Channel still to go despite error

An admission of incorrect audience figures still won’t stop TVNZ7 being axed

Former broadcasting minister Jonathan Coleman has admitted using incorrect audience figures for the soon-to-bedefunct TVNZ7 but says the free-to-air channel would have been scrapped anyway.

Those campaigning to save TVNZ7, which is due to turn into a TV One Plus One channel next month, say the error has contributed to the demise of New Zealand’s only public service, commercial-free television station.

In April last year Dr Coleman said TVNZ7 attracted about 207,000 viewers a week, compared to the 600,000 people who tuned in nightly to One News, and the Government wouldn’t be putting new money into the channel because it wasn’t a high priority.

He was questioned about the figure earlier this year after a report on TVNZ7’S own programme Media 7 said it was wrong because Dr Coleman had divided a monthly figure by four. Audience data was only collected once a month and weekly audience numbers were much higher, it said.

At the time Dr Coleman said the figures were provided by officials or by TVNZ itself.

However, papers released under the Official Information Act show the only figure officially provided to Dr Coleman was that Channel 6 and TVNZ7 had a combined monthly audience of 2.1 million.

That figure was contained in a Cabinet paper he approved on February 23 last year which said the Government would not extend its funding of $79 million over six years, $70m of which was offset by a special dividend paid by TVNZ.

Dr Coleman yesterday said an official from the Ministry of Culture and Heritage or someone in his office had verbally provided him with a breakout figure of 800,000 for TVNZ7.

The decision to axe TVNZ7 was made on the basis the funding was only for a set period, he said. The channel had been set up on the understanding it would be self-sustaining when that funding ended.

Labour’s broadcasting spokeswoman Clare Curran said the incorrect figure had been ‘‘extremely damaging’’.

‘‘The theme that TVNZ7 has got very small audience figures has been pushed by all government ministers and so therefore it’s not going to be missed.’’

Labour is running a campaign to save TVNZ7 and is holding public meetings around the country.

Officials took steps to ensure Broadcasting Minister Craig Foss, who took over the portfolio in December, wouldn’t make the same mistake.

In a memo to Mr Foss in March, officials warn: ‘‘Cumulative figures cannot be divided to provide weekly audience figures as people only get counted once in the month, so a straight division of four will misrepresent viewer numbers.’’