Stuff owner Sinead Boucher says her media company is "not getting into the television business" after the announcement earlier on Tuesday it has signed a deal to produce a 6pm news bulletin for Three after Newshub is shut down.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Warner Bros. Discovery ANZ head of Networks Glen Kyne at Stuff's Auckland office on Tuesday, Boucher revealed more details of the deal she said "developed pretty rapidly".
"The really important thing is we've got the biggest newsroom in the country - we've now got 19 newsrooms and we're already a digital-first multimedia company so we're leveraging off that to produce a new, innovative 6pm product for Warner Bros," Boucher said.
However, she said there was a lot "still to be worked through", including how many jobs would be created to produce the new bulletin.
"I just don't want to give a number until we really work through that, because I don't want to set up any specific expectation for Newshub staff. That's something over the coming weeks we'll be nailing down the details of, but also working collaboratively with Warner Brothers on the product of the news itself and how that's shaping up."
The first Stuff 6pm bulletin is due to go to air on Three and ThreeNow on Saturday, July 6 - the day after Newshub ceases production.
Boucher said the new bulletin will not be called Newshub. Its new name has not been announced.
Kyne told media there was "mixed feelings" about the announcement at Newshub.
"It was a difficult announcement today because we're not saving all the jobs in the newsroom," he said.
"We're announcing something that we think is fundamentally positive for the country and positive for both businesses. But it does come with a downside that we still can't save all the Newshub jobs, so I think there's mixed feelings."
While Kyne confirmed work is underway with the national archives service to preserve some of Newshub's 35 year history, Boucher said "at this stage, we haven't made any specific plans about the Newshub website".
"Firstly, we wanted to ensure that the work that's already on that site can be preserved and kept available. Then I think as we get together, we'll start to have a look at that and decide."
The livestream, which has ended, can be watched in full above.
