No TV slot for Stage Challenge

SNUBBED: Students are disappointed that this year's Stage Challenge will not be televised.

Hugely popular secondary school performance competition Stage Challenge will not be televised this year, ruling out the national segement of the event and entry into the Global Rock Challenge,

TV3, which broadcast the event on Channel Four last year, said some issues between the event organisers and the television production side of things had not been resolved to its satisfaction.

The development will not affect performances, which happen at the regional level.

Stage Challenge producer Helen Sjoquist said TV3 had rejected proposals for the timing of coverage suggested by Stage Challenge.

TV3 had also not proposed any alternatives.

NZ on Air, which previously funded the broadcast coverage, was incredibly supportive of the event, but it could not provide funding without a broadcaster involved, Sjoquist said.

Students had indicated the weekend was the best time for them to watch Stage Challenge coverage on television, and the proposals for broadcasting times had taken that into account.

"Poor" students were phoning the Stage Challenge office to express their disappointment at the television development.

They were also upset that cartoons and infomercials would be broadcast, rather than coverage of Stage Challenge.

TV3 said it was disappointed it was not able to be involved in covering Stage Challenge in 2012.

"We know how hard the students work, and we know how important this event is to them.

"Unfortunately there have been some issues between the event organisers and the television production side of things which have not been able to be resolved to our satisfaction, so we have regrettably declined to support the television production."

TV3 declined to comment further.

Without the television coverage there will be no national competition or entry into the Global Rock Challenge, both of which are based on broadcast footage of the performances.

Performances will still be filmed, but only a single camera will be used rather than the multi-camera shoots that were made for television.

The broadcast footage was used by industry professionals to judge the national level contest, with the performance footage also used for the global event.

Last year the event was broadcast over seven days on Channel Four. There were daily half-hour segments on Sticky TV from Monday to Friday, with an hour long special on Saturday and a two-hour omnibus on Sunday.

At St Cuthbert's College, which won the 2011 national contest, acting principal Liz Battersby said the school was looking forward to the event, regardless of the television developments.

"We will just carry on and are looking forward to participating," she said.

The event was fun for the many students who too part, and the school liked the fact so many could be involved, and that they lifted their performance for it.

Stage Challenge for 2012 starts in Invercargill in early May.

- © Fairfax NZ News