7 Digits for 7 Days, Big Spend on Jono and Ben
October 2, 2015 
2 Comments
TV3’s HD comedy hits 7 Days and Jono and Ben are laughing all the way to the bank.
NZ On Air has awarded both series more than $2.7 million in funding for their 2016 runs.
7 Days, which returns next week, has picked up $1.056 million for 32 half-hours and Jono and Ben $1.717 million for 26 hours.
TV3’s also commissioned a one-hour stand-up comedy showcase for new talent, Aotearoha Rising Stars, which NZOA has bankrolled for $75,218.
The funding agency’s also contributing $200,000 towards Hunt for the Wilderpeople’s broadcast and online runs. (Taika Waiti’s take on Barry Crump’s Wild Pork and Watercress will screen on TV2.)
NZOA’s also supporting two other movies: Tip Top Taj Mahal, a screen adaptation of the acclaimed play Krishna’s Dairy (up to $199,999); and Chief Gary, a comedy about a struggling real estate agent who inherits a tiny sinking island in the Pacific ($199,999).
It’s time that NZ On Air (us, the taxpayer) stopped funding entertainment programmes like this and used the money for documentary stuff.
Why can’t TV3 fund 7 Days and Jono & Ben now that they are established hits? Does NZ on Air get any slice of the advertising money that these shows generate?