Oh come on…
Local versions of popular global reality TV shows – such as Masterchef New Zealand, Married at First Sight NZ, The Block NZ and Dancing with the Stars –should be eligible for the Government’s 40% screen production rebate, say the country’s major broadcasters, screen producers and production companies.
And TVNZ has gone one step further, suggesting existing restrictions could be further lifted by allowing the rebate to also apply to the production of live sport.
As the local screen industry battles an estimated loss of $50 million in annual production investment from TVNZ and Three, it is turning to the Government for support to get hit shows back in production and on air.
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Most of the shows draw relatively big audiences and therefore also have commercial appeal. There have been nine seasons of Dancing with the Stars, the last of which was in 2020, while The Block NZ was canned last year, at the last minute, after 10 seasons.
TVNZ, Three/Warner Bros Discovery, Sky TV and a range of major production companies, including Great Southern Television, South Pacific Pictures and Greenstone, have appealed to the Ministry for Culture and Heritage to broaden the eligibility criteria for the screen production rebate (SPR).
“We are at a critical juncture which will decide whether New Zealand content will continue to push above its weight or instead collapse,” say the organisations in a joint submission on the Government’s media reforms package.
They have called on the Government to simplify, change and/or remove processes that inhibit investment, including “allowing domestic versions of international formats to access the SPR if made by a local company”.
Screen Producers New Zealand (Spada) says in its separate submission: “While the IP may be developed offshore, the local versions of international format productions do reflect our culture – MasterChef New Zealand, The Block NZ, Dancing with the Stars [and] Married at First Sight New Zealand feature New Zealanders, and are loved by New Zealanders.”
…Dear Paul Goldsmith.
Mate.
Buddy.
Comrade.
We don’t like each other much because I’m a post-Marxist socialist with violent environmental tendencies where as you are a classical music playing pianist who believes colonialism was ok for Māori.
We have nothing in common except that you are the Broadcasting Minister and I am a podcaster, but what we both despise is giving away taxpayer money.
I am loath to give it away as corporate welfare and you are just loath.
I know deep down behind the calm facade you are an ideological freak who hates giving away any money, and it its to these deeply destructive side of you that I now appeal – tell TVNZ, Three/Warner Bros Discovery, Sky TV, Great Southern Television, South Pacific Pictures, Greenstone and SPADA they’re dreamin!
You can not seriously pretend that ‘Dancing with the Stars NZ’ or ‘Masterchef NZ’ or ‘NZs Got Talent’ or whatever bullshit franchise is being pimped here from America is NZ culture!
The rebate is supposed to help foster unique NZ voices and perspectives and sell the country as a great place to make movies.
It is not so desperate local production companies making pre-manufactured cultural shit from NMZ in a. local wrapper is NZ culture!
Make those bastards worker the rebate!
Create unique content and rebate until your hearts content, but what is being proposed here is subsidising McDonalds while they host a local Ronald.
Look Paul, I know you can never do the right thing for the right reasons in Broadcasting, but surely a man as pious as you when it comes to culture can have his intense elitism played to – this isn’t culture, it’s imported Walmart shit pretending to be Shakespeare.
If TVNZ, Three/Warner Bros Discovery, Sky TV, Great Southern Television, South Pacific Pictures, Greenstone and SPADA want the rebate they have to actually do something far more creative than rehashed overseas franchises with a local clown fronting it.
The irony is NZ is where these shows all started and were exported from!
Make new content, get the rebate.
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