Discovery NZ Limited is a subsidiary of

Warner Bros. Discovery Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Outline of entertainment, entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It was formed from WarnerMedi ...

that operates several television channels in New Zealand. It operates five national free-to-air television channels and eight pay-TV channels on

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...

. It was formerly known as MediaWorks TV and operated as a subsidiary of

MediaWorks New Zealand MediaWorks New Zealand is a New Zealand-based company specialising in radio, outdoor advertising and interactive media. It is owned by Australian out-of-home advertising company QMS. It operates eight national radio brands, eleven websites and ...

between 2004 and 2020. In 2019, MediaWorks announced that they were selling their television operations. In September 2020,

Discovery, Inc. Discovery, Inc. was an American multinational mass media factual television conglomerate based in New York City. Established in 1982, the company operated a group of factual and lifestyle television brands, such as the namesake Discovery Chan ...

purchased MediaWorks TV with the acquisition being finalised on 1 December 2020. The subsidiary was subsequently rebranded as Discovery New Zealand, and the company was renamed to Discovery NZ Limited.

History

Three 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

was founded as TV3 in 1989 after the

Fourth Labour government The Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand governed New Zealand from 26 July 1984 to 2 November 1990 (the period up to 8 August 1989 is also called the Lange Government). It was the first Labour government to win a second consecutive term si ...

allowed for a private television broadcaster. CanWest obtained TV3 between 1991 and 1997 after the National government loosened rules on foreign ownership. Under CanWest control, TV3 relaunched in March 1998 with a new brand and a ''

3 News ''Newshub'' (stylised as Newshub.) was a New Zealand news service that operated from 1989 to 2024 and served as the local news division of Warner Bros. Discovery New Zealand until its closure. The division, known as ''3 News'' until 2016, had ...

'' bulletin hosted by John Campbell and Carol Hirschfeld.

MediaWorks New Zealand (2004–2020)

MediaWorks TV was created in 2004, and owned TV3 and C4. In 2005,

Hilary Barry Hilary Ann Barry (née Pankhurst, born 4 December 1969) is a New Zealand journalist and television personality who co-hosts ''Seven Sharp'' with Jeremy Wells on TVNZ 1. She was a newsreader on TV3 for many years and until 2016, presented the 6 p ...

Mike McRoberts Mike McRoberts (born 1966) is a New Zealand television journalist and news anchor. He presented ''Newshub Live at 6pm'' on Three from 2005 until its last broadcast on 5 July 2024. McRoberts is the Te Ao Māori Editor at the National Business R ...

became the station's news anchors. TV3 staff also launched youth station TV4 in 1997, and replaced it with C4 on October 3, 2003. In 2009 the timeshift channel TV3 Plus 1 was launched. C4 2 was launched in 2010, then, when TV4 returned as FOUR taking over C4's Channel 4 position in early 2011, C4 converted C4 2 into a music show as it was moved to Freeview Channel 9. In 2014, timeshift channel Four Plus 1 was launched, and

The Edge TV The Edge TV was a New Zealand online streaming channel that was officially launched as a television channel on 27 June 2014 as an extension of The Edge radio brand, which is owned by MediaWorks New Zealand. In September 2020, MediaWorks sold The ...

replaced C4. In May 2016, MediaWorks and

NBCUniversal Television Distribution NBCUniversal Syndication Studios (a.k.a. NUSS), formerly known as NBCUniversal Television Distribution (a.k.a. NUTD), Universal Domestic Television, Studios USA Television Distribution and MCA TV (stylized as NBCUniversal SYNDICATION STUDIOS) is t ...

entered into a joint venture and revamped FOUR as the new reality television channel Bravo. In August 2016, Michael Anderson was appointed as CEO of MediaWorks. In 2017, TV3 was rebranded as Three. On 15 April 2018, MediaWorks launched

ThreeLife Three (), stylised as +HR=E, is a New Zealand nationwide television channel. Launched on 26 November 1989 as TV3, it was New Zealand's first private broadcasting, privately owned television channel. The channel currently broadcasts nationally ( ...

