Clare Curran, New Zealand’s Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media, has said that attempting to shift more sports coverage onto free-to-air television in the country is not a priority of the government.
Curran’s Labour Party is the majority party in a coalition government that also comprises the New Zealand First party. The coalition, which is also supported by a confidence and supply agreement with the Green Party, was formed earlier this month.
Earlier this year New Zealand First’s Winston Peters, who is now Deputy Prime Minister, said that his party would seek to introduce legislation that would ensure the Rugby World Cup and domestic Test matches are available on free-to-air television.
However, Curran told Newshub that it was important to protect funding for sporting bodies whilst looking at the challenge.
“We acknowledge that there's an issue there,” Curran said. “We're saying it's not our first priority, but we are prepared to have some discussions and look at some solutions for the New Zealand public. I do acknowledge there's an inequity there. It's about the best way to approach it.”
Curran added that “investment in public broadcasting is our priority… we believe, in the short-term, that is what we need to do first.”
The government has pledged to increase funding for public broadcasting in the next two years and establish a new public media service with the working title RNZ Plus.
Earlier this year, Peters told Newshub: “I'm not going to say we're going to try to implement it – we will implement it. The fact is we don't go around making promises that we don't keep.”