Rātaka tuku pūtea Funding rounds & dates

Mixed-platform

Te Māngai Pāho provides contestable, mixed-platform funding for producers and creators to create a diverse range of Māori content.

Ngā tūāpapa rerekē is our way of describing the wide variety of content we fund across linear television, online and digital platforms, web series and apps. Previously described as ‘diverse content’, all mixed-platform initiatives support Māori language and culture outcomes.

The majority of Te Māngai Pāho funding is contestable, mixed-platform funding, and is available to producers and creators to create a diverse range of Māori content, such as Special Projects, Tamariki & Rangatahi, Innovation, NZ on Air Co-Fund, General Audience and News & Current Affairs.

We have published our draft funding calendar for 2024/25. This calendar is not confirmed until after Budget 2024, but we hope it provides some certainty for planning for the coming financial year.

This year, we are changing the way we refer to the content we fund. We have categorised this into three streams of funding: Content, Platform, Industry.

Content refers to all creative content that we fund. This includes our General Audiences funding rounds, our Co-fund with NZ On Air and our Waiata Reo Māori and Waiata Tuarea funding rounds. We will also run two funding rounds for our targeted audiences. This years' targeted audience rounds will be for Tamariki Rangatahi and News & Current Affairs.

Platform refers to the 21 Iwi Radio stations which receive Te Māngai Pāho funding. This is a closed round and we will be in touch with each station directly regarding funding dates for 2024/25. 

Industry is split into direct funding and contestable funding. Direct funding includes the archiving by Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision and other industry activities which are supported by direct industry funding. Two contestable funding rounds will be held to allow the industry to apply for industry-related awards, talent development and partnership programmes.

Download the draft funding calendar for 2024/25 here.

Special Projects

Demand for te reo and kaupapa Māori funding has grown significantly in the last five years. Te Māngai Pāho is keen to continue building on audience momentum by funding the production of content which has a positive impact on New Zealanders’ attitudes toward te reo Māori and tikanga Māori.

The content we are looking to fund will focus on Matariki 2024 and Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2024. Other kaupapa Māori events of national importance are welcome.

Read the RFP here.

General Audience

This contestable funding opportunity will support quality factual and scripted content made for diverse and multiple digital platforms including linear pouaka whakaata, OnDemand, online viewing as well as limited Podcast funding streamed through major platforms in this financial year. Both new and returning series are eligible to apply.

At the ROI stage, we invite content producers to tell us about their capability and capacity to deliver content in the next 12 months, and to pitch content ideas that will contribute to the normalisation and wellbeing of te reo Māori. The content we are looking to support will be Aotearoa-centric and demonstrate a capacity to positively impact on New Zealanders’ attitudes towards te reo Māori by providing audiences an opportunity to engage with the language in a way that is inclusive and within their reach.

Read the ROI here

Te Māngai Pāho and NZ On Air Reo Māori Content co-fund

Te Māngai Pāho and NZ On Air are joining forces once again to fund high-quality, Scripted and Non-Fiction reo Māori content for a broad audience. Submissions for this round are now closed and decisions will be notified on Friday 19 April 2024.

Tamariki & Rangatahi

This contestable fund seeks to support the creation of content for tamariki and rangatahi audiences that engage the target audience on multiple platforms: including but not limited to; linear television; OnDemand; and online viewing.

News & Current Affairs

Since its inception, Te Māngai Pāho has supported quality Māori journalism made by Māori about Māori issues, and interests. Te Māngai Pāho understands the important role it plays in creating space for our content, perspective, and reo on matters deemed of local, national and international relevance and importance.

Māori journalism provides a plurality of voices and addresses the potential for imbalance in our political landscape, especially in respect of that demand te reo Māori and Māori perspectives are heard and considered. To ensure Māori journalistic capability within the sector, Te Māngai Pāho is committed to continuing its tautoko for the production and distribution of Māori news and current affairs.

Innovation Round

This contestable funding opportunity will tautoko content and campaigns for Aotearoa audiences to distribute via new and emerging platforms with marketing and distribution support, or platforms that have an established hunga mātakitaki with a distribution plan attached.

This round looks to fund innovative content and genres we haven’t yet explored across multiple platforms that champion te reo and tikanga Māori, that use te reo and tikanga Māori in innovative, accessible ways on screen to help change attitudes and behaviours across Aotearoa.