a book. There's now no place for certain sorts of programmes ... that's terribly damaging.Colin Hogg, producer The Good Word has long been the only local television show touting the merits of, well, something that requires switching off the tele. If it wasn't for the demise of its home channel TVNZ7 in June later this year, the show's producer Colin Hogg would say it had had a good run.
But with the fourth and final series launching this past Friday night, Hogg has understandably mixed feelings. Having pitched the show around the networks with no takers, the last Good Word also marks the end of local literary programming.
"It's just not what they are looking for," says Hogg. "If you look through the programming guides, it's screamingly obvious that unless they were obese and naked on a book show there'd really be no place for it."
When it was announced that there would be no home for The Good Word and TVNZ7 shows such as Media 7, Back Benches and Hogg's other talk and live music show Talk Talk, academics and outraged viewers campaigned against what many saw as an end to public service broadcasting in New Zealand. But stymied by our small population, the channel was considered too costly to run at $15 million a year; the expense was not considered justifiable for its 207,000 weekly viewers.
Full story at NZ Herald.
"its 207,000 weekly viewers."
ReplyDeleteSigh... It's a shame that an otherwise good story (about a show I'd strongly recommend everyone watches) keeps repeating a claim about TVNZ 7's viewership that has been comprehensively, and repeatedly, debunked. Including by TVNZ itself.
I'm not sure what the house rules are about posting links to your own bloggage - but I have commented on this over at Public Address.