New Zealanders will now be able to watch Lorde live at the Grammys after Television New Zealand backed down on giving the awards delayed coverage only.
As recently as Sunday TVNZ had said it would screen the January 27 awards only at 9.15pm (NZ time) on TV ONE.
That led to a public outcry, with a Facebook group formed called “Let’s get the Grammy’s (sic) live on TV in New Zealand” to put pressure on TVNZ bosses.
The page had only 380 likes today, but it appears the pressure has worked and the Grammys will now be broadcast live from 2pm (NZ time) on TV2, followed by the delayed coverage later in the evening.
TVNZ head of television Jeff Latch said the company’s first preference had been to stream the awards live on TVNZ Ondemand, which was the ideal platform for daytime live events.
However, an attempt to get the rights was not successful, which meant the full television broadcast of the show was originally scheduled in prime time on TV ONE so the maximum number of people would get to see it.
“We realise a lot of people are back at work and not in a position to watch TV during the day [the awards are on a Monday (NZ time)], but for those who can our solution is to run the live broadcast on TV2 and the repeat on TV ONE at a time when people can watch it at leisure.”
Lorde, 17, has four nominations, including for the prestigious Record of the Year.
If she wins, she will be only the second New Zealander to take the award, after Kimbra shared the honour with Australian Gotye last year and only the fourth Kiwi to ever win a Grammy.
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