It was a tearful start to July as Newshub signed off for the last time, saying goodbye to a national newsroom and almost 35 years of history. But when Three’s door closed, a window at Stuff opened. Let’s peek in.
Twenty-four hours after the faces of Newshub, Mike McRoberts and Samantha Hayes, bade a tearful goodbye, a new bulletin had taken over the 6pm timeslot.
The announcement of Newshub’s closure was a bombshell at the end of February. It meant more than 200 job losses and put the future of the broadcast in doubt.
It shook the industry, but everyday Kiwis were just as heartbroken at the demise of a bulletin that had been around for more than three decades.
Things were looking bleak until online media giant Stuff.co.nz decided to take on an opportunity it had yet to explore: the world of television.
A few weeks later in April, Stuff owner Sinead Boucher announced her company would take over, standing beside former Warner Bros Discovery Senior VP and Head of Networks Glen Kyne.
Boucher said Stuff’s version of the programme would be different to a ‘normal’ news bulletin.
“We have a proven track record of modernising, changing and being at the edge of what you can do with our own organisation, and we’re hungry to bring some of that innovation and freshness to Warner Bros,” promised Boucher at the time.
On July 5, Hayes tearfully said: “It is so hard to say goodbye isn’t it.”
“Thank you for being our people, we’ve absolutely loved being yours,” McRoberts said as Newshub finished for the last time.
Next day, the new – and strikingly purple – ThreeNews made its debut on Kiwi screens. It was a fresh yet familiar news programme where even the name nodded to the long history the timeslot had with 3 News.
It was three months after Boucher’s promise. So how did Stuff’s claims of a new, modern and innovative 6pm news bulletin stack up?
Laura Tupou, previously of Newshub, kicked off the first ThreeNews on Saturday July 6 with a 30-minute weekend edition.
Described as “punchy and pacey”, the first weekend of the new bulletin included items filmed by reporters on iPhones and an exclusive story by veteran journalist and sometime 3 News broadcaster Paula Penfold.
Unlike its major competitor, TVNZ’s 1News – which also faced major staff cuts earlier in 2024 – ThreeNews can draw on the expertise and reporting talent of both Stuff and Warner Bros.
Stuff’s nationwide newsroom has combined with a wealth of broadcast experience from personalities such as Hayes and behind-the-camera crews.
Newshub had operated on the lower levels of the Warner Bros Eden Terrace building. ThreeNews runs in a smaller studio outside the establishment.
Months on from the 6pm news bulletin premiere, how does Stuff think it’s measuring up?
Stuff Digital Managing Director Nadia Tolich says the media company’s approach to a linear TV programme was “fresh” and took a “multimedia approach”.
“We are doing things differently, in line with our ‘Follow No One’ mantra,” says Tolich.
When Stuff promised Kiwis a new bulletin, that meant incorporating some of the website’s highest engagement drivers, such as the daily quiz and audience voting.
Tolich says this new bulletin encourages viewers to “double screen” alongside stuff.co.nz, making it a more “lively” news product.
Flex vs formula
She adds that ThreeNews is unlike traditional linear TV news, saying Hayes and other broadcasters such as Tupou aren’t expected to just sit behind the desk.
“We looked closely too at the ‘formula’ of story topics – timing, duration and cadence – that make up the bulletin and have created more flex around these spots. For example, if it’s a big day in the world of sport, then sport gets more time in the bulletin. Our new approach is ensuring Kiwis get the stories they expect at 6pm, but also more of what they love.”
Editor in Chief at Stuff Keith Lynch says there’s not much difference between the TV and online news, just “more lights and less ink”.
“If the story is right for one of our mastheads or the 6pm bulletin, it will be told in one of those products too, using storytelling techniques fit for those channels,” he adds.
“The fundamentals are the same.”
In its opening weekend, ThreeNews gained ground. Despite major sporting events, including a televised Warriors and All Blacks matches, the bulletin had a 19.3% share of the key 25 to 54 demographic.
The Newshub bulletin the week before had 15.7%, compared to 17.3% on the same Saturday a year ago.
It was good news for the website, too – Stuff saw traffic up 10% that weekend.
The ratings were a positive reflection on the opening two days of ThreeNews. Stuff Brand Connections Managing Director Matt Headland said the organisation successfully “delivered a slick and innovative news product that furthers Stuff’s position as a leader in audience engagement”.
But this isn’t just a numbers game.
Reviews across the media landscape were mixed on the first week, with the only consistent point across these write-ups being that ThreeNews is “very, very purple”.
Tara Ward at The Spinoff said the new iteration of the bulletin covered all the basics, but the new show at 6pm is “still working out who it wants to be, and who it really is”.
“Stuff promised innovation and freshness, but will its nightly interactive polls, ad-break quiz questions and mystifying set be enough of a point of difference to retain viewers, and ideally, draw them over from TVNZ?” she asked.
On the other hand, Newsroom’s co-editor and former head of news at TV3 (before it was Newshub), Mark Jennings, said that in the three months it had to get things going, this is what he expected.
“Innovation and freshness? No. If anything the production has a slight retro look. If you don’t count the quiz question and poll… the bulletins have been devoid of new ideas,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, Stuff says audience feedback reveals it has been able to strike the balance of new and familiar really well.
Despite the mixed reviews, what everyone really wants to know is the news.
As Aotearoa’s media landscape shrinks, Stuff was a knight in shining armour for Newshub’s bulletin. The gesture was daring and dramatic, but it is enough to rescue an industry in distress?
Boucher promised an innovative product that would entice audiences back to the collective act of tuning in at the same time for hearty headlines.
It remains to be seen whether the interactivity of ThreeNews is enough to get TVNZ 1News viewers to switch.
‘Borderline miraculous’
In August, Duncan Grieve wrote in The Spinoff: “It’s clear that the team Stuff had assembled had achieved something borderline miraculous.”
But he points out the modest budget at ThreeNews – exemplified by its thin Olympic coverage – as a key difference between the newcomer and TVNZ.
“Ratings have plummeted, most sharply in the 25-54 demographic,” Grieve said, quoting Neilsen figures collected during late July/early August. TVNZ was picking up the viewers, he noted.
Perhaps it’s unfair to read too much into these numbers at such an early stage, and particularly during week one of the Olympics – an event where ThreeNews literally couldn’t keep pace with the competition. A bit more time will tell if it delivers the ‘new’ news Kiwis have been craving.
“In our industry, standing still is falling behind. So we’re going to continue innovating while serving the needs of our audiences and our commercial partners,” says Tolich.
“We are committed to making a news product for the future that draws on all of Stuff’s strengths in immersive visual storytelling and innovative audience engagement and participation techniques.”
ThreeNews is still finding its feet, and coverage of the America’s Cup and upcoming US Presidential Elections will help cement viewers’ opinions.
In the meantime, Stuff’s new purple ThreeNews is bringing crucial plurality to TV journalism in this country. That’s a win. And if it lifts TVNZ’s game, that’s great news for all viewers.
This was first published in the 2024 September-October NZ Marketing Magazine issue. Subscribe here.
