The Press SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1971. The right decision on colour TV

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32703, 4 September 1971, Page 16

The Press SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1971. The right decision on colour TV

The Broadcasting Authority’s recommendations on the extension of television services are sensible and should be acted upon by the Government. Viewers who had hoped for the early introduction of a second channel, and those who believe a new organisation should run it, have been disappointed, at least for the time being. The chief need now is to establish priorities: and the authority has made the right choice in preferring colour television to a second channel. A second channel in monochrome would put New Zealand out of step with much of the rest of the world; a second channel in colour would be an expensive luxury. New Zealand should have colour television in a little more than two years; a decision on a second channel again in colour might well be deferred until the effects of the first change have been measured.

The Minister of Broadcasting (Mr Walker) has, rightly, noted that the extension of television services will affect not only the electronics industry but the whole national economy. Much of the N.Z.B.C.’s transmission equipment can be adapted to colour relatively cheaply; but the cost to viewers of converting or replacing their sets will be considerable. The authority thinks that colour receivers will cost between §750 and $900; some spokesmen for the industry have suggested a much higher figure. If a considerable number of viewers want to have their receivers converted to colour immediately the electronics industry will be hard-pressed; the probably sharp increase in hire-purchase debt would be inflationary, and the drain on overseas funds for imported components would be not inconsiderable. The authority’s reluctance to make any recommendation on private enterprise in television at this stage is to be regretted. This was one of the focal points of the authority’s long and exhaustive hearings; and the interested parties went to the trouble and expense of obtaining evidence from foremost experts in countries from which New Zealand should expect to obtain wise guidance. Will this have to be done all over again in two, three, or four years when applications for the second channel are being heard? Clearly it must; or the powerful arguments recently adduced in favour of balanced and complementary programming between the two channels might well be lost sight of. A more positive indication of the authority’s views now would have been helpful to both the N.Z.B.C. and to aspiring private operators.

By the time the change has been made to colour the N.Z.B.C. should have acted upon the recommendation of the authority that the service be extended to the remaining pockets of New Zealand—most of them in the South Island—where television reception is poor or impossible. Potential viewers who have no service are a small proportion of the population; they should not be neglected in the enthusiasm for new and improved services for the majority.