23 Sep 2018

TVNZ's on-line competition New Blood

From Standing Room Only, 12:31 pm on 23 September 2018

Last week we looked at the TV3 initiative to get new, exciting, scripted New Zealand comedy on our screens. The Comedy Pilot Week was essentially "New Zealand's Got Sitcom Talent" - five first episodes of five new shows, and the audience picks the one or ones they like. TV3's rivals TVNZ are doing something similar at the moment - in fact it's their second year of a project called "New Blood". The big difference between these five new titles and the Comedy Pilot Week are - first - they're not necessarily comedies, and - second - they're not aimed for prime-time television. These are web-series - based on the idea that audiences are increasingly going on-line for their content. Simon Morris asked TVNZ's Director of Content, Cate Slater why she seems to be heading away from traditional "linear" television.