Prebble ‘sadly misinformed’

Press, 24 May 1988, Page 15

Prebble ‘sadly misinformed’

By

NIGEL MALTHUS

The Minister of Broadcasting, Mr Prebble, has been sadly misinformed about the prospects for growth in the New Zealand radio market, according to the Broadcasting Corporation’s chief executive, Mr Nigel Dick.

Mr Dick disputed figures given by Mr Prebble at the week-end, purporting to show that more radio stations would mean more listeners. According to the Minister’s figures, the percentage of people watching television had fallen from 41 per cent to less than 37 per cent over the last 10 years, while the percentage listening to radio had risen from 29 per cent to. 34 per cent over the same period. “My office was asked to supply Mr Prebble with information on viewing and listening which he has apparently chosen to ignore,” said Mr Dick. “We do not know where he has got the figures he is quoted as using, but they do not match ours or

those to be found in independent survey reports which are accepted throughout the broadcasting industry.” Mr Dick said that the independent surveys show that the percentage of New Zealanders watching television at any one time had fallen only slightly in the last five years — from 22.3 per cent to 20.7 per cent — and that at a time of dramatic grow’th in home video use. The average percentage of people listening to radio at any one time had risen only slightly over that time, from 17.1 per cent to 19.3 per cent, while the number of radio stations had risen 24 per cent, from 50 to 62, he said.

“This does not sustain any notion that audiences will expand along with the number of broadcasters serving them,” said Mr Dick. The Minister was well aware of the corporation’s view that there was little room in the market for additional operators attempting to provide ad-vertiser-funded services, he said. “Unless the Government is prepared to provide additional funds, local content in broadcasts — particularly on television — will diminish as an increasing number of broadcasters scrap over the same number of people and the same number of advertising dollars,” said Mr Dick.