Russell Brown's Media7 jumps from sinking TVNZ7 to TV3

NZ On Air says it will fund Media 3 (formerly Media 7).

The media commentary show, fronted by Russell Brown, is moving from TVNZ7 to TV3 under the deal.

TVNZ7 has entered its final month of broadcasting. The state broadcaster will replace it with a repeats channel.

An NZ On Air spokeswoman told NBR ONLINE the show had received $491,324 in funding for 20 half-hour shows - just under $25,000 an episode.

The Top Shelf-produced programme examining local media will move to TV3 on Saturday mornings in August with an encore screening late on Sunday evenings. It will also be available on-demand at tv3.co.nz.

Media7 is one of the darlings of the Save TVNZ7 campaign.

But given the show has secured NZ On Air funding for a move to a mainstream network, it is arguably not a bad result for publicly funded television.

Filming will be on Thursday evenings. 

NBR hears whispers there is "no room at the inn" in terms of filming at TV3.

Mr Brown said the location was "to be confirmed".

"We started as an offsite show and have recorded at three locations other than TVNZ over time, so it's not that surprising."

NBR understands Media7 pays the tab regardless of whether the show is filmed at a broadcaster's studio or on location.

Save TVNZ7 campaign welcomes move
“Media7 becoming Media3 is brilliant news” says Myles Thomas of Save TVNZ 7. “Non-commercial and public service television channels make ideal breeding grounds for innovative programmes like Media 7. It’s great to see the programme continue beyond the impending death of TVNZ 7."

Whispers of other commercial networks picking up shows
As the closure of TVNZ 7 draws ever closer there have been several whispers of commercial networks circling around the publicly funded channel’s most popular shows, Mr Thomas said.

“This is exactly as it should be. The greatest talents start out on the margins such as Sir Peter Jackson with Braindead, the Back of the Y boys on Triangle/Stratos and countless TV and Radio personalities who started their broadcasting careers at BFM,” said Mr Thomas. “We just hope that the shows reborn out of TVNZ 7’s unfortunate demise get aired in primetime where audiences can enjoy them.”