, a lifestyle channel. On 1 July 2019, The Edge TV moved exclusively online, and was replaced on TV by

ThreeLife + 1 Three (), stylised as +HR=E, is a New Zealand nationwide television channel. Launched on 26 November 1989 as TV3, it was New Zealand's first privately owned television channel. The channel currently broadcasts nationally (with regional adverti ...

. On 18 October 2019, it was announced that MediaWorks was intending to sell off their television division including Three, ThreeLife, and Bravo. MediaWorks also intends to sell its Flower Street head office and studios in Auckland's

Eden Terrace Eden Terrace is an inner city suburb of Auckland, located 2 km south of the Auckland CBD, in the North Island of New Zealand. Eden Terrace is one of Auckland's oldest suburbs, and also one of the smallest. Eden Terrace is under the gov ...

. Several Three television programs and shows have also been canceled. Media commentator Bill Ralston has claimed that hundreds of jobs could be lost if a buyer is not found. ThreeLife and ThreeLife + 1 went off air on 26 March 2020. ThreeLife was replaced by The Edge TV. ThreeLife + 1 was replaced by a simulcast of The Breeze, then

The Breeze TV Breeze TV was a New Zealand music streaming channel that was launched by The Breeze radio station on 16 April 2020 as a replacement for MediaWorks New Zealand MediaWorks New Zealand is a New Zealand-based company specialising in radio, outd ...

on 16 April. On 25 May 2020, MediaWorks CEO Michael Anderson announced that the company would be eliminating 130 jobs in its sales, out-of-home, and radio divisions as a result of the economic effects of the

COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand The COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand was part of COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first case of the disease in New Zeala ...

Discovery, Inc. (2020–2022)

On 7 September 2020, MediaWorks confirmed that it would be selling its entire television arm including

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels * Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 * Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing compa ...

, streaming service ThreeNow, and current affairs service

Newshub ''Newshub'' (stylised as Newshub.) was a New Zealand news service that operated from 1989 to 2024 and served as the local news division of Warner Bros. Discovery New Zealand until its closure. The division, known as ''3 News'' until 2016, had ...

Discovery, Inc Discovery, Inc. was an American multinational mass media factual television conglomerate based in New York City. Established in 1982, the company operated a group of factual and lifestyle television brands, such as the namesake Discovery Chan ...

. The acquisition of MediaWorks was finalised on 1 December 2020, with the subsidiary being rebranded as Discovery NZ Limited. On 27 April 2021, Discovery Inc. confirmed that it would be restructuring its business operations in Australia and New Zealand with the goal of incorporating Three, Bravo and Newshub into a single trans-Tasman organisation. Earlier in the month, Discovery announced that this new trans-Tasman organisation would be headed by two general managers, the

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

–based Rebecca Kent and Glen Kyne in Auckland. Discovery had also separately acquired New Zealand's TopTV operations in 2019. On 13 May 2021, Newshub closed its

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

office as part of a restructuring of Discovery's business operations in Australia and New Zealand. Following the closure of the Dunedin newsroom, the network's South Island operations will consist of its

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

–based bureau as well as freelancers. On 10 November 2021, it was announced that Choice TV would be rebranded as Gusto in March 2022. However, shortly before launch the name Gusto was scrapped and changed to "eden" in order to avoid confusion with the former

TVNZ OnDemand TVNZ+ (), formerly known as TVNZ OnDemand, is an over-the-top New Zealand television and video on demand streaming service offered by TVNZ. It offers a variety of free content, such as news updates and programmes seen on TVNZ channels. TVNZ+ o ...

food channel of the same name. The rebranded channel will retain most of Choice's programming, with the major additions of ''Newshub Live at 8pm'', an extension of Discovery New Zealand's news brand

, and more drama programming. The channel will host British drama, game shows, and "intelligent" movies including ''

Changing Rooms ''Changing Rooms'' is a do-it-yourself home improvement show broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC between 1996 and 2004. The series was revived on Channel 4 in 2021. The show was one of a number of home improvement and lifestyle shows ...

