Discovery New Zealand

Discovery New Zealand is a division of Discovery, Inc. that operates several television channels in New Zealand. It operates six national free-to-air television channels, six pay TV channels on Sky and the Newshub multi-platform news service.

"MediaWorks TV" redirects here. For the former parent company, MediaWorks, see MediaWorks New Zealand.

Discovery NZ Limited
FormerlyMediaWorks TV Limited (2004–2020)
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryMedia
Founded2004; 17 years ago
Headquarters
Auckland, New Zealand
Area served
New Zealand
ParentMediaWorks (2004–2020)
Discovery, Inc. (2020–present)
DivisionsTelevision (12 brands)
Newshub[1]
Websitehttp://www.discoverycorporate.co.nz

It was originally known as MediaWorks TV and was operated as a subsidiary of MediaWorks from 2004 to 2020. In 2019, MediaWorks announced that they were putting their television side of their business up for sale,[2][1] with Discovery, Inc. confirming the purchase in September 2020.[3][4][5]

The acquisition of MediaWorks TV by Discovery, Inc. was completed on 1 December 2020,[6] and MediaWorks TV Limited was renamed Discovery NZ Limited. [7]

History

Three was founded as TV3 in 1989 after the Fourth Labour government allowed for a private television broadcaster. CanWest obtained TV3 between 1991 and 1997 after the National government loosened rules on foreign ownership. Under CanWest control, TV3 relaunched in March 1998 with a new brand and a 3 News bulletin hosted by John Campbell and Carol Hirschfeld.

MediaWorks TV was created in 2004, and owned TV3 and C4. In 2005, Hilary Barry & Mike McRoberts became the station's news anchors. TV3 staff also launched youth station TV4 in 1997, and replaced it with C4 in 2003.[8]

In 2009 the timeshift channel TV3 Plus 1 was launched. C4 2 was launched in 2010, then, when Four replaced C4 in 2011, C4 replaced C4 2. In 2014, timeshift channel Four Plus 1 was launched, and The Edge TV replaced C4.

In May 2016, MediaWorks and NBCUniversal Television Distribution entered into a joint venture and revamped Channel Four as the new reality television channel Bravo.[9][10] In August 2016, Michael Anderson was appointed as CEO of MediaWorks.[11]

In 2017, TV3 was rebranded as Three. On 15 April 2018, MediaWorks launched ThreeLife, a lifestyle channel.[12]

On 1 July 2019, The Edge TV moved exclusively online, and was replaced on TV by ThreeLife + 1.[13]

On 18 October 2019, it was announced that MediaWorks was intending to sell off their television division including Three, ThreeLife, and Bravo. MediaWorks also intends to sell its Flower Street head office and studios in Auckland's Eden Terrace. Several Three television programs and shows have also been canceled. Media commentator Bill Ralston has claimed that hundreds of jobs could be lost if a buyer is not found.[14][15][2]

ThreeLife and ThreeLife + 1 went off air on 26 March 2020. ThreeLife was replaced by The Edge TV. ThreeLife + 1 was replaced by a simulcast of The Breeze, then The Breeze TV on 16 April.[16]

On 25 May 2020, MediaWorks CEO Michael Anderson announced that the company would be eliminating 130 jobs in its sales, out-of-home, and radio divisions as a result of the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand.[17][18][19]

On 7 September 2020, MediaWorks confirmed that it would be selling its entire television arm including Three, Bravo, Edge TV, The Breeze TV, streaming service ThreeNow, and current affairs service Newshub to Discovery, Inc.[3][4][5]

Ownership
Channel
Year
 3 4 8 9 11 14 18 Online only
TV3 1989 TV3 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
1997 TV4
2003 C4
MediaWorks 2004
2009 TV3 Plus 1
2010 C4 2
2011 Four C4
2014 Four Plus 1 The Edge TV
2016 Bravo Bravo Plus 1
2017 Three ThreePlus1
2018 ThreeLife The Edge TV
The Edge TV N/A
2019 ThreeLife + 1 The Edge TV
2020 The Edge TV The Breeze TV N/A
Discovery, Inc.

Services

Television

Three, Bravo, The Edge TV and The Breeze TV are operated out of Auckland City. Television advertising was sold by the MediaWorks offices in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Melbourne, Sydney and Hamilton. There were Newshub bureaus in the Three Headquarters in Auckland and MediaWorks offices in Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin, with news staff working out of other offices as needed. Three provided mature content, Newshub bulletins, current affairs and sport. The Edge TV launched in 2014 and broadcasts music videos and entertainment news. All are available via all digital platforms such as terrestrial, satellite and cable. TV3 and Four were the only ones previously available via analogue terrestrial on the VHF band before the 2013 switch-off. The Edge TV was added in 2018. Bravo and Bravo Plus 1 replaced Four and Four Plus 1 in 2016.[20] ThreeLife was added in 2018, and ThreeLife + 1 replaced The Edge TV on terrestrial in 2019. On 25 March 2020, ThreeLife went off air, and was replaced by The Edge TV, and its timeshift channel by The Breeze TV.[16]

