RWC Free to Air Rights Sold...... To Sharples?

Okay, so the above headline is slightly misleading. Shaples didn't buy the rights but he might as well have. The Herald reported today that Pita Sharples, the co-leader of the Maori party and minister of Maori affairs gave "his blessing for taxpayer funds to support a Maori Television Service (MTS) bid for the 2011 Rugby World Cup's free-to-air broadcast rights, thought to be as high as $3 million."

Sharples did this without consulting the cabinet and it seems that he will not have to justify his decision. MTS, which already receives $16.5 million ($33 million according to Micael Laws) in government subsidies, will receive a further subsidy of around $3 million to bid for the free to air rights for the Rugby World Cup in 2011. I should clarify though that these rights are already owned by Sky TV and the free to air rights will probably include highlights packages and delayed coverage.

The issue the government has here is that it owns two television stations, TVNZ and MTS. TVNZ is a profit making state owned enterprise (SOE) where as MTS is a money sucking maori television channel almost completely funded by the taxpayer. If the government is going to fund MTS's bid for the rights why shouldn't TVNZ get funded as well? It seems that Sharples isn't really worried about the public's ability to view the matches free-to-air instead he just wants to promote MTS at whatever cost.

While the government tells us to tighten out belts, Sharples is spending up large. Not only is he spending $3 million but he is spending $3 million on something the government has nothing to do with. The free-to-air rights negotioations between the Sky and free-to-air broadcasters is a commercial negotiation that has little to do with the government. The government funded Maori TV now has a major advantage over TV3 and TVNZ who are unlikly to get the rights now because they just can't match that sort of an offer.

The $3 million is coming out of existing (taxpayer) funds for Maori development and does not need specific cabinet approval but you have to wonder if this $3 million actually helps Maori development at all. Shaples will argue that if MTS get the rights then more people will watch so the channel will grow but what happens after the World Cup? Viewership will go down again and MTS will return to the deep dark depths of minority television. If the government wants to increase it's dividends received from TVNZ it might be better off investing the money into TVNZ. At least the SOE would return some sort of a profit from advertising and is more likly to retain viewers after the World Cup therefore increasing it's profits in the future.

Frankly, what Sharples is doing is a disgrace. The government should not get invovled in commercial matters that have little to do with them and if it must get involved then it should do so in the most sensible manner. The broadcasting of the RWC 2011 on Maori TV isn't going to help Maori development it's just going to torture viewers with poor commentary and primary school like Maori language lessons. Sharples should focus on doing something good for Maoris not "ghettoising (sic) rugby" as Laws puts it.