'', ''Big Family Farm'', ''

Finding Alice ''Finding Alice '' is a British television six-part comedy-drama produced by RED Production Company (a StudioCanal company) in association with Bright Pictures TV, Buddy Club Productions and Genial Productions. It premiered on ITV in the UK on ...

'', and a new local show called ''Great Southern Truckers''. A second channel called Rush will host "high energy shows" within the survival and adventure genres including ''

Wheeler Dealers Wheeler Dealers is a British TV series originally produced by Attaboy TV for the Discovery Channel in the United Kingdom and for Motor Trend in the United States. The programme is fronted by car enthusiast and former dealer Mike Brewer wit ...

'', ''

Man vs. Wild ''Man vs. Wild'', also called ''Born Survivor: Bear Grylls'', ''Ultimate Survival'', ''Survival Game'', or colloquially as simply ''Bear Grylls'' in the United Kingdom, is a survival television series hosted by Bear Grylls on the Discovery Chann ...

'', ''

Street Outlaws ''Street Outlaws'' is an American reality television series. The series premiered on Discovery Channel on June 10, 2013. The show has 15 seasons in total. Episodes Series overview Season 1 (2013) Season 2 (2013–14) Season 3 (2014) ...

'' and ''

Treehouse Masters ''Treehouse Masters'' is an American reality television series that aired on Animal Planet and starred Pete Nelson, a master treehouse builder and owner of Nelson Treehouse and Supply. Each episode, Nelson and his team design and build custom tre ...

''. Discovery also confirmed that its working on several local productions including ''

MasterChef New Zealand ''MasterChef New Zealand'' is a New Zealand competitive reality television cooking show based on the original British version of ''MasterChef''. The first episode aired on 3 February 2010 at 7:30pm on TV One. Throughout its history, the show ha ...

'', ''

The Masked Singer NZ ''The Masked'' ''Singer NZ'' is a New Zealand reality singing competition television show based on the ''Masked Singer'' franchise which originated from the South Korean version of the show ''King of Mask Singer''. It premiered on Three on 9 May ...

'', ''Dancing with the Stars'', ''Match Fit'', ''Patrick Gower: On series'', ''David Lomas Investigates'', and ''7 Days''. In addition, Discovery also announced plans to launch a new Newshub Live at 8pm bulletin and AM Early show in 2022.

Warner Bros. Discovery (2022–present)

On 8 April 2022, Discovery, Inc. acquired

WarnerMedia Warner Media, LLC (Trade name, doing business as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational corporation, multinational mass media and show business, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate owned by AT&T. It was headquartered at the 30 ...

from

AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...

, with the two companies being merged into a new entity called

. As a result, Discovery New Zealand and its assets

and channel Three became part of the new media company. As a result, Discovery New Zealand was rebranded as Warner Bros. Discovery New Zealand. On 20 April 2022,

World Rugby World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competit ...

and

Spark Sport Spark New Zealand Limited is a New Zealand telecommunications and digital services company providing fixed-line telephone services, mobile phone services, broadband, and digital technology services (including cloud, security, digital transfor ...

announced that Warner Bros. Discovery NZ's channel Three would be the free-to-air broadcaster for the delayed Rugby World Cup 2021, held in New Zealand from 8 October to 12 November 2022. On 28 February 2024, Warner Bros. Discovery announced a proposal to shutter the news division of Three,

, permanently beginning 1 July. 300 staff are expected to lose their jobs. The head of Warner Bros. Discovery Asia Pacific cited a significant decline in TV ad revenues as the key motivator for the decision. Initial reactions of shock have been compounded by concerns over the effects this could have on

media concentration Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is int ...

in New Zealand, leaving the country with only two television news broadcasters, the state-owned

1News 1News is the news service of the New Zealand television network TVNZ. Its flagship programme is the daily evening newscast ''1News at Six''; other programmes include morning news-talk show ''Breakfast'', '' Te Karere'', '' Seven Sharp'', and ...

and

Whakaata Māori Whakaata Māori is a New Zealand television channel that broadcasts programmes that make a significant contribution to the revitalisation of the Māori language and culture. Funded by the New Zealand Government, it commenced broadcasting as M� ...

