| New Zealand On Air Irirangi te Motu |
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| Type | Broadcast radio and television |
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| Country | New Zealand |
| Availability | National |
| Website | http://www.nzonair.govt.nz |
New Zealand On Air (or NZ On Air or the Broadcasting Commission, Māori: Irirangi te Motu) is a Government broadcast funding agency in New Zealand. NZ On Air is responsible for the funding of public good broadcasting and pays for National Radio and Concert FM to record and broadcast NZ music and funds access radio stations who carry specialist NZ music shows. It also funds the production of New Zealand Films and Television productions to aid in the promotion of New Zealand culture. New Zealand on Air was the name taken by the Commission in an attempt to promote its activities and encourage payment of the broadcasting fee. Programmes funded by New Zealand on Air would often have the announcement: This programme was made with the help of your broadcasting fee - so you can see more of New Zealand on air (now heard as This programme was made with funding from New Zealand on Air).
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Activities
New Zealand on Air's activities can be broken up into several areas
- Transmission - NZOA subsidises the broadcast of national television networks and public radio stations in areas where it is not commercially viable to do so.
- Public good broadcasting - NZOA funds public and private sector radio and television program production. This includes programs for special interest groups.
- Cultural promotion - New Zealand has and broadcast and the development of New Zealand music and drama on radio television.
- Archiving - NZOA funds a non-commercial broadcast archive.
Broadcasting Fee
The Broadcasting Commission was established under the Broadcasting Act of 1989, and initially was funded by a television licence fee, known in New Zealand as the public broadcasting fee of NZ$100, payable annually by each household with a television. There was a strong campaign from a section of the public against the Broadcasting Fee. The reason behind the campaign was to prove "whether the broadcasting fee is a tax and the legality of applying GST to this tax". In the end the fee was scrapped in 1999, and the Commission has since been directly funded by the government. The fee was collected from those people who owned a television set although the fee was funding much more than television work, especially radio. Some campaigners believed this was unfair.
Music production
NZ On Air also produces the Kiwi Hit Disc, Indie Hit Disc and Iwi Hit Disc. An increase in funding recently saw NZ On Air launch Phase Four of its music programmes, which includes an Artist development scheme.
Funding Details
Details of music funding and application deadlines are easily found on the website.
