A new lobby group says the public broadcasting sector has been whittled down over the years and deserves more Government support.
The Coalition for Better Broadcasting was launched on Monday to draw attention to the tight financial constraints Radio New Zealand and Television New Zealand work under.
Chief executive Myles Thomas says New Zealanders value the broadcasters and the major problem is Government control over funding.
He says Radio New Zealand's funding has been frozen since 2008 and Government demands for TVNZ to make a profit shift the station's focus to be more commercial.
Mr Thomas believes a levy on commercial media would ease the strain on all public broadcasters.
