Shorts Newsletter - 13 November 2025

KIDOGO and KIDOGO Junior

Last week we officially launched a new YouTube hub for Kiwi kids’ content - KIDOGO and KIDOGO Junior – two new channels which provide another way to find wonderful local children’s content.

These channels were created to address the growing discoverability problem for local children’s content. Our latest Where Are The Audiences Children’s Media Use research showed that 69% of New Zealand children use YouTube daily, while parents and caregivers often don’t know where to find local stories and songs for their tamariki. KIDOGO and KIDOGO Junior provide a curated, safe environment for discovering high-quality local stories and music.

KIDOGO targets primary-school-aged viewers, while KIDOGO Junior focuses on pre-schoolers, ensuring age-appropriate experiences that reflect Aotearoa’s creativity and culture.

The launch of the children’s media use research and of KIDOGO was held last week in Tāmaki Makaurau, alongside a workshop for children’s content creators.

For producers and creators, KIDOGO will be an additional distribution pathway that complements existing local platforms – strengthening visibility for funded children’s content. You can go here to hear more on this from our Head of Funding, Amie Mills, in this interview last week with Jesse Mulligan on Afternoons on RNZ.

You can go here to find KIDOGO and KIDOGO Junior.

Both channels will feature new uploads regularly, and will be supported by strong branding and social media promotion. There are also social media accounts for KIDOGO and KIDOGO Junior. We really encourage you to follow and share these channels, helping to amplify these local stories and make sure more audiences discover this content.

• KIDOGO Facebook
• KIDOGO Junior Facebook
• KIDOGO Instagram
• KIDOGO Junior Instagram

If you are interested in finding out more, including how you can get your content onto KIDOGO, just go here on our website.

Changes to NZSPR

NZ On Air is pleased to see the Government’s recent updates to the international Screen Production Rebate. These changes make New Zealand an even stronger contender for global screen projects. Lowering the minimum spend to $4 million, extending the 5% uplift to post-production, digital and visual effects (PDV)-only projects, and removing the cap on claims for above-the-line roles are all moves that will help keep Aotearoa competitive and open up more opportunities for our local industry. We’re excited to see the positive impact these adjustments will bring for the sector.

MMIC Review

Recently we commissioned the Māori Musicians Industry Collective (MMIC) to deliver a review of Māori artists working within the Aotearoa music industry and their experiences with NZ On Air music funding. This is part of our commitment to providing a more inclusive and responsive funding environment for Māori musicians and was an area identified in Victoria Kelly’s 2023 Review of NZ On Air Music Funding.

The review, Māori and NZ On Air Music Funding, highlighted both progress and a need for stronger relationships, clearer processes and culturally aligned support. We’ve taken these insights on board and developed a response outlining where we can act now, what’s already in place at NZ On Air and what needs further exploration.

What’s next?
Our response sets out some practical steps: from ensuring clarity of language in the application process through to considering the creation of a potential tangata whenua funding round. We’ll also maintain Māori representation on panels, improve feedback processes and keep evaluating cultural safety in line with our guiding document Te Pae Tata – Rautaki Māori.

Both the review and our response document can be found here on our here on our website.

Year In Review

A reminder that if you haven’t had a chance already, make sure you do check out our new web feature, Our Year in Review 2024-25. This is a place where you can explore the data and find the stories behind another successful year of NZ On Air funding. It was designed as a way to showcase the awesome content created and celebrate the content creators telling New Zealand’s stories and entertaining us with songs and games.

Key Dates

Also, a quick reminder of some key dates for your calendar:

• The last payment day for 2025 is Thursday 18 December. All paperwork for this payment round will need to be submitted by 5pm Monday 15 December. Please note, this last payment date is a week earlier than last year.

The first payment day in the new year will be 15 January 2026.