3 Mar 2015

TVNZ's first-half profit falls

2:42 pm on 3 March 2015

Television New Zealand's half-year profit has fallen due to lower advertising revenue.

The company's net profit declined 5 percent to $19.8 million in the six months to December, compared with the same period a year earlier.

Revenue fell 3 percent to $196 million, partly due to a slump in advertising before last year's general election.

TVNZ's chief executive Kevin Kenrick said a 34 percent rise in digital media revenue failed to offset the impact of an overall weak advertising environment.

However, he said the company remained on track to meet its full-year financial targets, as recent investments in digital technology upgrades begin to pay off.

On-demand video streams rose 38 percent, hitting a year-on-year record of six million in October.

That helped the first-half digital media revenue rise by 34 percent on the year earlier period, but Mr Kenrick said the growth had failed to offset the impact of a weak advertising environment.

TVNZ's share of the shrinking advertising pie grew just over half a percentage to 61.6 percent from 60.9.

The company expected full-year revenue to rise to $358.8 million this financial year, ending in June.

One News was its most watched programme, with an average audience of 650,000 viewers.

Mr Kenrick said Breakfast and Seven Sharp's audience share also rose over the six-month period by an undisclosed number, while Sunday was its most watched current affairs show, with an average audience of more than 600,000.