I want my MTV (money for nothing and the cheques for free)

And the political fall out begins…
Govt told TVNZ to lead World Cup counter bid
The Government told TVNZ to put together a consortium for a bid it will financially back to ensure all New Zealanders get to see Rugby World Cup games. Broadcasting Minister Jonathan Coleman told reporters the Government has asked Maori Television (MTS) to cooperate in a joint bid but it had decided to go it alone. Now state broadcaster TVNZ and the private TV3 are going against the state-funded MTS to win the bid. However, MTS would be offered games if the consortium wins. MTS told Mr Coleman it could not now withdraw its bid at this late stage. "In that week before the bids went in the Government was very keen to reach an arrangement with all those three broadcasters involved," Mr Coleman revealed. "MTS decided they wanted to go it alone and we felt that wasn't going to meet the needs of all New Zealanders so effectively we've asked TVNZ to lead a consortium on this and we want MTS to be a part of this."

Conservative Catholic Bill and the House of Slitherin Murray ain’t happy with all this big blue tent stuff Optimist Prime has erected in the plantation fields around the grand southern mansion that is the National Party.

John’s new mates are supposed to like handle the hangi and welcome people to the mansion with that wonderful singing they do, not go out and erect rugby posts and buy the rights to the world fucking cup. The Maori Party see that TVNZ is being taken to the knackers yard post 2011 and have guessed National’s support of TVNZ is as strong as their commitment to making big polluters pay for their pollution. Having the main public broadcaster in ones pocket is going to help in the long term and no one can accuse the Maori Party of being short sighted (Upper Maori House in a new constitutional arrangement anyone?).

John had to go out this week and tell them off and a wonderfully acted Pita Sharples takes this years leading nomination as best supporting actor in an apology with his well rehearsed, ‘Sorry John’, looking like he’d hit a cricket ball through Johns conservatory window. Unfortunately for MTV (the true MTV, not the American one), Bill and Murray aren’t having a bar of that and want the Minister of Broadcasting to go in and sort it out, leaving Coleman to masterfully concoct the unholy alliance of TVNZ and TV3 to win the rights to broadcast for all people because we are all New Zealanders.

MTV will take it all as a win in their rise as the defacto public broadcaster, TVNZ will misinterpret it as a win as buyers quietly line up, TV3’s Australian owners will agonize whether to sell now or sell while TVNZ is also on the market and National look like they’ve given the Maoris a telling off and everyone gets to watch the final.

Wouldn’t it be funny if after all of that the All Blacks lost?