZ/TV3 bid for free-to-air rights to the Rugby World Tournament.
New Zealand’s government is backing a bid for free-TV rights for the 2011 Rugby World Cup that rivals an existing bid that is being backed by one of its own departments.

But government department Te Puni Kokiri (the Ministry of Maori Development) is already backing a bid by Maori TV, to the tune of NZ$3 million.

Maori TV’s bid has attracted criticism, ostensibly because the broadcaster only reaches 90% of the country in its analogue format (although it is available across all of the country via the now well-established Freeview digital-satellite platform). And NZ’s prime minister John Key said that ensuring as many New Zealanders as possible could watch the tournament was the rationale behind the government’s pledge to the TVNZ/TV3 bid. Both TVNZ and TV3 are available via free-to-air UHF signals across the whole country.

But the National Party’s involvement has drawn criticism from the Maori Party, whose co-leader Pita Sharples is the Minister of Maori Affairs. Sharples said the government’s move was “unfair” and only served to pit two public broadcasters against each other.