TVNZ to axe 1News website from early next year, staff told

TVNZ will axe its 1News website from early next year, according to a proposal released to staff today.
The broadcaster, in an effort to hit a $30 million savings target, has also told staff it proposes to:
1News.co.nz would be shut in February 2025 if the proposal went ahead.
From February 2025, it’s also proposed TVNZ’s youth news site, Re: News, will focus solely on video storytelling.
“We are now seeking feedback on the proposals, and we will not be making any decisions until after we have considered all the feedback from our people,” TVNZ said in a statement.
Media Insider was told a strategic proposal consultation document outlined that an outcome was expected by the end of October, structural changes will then be put forward in the first week of November.
The document listed the proposal’s objectives were to increase revenue while reducing costs, deliver on TVNZ’s digital-plus strategy, and focus resources on creating digital audiences and revenue at a faster pace than broadcast is declining.
A small number of staff have been seen leaving TVNZ through side entrances, telling media they were unable to comment.
One staffer told Media Insider the proposal was light on details.
This morning, the Herald reported staff at TVNZ were again in consultation with their employer, with today marking the beginning of a new two-week process in which workers can have their say on a strategic plan as the broadcaster seeks to find $30m in savings and revenue growth.
This will be followed by another two-week consultation on a structure change proposal, Media Insider was told.
It’s understood today’s internal meetings began at 1pm. Chief executive Jodi O’Donnell addressed the company as a whole, before head of news and current affairs Phil O’Sullivan did the same for the newsroom.
The TVNZ digital team is believed to have had its own meeting.
Media Insider has been told people are feeling sad today at TVNZ and the atmosphere is heavy.
“They know it’s bad news and they’re finding out exactly how bad,” a former staffer said.
Media Insider understands a 10.1.1 process, which is the clause in the E tū union agreement that was also at the centre of TVNZ’s failed Employment Court appeal this year, was just completed by the broadcaster.
That clause states TVNZ will support the active participation of staff in the development of the organisation and changes in workplace practices.
The latest 10.1.1 process focused on trying to find ways to do more with the same staffing resources, Media Insider was told.
A TVNZ spokesperson told Media Insider the broadcaster’s consultation is focused on how it might achieve its $30m target and deliver its Digital+ strategy.
“Proposals relating to individual roles are not part of this consultation. Our priority is to share proposals with our people first. We will not be commenting further at this stage.”
Newsroom founder and former Newshub head of news Mark Jennings told Media Insider TVNZ clearly didn’t go hard enough or fast enough with the earlier round of cuts this year.
“They’re coming back for a second go, they’ll probably say look the advertising situation has worsened since we did those. And to some degree, that’s fair, but you’ve got to try and get ahead of the curve on these things otherwise you just keep chasing your tail and you end up with a death by 1000 cuts and a whole lot of bad publicity.”
In this respect, Jennings didn’t believe management had done a good job.
He said shutting down the website did come as a surprise to the market because it had been getting up towards a million visitors a month.
“That’s a considerable amount to give away.”
Something that may have played into this decision, Jennings said, was that after NewsHub shut down the 1News site has not picked much of its digital audience.
He said getting rid of the website would not save TVNZ $30 million.
“That needs to be explained, where the rest of the money is going to come from.”
Spinoff founder and host of The Fold podcast Duncan Grieve said this process would have been a hard decision but ultimately the right one for TVNZ and its news division.
“Basically, 1News.co.nz was a site that predominantly delivered news by text, it was similar to Stuff and NZ Herald and ZB in the sense that the core of its work was the written words.”
However, he said what TVNZ excels in is creating video journalism.
While it looked like a retreat from digital journalism, Grieve believed it was a doubling-down on what TVNZ is good at.
For a country the size of New Zealand, he said having three large digital news sites, instead of the five available last year, made more sense.
“This will be a hard day for people who used to work at Fair Go and Sunday in particular, because this strategy should have Sunday and Fair Go at its heart, they make a lot of sense with this strategy.”
Media Insider reported last week the company seems set to move away from its news websites – 1news.co.nz and youth-focused renews.co.nz – and place more focus on digital news for streaming platform TVNZ+.
There may also be questions about whether TVNZ needs to continue to operate three traditional broadcast channels (TVNZ1, TVNZ2 and Duke).
Just about every area of the business will be under the spotlight with staff numbers – which have dropped by more than 130 to a total of about 600 during the past 18 months – to be reduced further by the end of the year.
“There’s just a sense of anxiety and sadness about the industry as a whole,” one staff member said last week.
The changes come as TVNZ embarks on a five-year digital-first transformation, while also addressing the existing tough economic conditions affecting the media sector.
This week’s proposed strategic changes are the first stage of a two-stage plan to find the targeted $30m.
An earlier internal email from O’Donnell highlighted eight potential areas for change, including consolidating teams, outsourcing and looking at content and websites “that aren’t profitable”.
The Herald reported last week it was understood 1news.co.nz and renews.co.nz might be deprioritised – or one or both potentially scrapped altogether – with an all-in focus on news for TVNZ+.
Once the broadcaster consults on its proposed changes, receives feedback and decides which initiatives it has confirmed, it will unveil proposed structural changes as part of a second stage. That is when proposed job cuts are likely.
According to its annual report, TVNZ has 601 fulltime equivalent employees (FTEs), down from 735 in 2023 and 737 in 2022.
After a somewhat botched consultation process over the closure of Fair Go and Sunday and other cuts this year, TVNZ is moving extremely carefully, with effectively two consultation periods.
While its remaining TV news programmes – including Breakfast, 1News at Six, Seven Sharp and Q+A – are believed to be safe, staffing on those shows and other local programming might be in the spotlight.
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Katie Harris is an Auckland-based journalist who covers social issues including sexual assault, workplace misconduct, media, crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2020.