Recently, the broadcasting funding agency New Zealand On Air announced the latest round of TV programmes it’s backing with public money in drama, documentaries, and comedy and culture.
Among its decisions: $685,000 to bring high-end quiz show ‘Mastermind’ back to TV one for the first time since 1991.
In May, NZOA backed another blast from the past by funding a series of ‘University Challenge‘, which was first revived without public money last year by Invercargill based local broadcaster Cue TV.
Listen to Mediawatch on the revival of University Challenge in 2014:
There is a gap in the market of for locally made quiz shows, based on the hours taken up on TV by foreign ones in the afternoons these days.
TV One has two British ones each weekday, ‘Tipping Point’ and ‘The Chase’ followed by Millionaire Hotseat from Australia. And on TV3 the weekday show is another Aussie one dangling a seven figure sum in front of the viewers, Million Dollar Minute. While at the same time on Prime TV, it’s Australian Deal or No Deal.
But with these foreign shows the drawback is there are too many questions only foreigners could be expected to know. How many people outside the UK could answer this?
But straight after that on The Chase last Tuesday – there was one question that gave viewers here a chance, but stumped contestant Alison from London:
No not Jamiaca, Alison.
Now she knows how viewers here feel watching foreign TV quizzes designed for foreign audiences all week long.
