Until recently, TVNZ were not going to broadcast the Grammy Awards live on Monday, 27 January, a decision that invoked the ire of a significant number of Lorde fans and caused many Kiwis to question the broadcaster’s commitment to telling New Zealand’s stories.
And the disgruntled murmurings from media personality Pam Corkery, NZ Herald columnist Andrew Koubaridis and countless Twitter users seem to have paid off, because TVNZ has just sent out a release that flips entirely on the original plan to only screen a delayed evening broadcast of the event.
In the updated release, Jeff Latch, TVNZ’s head of television, said that the company’s first preference had been to stream the awards live on TVNZ Ondemand, but that these rights could not be secured.
As an alternative, TVNZ has now announced that it will broadcast the event twice: first live on TV2 at 2pm and then delayed on TV ONE at 9.15pm.
This decision was met with instant approval on Twitter, where commenters delighted in the broadcaster’s decision to cave in to the public’s demands.
Interestingly, the solution being used by TVNZ is exactly what was recommended via Twitter by Dunedin South Labour MP Clare Curran. While this might only be a coincidence, Curran could be forgiven for claiming it as evidence that politicians can bring about positive change from time to time.
