Tune in to C21FM today from 10am

Today we hear from Chloe Barraclough, an interactive producer at Aardman, about working remotely from New Zealand for the iconic UK animation studio, and Matt Barthow, head of programming at Discovery-owned Kiwi broadcaster Three, about his current content needs.

Tune in to C21FM by CLICKING HERE.

When Covid-19 hit around this time last year, Aardman interactive producer Chloe Barraclough was on sabbatical in New Zealand and deliberating whether to come home or stay put.

She and Aardman decided on the latter, and Nico Franks spoke to her about Aardman’s activities in the interactive space, working at the intersection of games and TV and, with more of our world going virtual, whether the pandemic might provide a boost to virtual reality.

US factual giant Discovery completed its acquisition of New Zealand broadcaster Three from Mediaworks in late 2020, giving it a major presence in the country’s free-to-air television market, including entertainment channels Three and Bravo, as well as streaming service ThreeNow.

Nico Franks caught up with Three’s head of programming, Matt Barthow, to ask him about Covid’s impact on schedulers’ willingness to experiment with old and new content and, with New Zealand’s Covid alert levels fluctuating at short notice at the moment, the importance of having a well of finished programming on standby to tap into.

Barthow also discussed what kind of content he’s looking for and how the balance between local and acquired international programming is shifting on Three’s schedule as he looks to draw in 25- 54-year-olds and their kids in the evenings.

C21FM is live 24/7, with a block of interviews starting at 10am BST every day at c21fmradio.com. You can download the audio from the C21 Podcast by CLICKING HERE.