O\u2019Donnell confirmed TVNZ would be pursuing global sports rights and was also considering pay-entertainment options.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll definitely look at all options, I think. Sport was the first option that we looked at for the pay-per-view. Now we\u2019ve got some really good learnings, we\u2019re going to go and look at other options that we can do to unlock, again, content that New Zealanders might not have had access to before and different ways that we can obviously surface that content for New Zealanders.\u201d<\/p>\n
TVNZ dividend<\/p>\n
After earlier signalling that it was unlikely to deliver dividends to its Crown shareholder in the short-term, TVNZ announced a year-end dividend of $2.2m, bringing total dividends for the 2025\/26 financial year to $3.8m.<\/p>\n
The broadcaster said the dividend reflected its strengthened position and greater certainty around the timing of its digital investment programme. <\/p>\n
TVNZ confirmed an earlier-signalled operational earnings loss of $23.5m, with $27.6m of \u201cplanned strategic investment\u201d in products, platforms and capability.<\/p>\n
That included an upgrade of the TVNZ+ platform, and new technology that now allows TVNZ to offer subscription television and pay-per-view events.<\/p>\n
TVNZ chief executive Jodi O’Donnell. Photo \/ Sylvie Whinray <\/p>\n
\u201cThis was a year of real progress for TVNZ,\u201d said O\u2019Donnell. \u201cWe made deliberate choices about where to invest, launched new products for viewers, and kept focused on the fundamentals.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s more to do, but we\u2019re clear on where we\u2019re heading and confident in the path we\u2019re taking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Overall advertising revenue fell $22.2m – from 266.4m in 2025 to 244.2m in 2026. TVNZ said it had been a challenging first half.<\/p>\n
Digital revenue grew 16.8% year-on-year, although TVNZ has not yet provided specific numbers.<\/p>\n
\u201cCost discipline remained a priority, with TVNZ managing day-to-day costs carefully while investing in the areas that matter most to audiences, advertisers and the future of the business,\u201d the broadcaster said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Football World Cup and the importance of sport<\/p>\n
TVNZ won the rights to this year\u2019s Football World Cup and said the tournament had reached more than a third of New Zealanders across TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sports line-up was further bolstered by UFC, the Super Bowl, the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympics, cricket, football, netball and fresh sportainment formats including T20 Black Clash, Chasing the Fox and Track Stars,\u201d the broadcaster said.<\/p>\n
\u201cRights were also secured for the NPC, FPC, with the provincial rugby competitions returning free-to-air for the first time in 30 years and the America\u2019s Cup back with TVNZ for its 38th iteration.\u201d<\/p>\n
1 News at 6 host Melissa Stokes. Photo \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n
It said 1 News at Six was once again \u201cthe most watched programme on air and online\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe year brought fresh energy to news and current affairs, with Melissa Stokes and Jack Tame stepping into new 1 News at Six presenting roles…\u201d<\/p>\n
Tova O\u2019Brien had also joined Breakfast and TVNZ had launched Business Breakfast hosted by Mei Heron.<\/p>\n
More operational losses ahead<\/p>\n
TVNZ said it expected to report a loss in 2026\/27 as it completed its two-year investment programme, before returning to profitability in FY28.<\/p>\n
\u201cNew Zealanders are changing how they watch content, and TVNZ is changing with them,\u201d said O\u2019Donnell. <\/p>\n
\u201cFY27 will be another important year of delivery. We are clear on the investment required and confident the choices we\u2019re making now will position TVNZ for a stronger and more sustainable future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand\u2019s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In an interview with Media Insider, TVNZ chief executive Jodi O\u2019Donnell revealed that the Football World Cup generated…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":582637,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[95,34507,138,36354,1644,2936,2225,1073,111,139,69,188198,5340,5909,13672,36171,88,6445],"class_list":["post-582636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-and","tag-broadcasters","tag-business","tag-dividend","tag-financial","tag-insider","tag-loss","tag-media","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-operational","tag-profit","tag-results","tag-state","tag-statutory","tag-surprise","tag-tvnz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=582636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582636\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/582637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=582636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=582636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=582636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}