. On 10 April 2024, Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed that Newshub would air its final bulletin on 5 July 2024, resulting in about 300 job losses. The company rejected a staff proposal for a pared down news bulletin service. On 16 April 2024, Warner Bros. Discovery and newspaper company

Stuff Stuff, stuffed, and stuffing may refer to: *Physical matter *General, unspecific things, or entities Arts, media, and entertainment Books *''Stuff'' (1997), a novel by Joseph Connolly *''Stuff'' (2005), a book by Jeremy Strong Fictional c ...

jointly confirmed that Stuff would produce 6pm news bulletins for

, commencing 6 July. Stuff publisher

Sinead Boucher Sinead Marie Boucher ( O'Hanlon; born 26 June 1970) is a New Zealand journalist and chief executive of Stuff Ltd. On 31 May 2020 she became the owner of Stuff Ltd and in July 2023 became executive chair. Early life and family Born in 1970 to S ...

also confirmed that Stuff would hire several former Newshub staff (less than 40-50) to produce the 6pm bulletins. In late May 2024, Stuff revealed that the news bulletin service would be called

ThreeNews ''ThreeNews'' is a New Zealand television news bulletin produced by Stuff, airing on channel Three since 6 July 2024. It is the successor to '' Newshub Live at 6pm'', which ended the day prior. Format ''ThreeNews'' is broadcast for 60 minutes ...

Ownership and brands

Services

Television

Three, Bravo, Eden and Rush are operated out of

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. Television advertising was sold by the MediaWorks offices in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

. There were

bureaus in the Three Headquarters in

and MediaWorks offices in

and

, with news staff working out of other offices as needed. Three provided mature content,

bulletins, current affairs and sport. The Edge TV launched in 2014 and broadcasts music videos and entertainment news. All are available via all digital platforms such as terrestrial, satellite and cable. TV3 and Four were the only ones previously available via analogue terrestrial on the VHF band before the 2013 switch-off. The Edge TV was added in 2018. Bravo and Bravo Plus 1 replaced Four and Four Plus 1 in 2016. ThreeLife was added in 2018, and ThreeLife + 1 replaced The Edge TV on terrestrial in 2019. On 25 March 2020, ThreeLife went off air, and was replaced by The Edge TV, and its timeshift channel by Breeze TV. In 2022, The Edge TV and Breeze TV went off air to make way for the new Rush, Eden and Eden+1 (timeshift) channels.

Free-to-air television brands

Former free-to-air television brands

Current pay television brands

Former pay television brands

Websites

Defunct websites

Newshub

Newshub was a New Zealand news service that aired on TV channel Three and had articles on their website and app. The Newshub brand replaced 3 News service on the TV3 network and the

Radio Live Radio Live (stylised as Radio LIVE) was a nationwide Auckland-based New Zealand talkback, news and sport radio network owned and operated by MediaWorks New Zealand. It was formed by the 2005 split of talk and racing network Radio Pacific into ...

news service heard on MediaWorks Radio stations on 1 February 2016.

References

External links

* {{Authority control MediaWorks New Zealand Mass media companies established in 2004 New Zealand companies established in 2004 Former Corus Entertainment subsidiaries Warner Bros. Discovery Asia-Pacific Warner Bros. Discovery subsidiaries New Zealand subsidiaries of foreign companies Companies based in Auckland

History

MediaWorks New Zealand (2004–2020)

Discovery, Inc. (2020–2022)

Warner Bros. Discovery (2022–present)

Ownership and brands

Services

Television

Free-to-air television brands

Former free-to-air television brands

Current pay television brands

Former pay television brands

Websites

Defunct websites

Newshub

See also

References

External links