A member of the Maori Television Board who has quit suggests the channel should consider cutting its Te Reo content.
Ian Taylor stepped down from his position on Tuesday, the same day the channel decided not to go ahead and hire a chief executive after failing to reach a unanimous decision on the best candidate.
Mr Taylor says in order for the Maori language to stay alive, Maori Television needs to be reaching out to rangatahi, or young people, rather than kaumatua, or elders.
Mr Taylor, of Ngati Kahungunu and Ngapuhi, says the board needs to find a leader with a strategic vision, who can argue about how much Maori language content the station should be broadcasting, and whether 50% is the right figure.
He questions whether Maori Television is "watering dying trees" - producing a lot of programmes for the elders when it should be targeting the younger generation.
Mr Taylor says the new chief executive needs to be able to make the channel more relevant to the rangatahi because the language will not survive without them.
