At first it seemed a simple enough switch Ñ one news anchor for another. In January, TVNZ dropped its durable ten year co-presenter on its top rating One Network News in a move aimed at winning more ratings. Instead, it handed the opposition, TV3, just over 100,000 viewers. The new presenter was award-winning newsreader John Hawkesby, who had been the solo anchor of TV3Õs news until early last year. He left after disagreements with the network over presentation, and TVNZ wanted him. But the network had to wait until January this year Ñ then had to shift existing presenter, Richard Long, who had worked in tandem on the show with its star, Judy Bailey, for a decade. Viewers objected, called the station and wrote letters to newspapers. But the move went ahead and TV3 News suddenly found it had more viewers than ever before. TVNZ had not only underestimated viewer loyalty to Long and the established format, but also failed to recognise the threat posed by the growing popularity of TV3Õs fresh journalist-presenters John Campbell and Carol Hirschfeld. In addition, when TVNZ made the switch, TV3 was running a massive advertising campaign promoting its news, and viewers who sampled it generally stayed. ÒItÕs an incredible turnaround for us,Ó says TV3 chief executive Graeme Hunter. ÒThis will go down probably as a worldwide first case history of how not to fix something that ainÕt broke.Ó Despite the loss, TVNZ still dominates the news hour, and for the moment at least, the network plans to stick with its choice. A spokesman says the network would wait so see whether the trend settled down. He pointed to the continued ratings success of other TVNZ programs. There is a possibility that if the drift to TV3 continues, then TVNZ may have to re-assess its ad rates. For the moment, TVNZ is waiting and looking to the long term, but so far the swap has helped TV3 do what it failed to achieve for ten years Ñ erode the viewership of the oppositionÕs flagship program.
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