SUNRISE AND ASB BUSINESS OFF AIR

 

TV3’s early morning news shows ASB Business and Sunrise have come to an end.

 

The morning news shows launched two and a half years ago, and despite helping grow the total early morning television audience, the cost of producing these programmes has proven to be unsustainable - particularly in the current economic environment.

 

“We have not taken this decision lightly, and it has been the subject of a lot of debate and discussion at both a Board and Management level – ultimately it has been the Board’s decision,” said MediaWorks TV Executive Director, Ian Audsley.

 

“Unfortunately this decision results in at least 20 redundancies across the Television business and that is the toughest aspect for all of us at TV3.  We are, however, able to offer redeployment in some cases.

 

 “Despite the terrific work of the people involved and the commitment of everyone at TV3, we’ve not been able to make these programmes work financially.  Today’s announcement is not a reflection on the calibre of the people involved in the production of the programmes.  They’re as good and capable a team as any I’ve seen anywhere,” Mr Audsley said.

 

The final editions of ASB Business and Sunrise went to air today, and a new programme schedule for these timeslots will be confirmed shortly.