No taxpayer funding for X Factor’s next season? Old news
NZ On Air signalled it wouldn't support third X Factor season back in 2013. PLUS: MediaWorks denies incident was staged; says new judges will be chosen within 48 hours.
Government funding agency NZ On Air has confirmed it will not be funding a third season of TV3’s X Factor NZ.
However, contrary to media reports suggesting this is a reaction to the negative publicity resulting from the “bullying” of a contestant by subsequently-sacked judges Natalia Kills and Willy Moon, this decision was made well before Sunday’s already infamous episode.
In fact, as NZOA chief executive Jane Wrightson told NBR ONLINE in August last year, the funding agency had already informed MediaWorks there would be no taxpayer money for a third season – before X Factor’s first season in 2013.
“We told them we were prepared to contribute up to $1.6 million for the first season,” said Ms Wrightson.
This made NZOA a minority investor, as the show costs “way more than that” to produce.
Ms Wrightson said NZOA also told MediaWorks it would “consider funding applications for a second season of each show of up to $800k – in other words, half of the season one funding – on the assumption that wanting a second season meant the show was working for them commercially.”
But, Ms Wrightson made clear, “Any subsequent seasons, they’d have to meet the full costs themselves.”
Meanwhile, MediaWorks has put out a release that says replacement judges will be appointed within 48 hours and attempts to “quash” speculation the outbursts by Ms Kills and Mr Moon were actually scripted.
“This was not planned,” the show’s co-executive producer Andrew Szusterman insists in the statement.
“It came as a complete shock, and as we have said and demonstrated by our actions, this type of behaviour is completely unacceptable. The speculation is totally baseless.”
Nick Grant
Tue, 17 Mar 2015
Tue, 17 Mar 2015
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No taxpayer funding for X Factor’s next season? Old news
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