Bonus for TVNZ staff as ad revenue rises

Television New Zealand staff are set to receive a $1000 bonus after the broadcaster reported a $5.1 million profit for the year ended in June. TVNZ screened 18 of the top 20 programmes in the period, with the 1 News election special Vote17 Leaders Debate rated the country’s most-watched programme. The result was an improvement on a $1.392m profit last year, following a massive uptick in its online streaming audience helping to generate advertising revenue. All permanent employees at the company who do not participate in a short-term incentive programme will get the windfall. Chief executive Kevin Kenrick said: ‘‘We don’t expect to repeat this level of profit growth in future years, but it has created a one-off opportunity for us to thank our people for their contribution and commitment to TVNZ’S success.’’ The company’s profits bounced back after TVNZ wrote $12m off the value of a contract it signed more than six years ago to buy Disney programming. The profit rise was also attributed to higher television and online advertising revenue and lower operational costs. Chairwoman Dame Therese Walsh said she was ‘‘incredibly proud’’ of the shift in momentum, particularly the jump in TVNZ’S online streaming footprint. A restructure last year that affected 30 jobs and led to the loss of 10 jobs has saved $2.8m, the company said in February. Kenrick said TVNZ reached 2 million Kiwis a day through TVNZ 1, 2, Duke, Ondemand, 1 News Now, its new child-friendly platform Heihei and social media content producer Re:, which reached 30 million video views in its first year. The company secured the rights to the America’s Cup for the next three years in late May, for what is understood to be more than $3m.