Technicality may affect TV warrant application

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33068, 8 November 1972, Page 12

Technicality may affect TV warrant application

(Xeu> Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, November 7. Thie New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation yesterday drew attention to a legal technicality which might hamper the chances of the Independent Television Corporation in its bid for a warrant to run the second television channel.

The technicality was raised by the counsel for the N.Z.8.C., Mr R. B. Cooke, Q.C., as the last of seven “major disadvantages” of the Independent Television Corporation’s proposals. Mr Cooke was summing up the corporation’s case at the hearing before the Broadcasting Authority on the second-channel warrant.

The hearing ended yesterda; after several weeks. Thi Broadcasting Authority re served its decision on thi warrant. He said that under thi proposals outlined in thi I.T.C.s application, the war rant and a licence from thi Post Office would have to bi issued to the N.Z.B.C. as the “operator” of the seconc channel. The LC.T.’s applicatior said that its second channel would be “transmitted from

existing towers and transmitter buildings currently operated by the N.Z.8.C.” LICENCE FOR STATION Mr Cooke said that under the Broadcasting Authority Act and the Post Office Act, it was the broadcasting station that required the warrant and licence. The Post Office licence was for the use of the Post Office’s micro-wave system. Mr Cooke said a broadcasting station, under the law, was the location from which signals were sent out intended to be received by the public. This indicated that the transmitter sites were the broadcasting station, not the studios. ‘‘lt is my submission, that the N.Z.B.C. would be the operator, under the proposals,” Mr Cooke said. “It would be the corporation broadcasting to the public a programme received from I.T.C. studios. There is no application before the authority to grant such services as the I.T.C. has suggested.” N.Z.B.C. STAFF A substantial number of N.Z.B.C. staff would take part in broadcasting the I.T.C.’s programmes, he said. “But in question of fact and law, there is no application on which I.T.C.’s proposals can be granted.” Earlier in the day. an I.T.C. witness, Ross Thyer, said he envisaged the N.Z.B.C. engineering staff’s taking part in the installation, running, maintenance and repair of the I.T.C.’s transmitting facilities if it were granted the secondchannel warrant.

Mr Thyer is the director of the electronics division of Air Programmes International, Pty, Ltd, of Sydney, and he was giving evidence as a technical consultant for the I.T.C. He said that the N.Z.8.C., as the operator of the transmitting facilities, would be entirely responsible for passing on to the public, in undistorted form, the programmes delivered from the studios.

Mr Thyer said there were no physical difficulties in the N.Z.B.C.’s transmitting I.T.C. programmes and no difficulties in its administering personnel. “ONE-MAN EFFORT” Mr Cooke in his final address, said another disadvantage of the I.T.C. proposal was that the company’s project was a oneman effort He said the organiser of the I.T.C.’s application, Mr G. W. Dryden, had no experience in managing television. Having no record to fall back on, it was easy for the I.T.C. to offer glittering prizes to the authority,” Mr Cooke said. There was a tendency ■to narrow the range of programmes by the 1.T.C., Mr Cooke said. This had been an inevitable concommitant of commercial radio. The emphasis on television’s being a medium for the masses instead of catering for minority interests had crept in to Mr Dryden’s proposals since he appeared at the 1970 secondchannel inquiry. ADVERTISING ESTIMATES Mr Cooke said much of Mr Dryden’s proposals depended on his individual estimates on vast increases in television advertising.

These estimates were based on speculative factors such as an increase in the gross national product, an increase in advertising’s share of the gross national product and an increase in television’s share of total advertising.

Mr Dryden’s estimates were not supported by any evidence whatsoever, Mr Cooke said. The I.T.C.’s proposals for news and current affairs were not clear, he said. “Not only were the overseas proposals vague, but the New Zealand position was even more uncertain than the overseas proposals,’ l he said.

The I.T.C. proposals di not offer a real New Zealan service. There were no pre visions for the origination of programmes from th South Island, Mr Cooke sak The basic merits of th N.Z.B.C.’s application wer in the programme field. Th corporation offered mor varied programmes on a non commercial channel. A sig nificant proportion of th population preferred pre grammes without advertising he said. “It would be a sad day i New Zealand w’ould turn it back on the opportunity fo a second non-commercia channel, and go forward witl two commercial channels in stead of one commercia and one non-commercial,” Mi Cooke said.

I.T.C.’S CASE ; Earlier, Mr I. L. McKay : the counsel for the I.T.C. said the N.Z.B.C. had pre sented no evidence on the : key determining matter — the needs of the New Zea land people for additions television services. The issue was not the need or desire of the N.Z.B.C for a second channel, but the need of the public, said Mi McKay, summing up for the LT.C. ‘T’he N.Z.B.C. has presented no evidence to show that its proposed type ol second channel was necessary or desirable in the public interest,” he said. In contrast, the I.T.C. had paid regard to the needs of the public and to the importance of keeping in touch with those needs in programme policies, he said. “The N.Z.B.C. has never carried out any proper study of peoples’ needs in programming. The I.T.C. has shown an appreciation of these needs and a willingness and ability to take them fully into account if it is granted a warrant.” Mr McKay said the N.Z.B.C.’s record in the field of educational programmes was woeful. He - said the N.Z.B.C.’s financial submissions to the authority had been characterised by lack of detail and by inadequately-based estimates and assumptions. As an example, the corporation’s Director-General (Mr L. R. Sceats), had told the 1970 television inquiry that he estimated a taxpaid surplus for the corporation for the year ending March 31, 1971, of sl.6m, Mr McKay said. Only three months later, Mr Sceats had announced publicly that the N.Z.B.C. might end that same year between a loss of $lOO,OOO and a surplus of $300,000. he said.

d As late as March 29, 197: d Mr Sceats had thought th >- N.Z.B.C. was unlikely t s have a healthy surplus i e there was a surplus at al 1. Mr McKay said. But ther ei proved to be a surplus c e $839,000. e “One cannot imagine an e managing director of a com i- mercial organisation depenc ;- ing on its efficiency for it e survival who could be so fa ■- out of touch with the affair ;, of his organisation and stil retain his position,” he said. f Mr Dryden’s estimates o s expenditures had been givei r in considerably greater detai 1 than those of the N.Z.B.C. 1 he said, and they had beei - prepared with similarly 1 detailed care and research. r TRANSMISSION TIME Mr McKay said the out ; standing feature of th< , I N.Z.B.C.’s programme pro , Iposals was that there woulc ■, be reduced hours of trans ■ mission. •! For minority tastes to bt ■ i catered for during peak hour; lion the second channel was a luxury New Zealand was i not yet in a position tc . afford. New Zealand had a million viewers each night who were : entitled to be given a real choice before catering for minorities could be planned. “The various things the N.Z.B.C. says it could do if it had two channels, it could, for the most part, do quite ,readily on its existing ( channel if it wished to do | so,” Mr McKay said. N.Z. PROGRAMMES i The question of New ZeaHand content in programmes i was important, and the record of the N.Z.B.C. in this : field was dismal, he said. “The graphs produced in evidence by the television quota committee show that the New Zealand content in the N.Z.B.C.’s programmes has been static for the last three years and has shown little change in the last five,” Mr McKay said. “This is despite the fact that production staff is under-employed and the existing facilities are capable of a greater level of production.” AGE OF DIRECTORS Concerning personnel, Mr 1 McKay said it was significant that the N.Z.B.C. had failed to identify any of the people who would be responsible for running the second channel. The I.T.C. would be able to attract people of the highest calibre to join if it were successful in obtaining the warrant, Mr McKay said. This was the best possible guarantee of the quality of the programmes it would be able to produce.