Playwright slates TV lease idea

Press, 21 April 1979, Page 5

Playwright slates TV lease idea

A private-enterprise second television channel will have to pander to the public's lower taste for most of the time, according to the playwright and former Burns Fellow, Roger Hall. Mr Hall was commenting on a statement by the president of the New Zealand Chambers of Commerce (Mr J. R. Greenfield) that he was surprised at the alarm being expressed by some persons at suggestions that TV2 be run by private enterprise at weekends. Mr Hall said the alarm was well founded. Such a channel would have to cover costs and make a profit for its shareholders. To do this it would have to earn huge advertising revenue. These costs would inevitably be passed on to the consumer either as a charge on the products advertised or as income taken by the Government through tax deductions. The inevitable toss of advertising revenue to the other television channel would mean a lowering of standards and sendees that it could offer.

“Perhaps an even more important reason is that there is hardly any chance that such a channel would serve the public's best interests." said Mr Hall. "Apart from an unavoidable increase in the amount of advertising per hour and having commercials screened on Sundays. such a channel would have to pander to the public's lower taste for most of the time.” Mr Hall said that Mr Greenfield had given private radio stations as a good example of private enterprise.

“1 have yet to see any benefit from private radio stations in this country,” said Mr Hall. "They present no documentaries, no plays, no childrens programmes, no talks of any length: they are radio on the cheap ’ and it is odds on that a privateenterprise television channel would be the same." Mr Hall said it was even more disturbing to find that the Government was apparently seriously considering letting a newspaper group have the chance to lease the second channel.