State-owned TVNZ posts $16.8m loss
‘‘TVNZ is building a future beyond broadcast television and today’s results show the need for us to make this transition faster.’’
Jodi O’Donnell Chief executive
TVNZ has reported a $16.8 million loss for the six months to December 13, compared to a $4.8m profit for the same period the previous year.
The result, which follows the announcement of television news rival Newshub’s closure, included an impairment of $12.2m.
The state-owned broadcaster said the result was impacted by declines in advertising.
A challenging trading environment has seen a significant reduction in television advertising revenue, while digital revenue continues to increase year-on-year.
Total revenue of $155m was down 13.5% from the previous year.
Operational expenses of $155.7m were $10.7m lower, as the business cut its costs in response to falling revenue.
This was achieved primarily through a reduction in content expenditure, as well as savings in marketing spend and other overheads.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and fair value movements (ebitdaf ) was $100,000 and an operating loss of $4.6m
Chief executive Jodi O’Donnell said digital generated nearly a quarter of TVNZ’s advertising revenue, and was increasing year-on-year.
“The challenge we’re facing into is growing these digital revenues at a faster pace than TV revenues are declining.
‘‘TVNZ is building a future beyond broadcast television and today’s results show the need for us to make this transition faster,” O’Donnell said.
“While the revenue position remains tough, TVNZ’s audience reach will help the business make this shift,” she said.
“TVNZ+ has provided us with a strong foundation for securing a digitally led future.
‘‘Our focus is now on increasing our scale and expanding our offering with new products and services to better meet the audiences of tomorrow.”
The broadcaster was part way through a multi-year digital transformation project, she said.
The five-year business plans called for a doubling of TVNZ+’s 18- to 54-year-old audience, tripling digital advertising revenue and creating a sustainable operational model for a digital-first media entity.
O’Donnell said the business expected challenging economic conditions to continue into the second half of the year.
“We will need to make further changes to our cost base to navigate through this uncertainty,” she said.
“While we hope to see some improvement in the advertising sector in late 2024, we anticipate market disruption from global streaming services and social media platforms to continue.”