Government slap in face for our top Games athletes

new-zealand-labour-party

Thu Jan 07 2010 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

Government slap in face for our top Games athletes

Thursday, 7 January 2010, 12:32 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party

7 January 2010
Media Statement

Prime Minister John Key and Broadcasting Minister Jonathan Coleman must explain why they consider our elite Commonwealth Games athletes less worthy of media coverage than All Blacks, says Labour Broadcasting spokesperson Brendon Burns.

Brendon Burns said the decision by Television New Zealand to sell the rights to the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi to Sky Television, with 12 hours free-to-air coverage each day on the Prime channel, amounted to a major “Government put down for Kiwi Commonwealth Games athletes.

“Just three months ago the Government presided over an amazing shambles which at one stage seemed likely to see two government-owned agencies, Maori Television and TVNZ, bidding against each other for free-to-air broadcasting rights to the 2011 Rugby World Cup,” Brendon Burns said.

“The Government was forced to paper over rifts between its Maori Party confidence and supply partners and its own Ministers over Maori Television’s innovative bid to win the rights.

“That shambles was sorted by a compromise bid involving both TVNZ and Maori Television and TV3 as well, but what leaves a sour taste is that while there was widespread concern then that tens of thousands of viewers would miss out on rugby coverage if Maori Television won the bid on its own, that same standard does not now apply to Commonwealth Games athletes,” Brendon Burns said.

“Prime Television reaches about the same number of viewers as Maori Television, so that means the Government is clearly prepared to stand by and let tens of thousands of New Zealanders miss out on seeing athletes like Valerie Vili and Nick Willis perform for our country.

“This is an incredible double standard from John Key and Jonathan Coleman. They were prepared to fund a joint bid from its state-owned companies for Rugby World Cup free-to-air coverage, but those Kiwis who can’t afford Sky and don’t get Prime will be denied the chance to see our world-renowned athletes in action in an event that comes round only once in every four years.”

ENDS

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