Cultural identity
Local content programming on New Zealand television
Definition
The proportion of local content on prime-time (6pm-10pm) television.
RelevanceTop
Television is the dominant cultural medium for many New Zealanders. It is a major source of news, information and entertainment, and influences people's sense of local and national identity. A local content measure reflects the extent to which New Zealanders see their culture reflected through this medium.
Current level and trendsTop
The proportion of local content on the main channels has shown a general decline over time, falling from 43 percent in 2006 to a low of 35 percent in 2010, 2012 and 2013. Over the last five years, the proportion of local content on prime-time television has remained steady.
Māori Television screened the most prime-time local content in 2014, with 80 percent of the channel's prime-time hours containing New Zealand programming. TV One and TV3 screened the next highest number of hours in prime-time with 53 percent and 48 percent respectively.
Figure CI1.1 – Proportion of local content on prime-time television, 2006–2014
Source: NZ On Air
Note: Figures are for prime-time (6pm–10pm) local content on TV One, TV2, TV3, Prime Television, Māori Television and FOUR.
Looking at trends by genre for local content between the hours of 6am and midnight, news and current affairs accounted for 32 percent of the total local content hours in 2014, followed by information programmes (26 percent) and sports (13 percent). This was similar to 2013, 2012 and 2011, but differed from previous years, when entertainment had a larger share of total hours of local content.
Table CI1.1 – Percentage share of total hours of local content,
by programme type, 2006–2014
| Programme type | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| News, current affairs | 27 | 27 | 32 | 33 | 30 | 35 | 32 | 31 | 32 |
| Information | 15 | 18 | 15 | 15 | 20 | 18 | 23 | 26 | 26 |
| Sports | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 13 |
| Documentaries | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 8 |
| Children's | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 8 |
| Entertainment | 17 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 |
| Drama/Comedy | 6 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Māori | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Total New Zealand content hours | 10,255 | 10,784 | 11,600 | 11,418 | 10,881 | 11,219 | 12,051 | 12,145 | 12,537 |
Source: NZ On Air
Notes: Figures are for local content on TV One, TV2, TV3, Prime Television, Māori Television and FOUR. Hours are measured over 18 hours (6am – Midnight). For definitions of programme types (genre classifications), see NZ On Air (2014), Appendix 1, p31.
Data for this section can be found at: www.socialreport.msd.govt.nz/documents/2016/ci1.xlsx
