TVNZ & Live Center
Breaking news first with Live Center
Background
TVNZ, New Zealand’s state-owned, commercially-funded broadcaster, aims to inspire conversations of Aotearoa (New Zealand) and enrich the lives of New Zealanders by sharing significant moments that matter to their communities and regions.
Through channels such as TVNZ 1, 2, DUKE, and the online entertainment platform TVNZ+, TVNZ reaches over 2 million Kiwis daily. Their leading news site, 1News.co.nz, along with the socially driven news brand Re: engages audiences with important issues throughout the day in their preferred format.
FACTS
TVNZ: New Zealand's public broadcaster, state-owned
Audience: 2 million viewers per day
Channels and services:
The challenge
As one of New Zealand’s most trusted media companies, TVNZ is the source readers turn to for full coverage of major news and sports events. To meet the demand for real-time updates on the most pressing issues, the broadcaster chose to implement Norkon’s live blogging solution, Live Center.
Before implementing a live blogging platform, TVNZ used its standard article templates to cover fast-moving events, which required the team to republish the articles after each update.
“We couldn’t direct our audience to a specific part of the live blog easily, and embedding large numbers of videos and social media posts made our articles very heavy to load. Our audience could sometimes miss an update if they hadn’t refreshed the page” explained Veronica Schmidt, General Manager, Digital News and Content, TVNZ.
The Solution
Leading the Digital News and Content team responsible for live blogging on the 1News.co.nz website, Veronica Schmidt shares that: “We really wanted a tool that was easy for our team to use, and that could handle a large number of embedded videos, images and social media posts. It needed to be a great user experience for a wide range of content – from sports matches to political events to breaking news.”
Additionally, Live Center fulfilled several other key requirements for TVNZ, including:
- Deep linking for easy sharing
- Strong SEO and effective social sharing
- Clear timestamp system for updates
- Fast update speeds without compromising page load
- High uptime of service
- API-based configuration for front-end customization
- Integration with Brightcove video player and Google Analytics
The Results
1. SEO and web traffic
Live blogs frequently rank among the top-performing content and have become a significant source of web traffic for the 1News.co.nz site.
2. Page views
A typical live blog sees about 15,000 unique visitors, while a blog covering a big event attracts up to 150,000 unique viewers.
3. Reader engagement
TVNZ increased interaction with its audience and opened up the dialogue by enabling readers to submit their questions to journalists and personalities directly during live Q&As.
4. Dwell time and returning visitors
While individual sessions on live blogs are short, the format encourages repeated visits, with users frequently returning for updates. TVNZ observed a higher rate of returning visitors compared to traditional news articles, as audiences check in multiple times for the latest updates.
Conclusion
By leveraging a live blog strategy, TVNZ has enhanced its ability to deliver real-time, engaging content to its audience, solidifying its position as a trusted source of news and information in New Zealand. TVNZ further meets its goals of serving its community by utilizing a live blogging approach to open up dialogue and engage their audience, fostering a more interactive and responsive relationship with viewers.
Ready to try out Live Center for yourself?
2x - 4x
More page views
than regular articles
80%
More ad impressions per page
view than regular articles
60%
Our clients cover live events
60% more after using Live Center