Nightline (New Zealand TV programme)


Nightline is a New Zealand late night news programme that premiered on TV3 in April 1990. Its final host was Sacha McNeil, and Nightline ceased to air in December 2013, replaced by controversial broadcaster Paul Henry's new programme The Paul Henry Show in early 2014, and then in 2015 by a new late night news bulletin programme called Newsworthy with Samantha Hayes and David Farrier at the desk. This was replaced in 2016 by Newshub Late.

Format

Nightline, hosted usually in the 10:30 pm to 11:00 pm timeslot, had a high focus on the arts and current events. It competed directly with TVNZ's Tonight programme. Nightline generally ran the entire year, its timeslot being pushed later on some occasions to cater to long-running programmes, but traditionally took a short break over the Christmas period.
Previous hosts have included Rachel Smalley, Sam Hayes, Carly Flynn, Carolyn Robinson, Leanne Malcolm, Sarah Bradley, Joanna Paul and Belinda Todd, with the latter two being the programme's original hosts in 1990.

Cancellation

In early 2014, MediaWorks confirmed that The Paul Henry Show would replace Nightline. A release from Mediaworks said: "The Nightline brand remains a valued part of the 3 News stable and will sit in reserve." According to Rachel Lorimer, group communication manager for news and current affairs at Mediaworks, this means, "that the brand will be available for use in future years."
Over the last few years the programme had struggled to maintain its viewership, and Mediaworks felt that it was time for change. According to Nielsen, the programme's average audience per episode declined by 29% over the last five years of its life, with viewers dropping from 155,000 in 2009 to 110,000 in 2013.
In the release, Mark Jennings, director of news and current affairs at Mediaworks, said, "Nightline has been a great programme for us over many years and produced some of our best broadcasters, but the landscape is due for change and Paul Henry will lead that change in later evening viewing."
TV3 cancelled The Paul Henry Show at the end of 2014 and broadcast a temporary bulletin in the slot known as 3 News Late Edition with rotating anchors hosting. News programme Newsworthy was broadcast from 8 June 2015 to 18 December 2015. It was officially replaced on 1 February 2016 with Newshub Late hosted by Samantha Hayes.