Free-to-air television brands
Name Freeview Channel Sky Channel Launched
Three 3
(8 - Plus1)		 3
(503 - Plus1)		 1989
Bravo 4
(9 - Plus 1)		 12
(512 - Plus 1)		 2016
The Edge TV 11 118 2014
Choice TV 12 24 2012
(Acquired by Discovery, Inc. in 2019)
The Breeze TV 14 119 2020
HGTV 17 21 2016
(Acquired by Discovery, Inc. in 2019)

Pay television brands
Name Sky Channel Launched
TLC 16 2015
Living 17 2001
(Acquired by Discovery, Inc. in 2014)
Food Network 18 2005
(Acquired by Discovery, Inc. in 2014)
Discovery 70 1994
Discovery Turbo 75 2015
Animal Planet 76 2003

Newshub
Main article: Newshub

Newshub is a New Zealand multi-platform news service that airs on TV channel Three, radio stations run by MediaWorks, and on digital platforms. The Newshub brand replaced 3 News service on the TV3 network and the Radio Live news service heard on MediaWorks Radio stations on 1 February 2016.[21][22]

Websites
Website Name Primary purpose
discoverycorporate.co.nz Corporate website for various TV channels
threenow.co.nz On-demand service for Three and Bravo
newshub.co.nz Global and New Zealand news content
choicetv.co.nz On-demand service for Choice TV
hgtv.co.nz On-demand service for HGTV

Confidentiality and trust

On 10 March 2016 a reporter for MediaWorks broke embargo and leaked sensitive information about a 25 basis point cut by the Reserve Bank to the Official Cash Rate (OCR).[23] MediaWorks conducted their own investigation to the leak, and followed up with an apology from CEO Mark Weldon (former head of the New Zealand Stock exchange), although Weldon stopped short of naming the reporters involved.[24] As a result of the loss of trust with the media, the Reserve Bank has elected to discontinue the media lockup prior to future releases of the OCR.

See also

References
  1. "Our Brands". MediaWorks. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  2. Greive, Duncan (18 October 2019). "MediaWorks quits television: Three will be sold – or closed". The Spinoff. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  3. "MediaWorks TV arm sold to Discovery channel owner". Stuff. 7 September 2020. Archived from the original on 7 September 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  4. "MediaWorks confirms sale of TV operations to Discovery Inc". Newshub. 7 September 2020. Archived from the original on 7 September 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  5. Peacock, Colin (7 September 2020). "Global media giant set to be NZ's biggest private TV broadcaster". Radio New Zealand. Archived from the original on 7 September 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  6. "Discovery, Inc. completes acquisition of MediaWorks TV". Discovery New Zealand. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  7. "Discovery NZ Limited". Discovery New Zealand. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  8. Company profile, mediaworks.co.nz; accessed 26 January 2017.
  9. "MediaWorks partners with NBC to turn channel Four into Bravo". Newshub. 2 May 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  10. Black, Eleanor (3 May 2016). "Mediaworks dumps FOUR for new reality channel Bravo". Stuff. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  11. Pullar-strecker, Tom (2 August 2016). "MediaWorks names new CEO – lobby group says he should fill 'gaps left' by TVNZ". Stuff. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  12. "MediaWorks announces new channel ThreeLife". Newshub. 15 February 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  13. "Hot Off the Press Release: Edge TV to Go HD". ScreenScribe. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  14. "Live: Mediaworks' TV business has been put up for sale". Stuff.co.nz. 18 October 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  15. "MediaWorks staff reeling at plan to sell off TV network, Auckland headquarters". New Zealand Herald. 18 October 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  16. "ThreeLife". ThreeNow. 10 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  17. "MediaWorks announces 130 job losses". Radio New Zealand. 25 May 2020. Archived from the original on 25 May 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  18. Edmunds, Susan; Pullar-Strecker, Tom (25 May 2020). "MediaWorks planning to cut 130 roles in restructure". Stuff. Archived from the original on 25 May 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  19. Dreive, Duncan (25 May 2020). "Stuff bought by its CEO, MediaWorks announces mass layoffs in historic day for NZ media". The Spinoff. Archived from the original on 25 May 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  20. "Bravo to launch on July 3". Newshub. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  21. "Multi-platform news service Newshub to launch February 1". Newshub. 21 January 2016. Archived from the original on 23 May 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  22. Edmunds, Susan (21 January 2016). "Viewers might not welcome NewsHub, commentator says". Stuff. Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  23. "Reserve Bank". Rbnz.govt.nz. April 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  24. "MediaWorks Response to Reserve Bank Statement". Scoop.co.nz. 14 April 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
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