New-look MTV back for fans
02 August 2006Â
By ARWEN HANN
Music lovers will have the chance to tune in to a new frequency this month as MTV comes to New Zealand.
Many will remember MTV's last foray into New Zealand, via TVNZ, which ended just a year after it began, but this time, MTV bosses say, it will be different.
This time MTV, which is available through Sky, will be operated with local staff and local content.
"I think MTV has learnt its lesson from last time," MTV New Zealand general manager Chris Keely said.
"It realised that you can't just feed in stuff from another country, so this time we have a base in New Zealand, we have staff from New Zealand, we will be tailoring to the wants and needs of New Zealand people and we are really looking forward to it."
While music television seems to be on the decline across the world â€" typified by the demise of Top of the Pops â€" the New Zealand market seems buoyant.
Figures from AGB Nielsen Media Research show that C4's average audience over the past four weeks was 8700, with Juice TV attracting 1300 and J2 1200. Audiences for the same period last year were 6300, 1400 and 1000 respectively.
AdvertisementAdvertisementKeely and C4 programme director Andrew Szusterman are confident that New Zealand can cope with another dedicated music channel.
Szusterman said C4 boasted a 92 per cent market share of viewers aged between 15 and 29 and the company was not concerned by the appearance of MTV.
"We never underestimate MTV because it is such a big brand, but we are not overly concerned or paranoid about it," he said. "We are cautious, but we broadcast on a free-to-air channel, so we reach a much wider audience than MTV will.
"I think the youth market, which is where we are mainly aimed, is growing and there will always be a demand for these channels."
While C4 relied on such MTV programmes as Punk'd for some of its content, Szusterman said he was confident the channel would not lose out when MTV started running those shows. "When you look at it, only around four hours a week comes from MTV programmes and we have many popular shows from other makers. We are quite happy we will continue to offer our viewers a good choice," he said.
Keely is cautious about discussing commercial negotiations with C4 but said MTV would continue to work closely with its syndication partners.
"We have a very good relationship with the companies that show our programmes, and while we guarantee that our branded channel will have first showing, our syndications will continue," he said.
Both channels will continue to offer Kiwi music, claiming 30% of their output is home-grown talent.
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