Canwest in talks over Maori channel

Friday 13th July 2001

By Deborah Hill Cone

Canadian broadcaster Canwest has been talking to politicians about using its cash-haemorrhaging TV4 subsidiary for the planned Maori television channel.

The youth channel already airs a Maori language cartoon Nga Paki Waituhi and a Maori language children's show on weekend mornings.

The loss-making channel, seen as a brainwave when it was first conceived in 1996, has long been considered a balance sheet problem for Canwest in its current incarnation.

TV3 and TV4 associate director of marketing Roger Beaumont said Canwest had some general discussions in Wellington about putting Maori programming on TV4 but the discussions had not progressed beyond that.

"There is no concrete proposal in development," Mr Beaumont said.

Broadcasters and Maori language groups have been in discussion with the government about options for a Maori language channel since May's Budget, when the Maori channel was allocated $10 million in funding.

There is a range of proposals being evaluated by officials, including a cheap but effective plan to subtitle existing English programmes in Maori.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Helen Clark's office said the issue had not been raised at the cabinet on Monday and next week there will be no cabinet meeting as Parliament is in recess.

But the issue may be decided in the week following.

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