Broadcasting organisations
Until the 1980s the Crown owned virtually all broadcasting (radio and television) assets in New Zealand. From the Second World War on, very small amounts of Māori language were broadcast on radio. Television, when it was introduced in the 1960s, was an English-language domain. This affected the status of the Māori language and its ability to deal with modern developments, especially as privately-owned newspapers and magazines were also in English only.
The WAI11 claim addressed this issue directly. State broadcasting executives were asked to give evidence about their failure to provide for those who wanted to see and hear New Zealand's indigenous language.
The findings of the Tribunal formed the basis for later arguments in the courts and in other claims about the need for more funding, and for Māori broadcasting organisations.
The outcome was the establishment of a network of iwi radio stations and of Māori Television, both of which remain vibrant. Radio New Zealand and Television New Zealand now use the Māori language in some programmes and in continuity announcements. Funding for Māori broadcast initiatives is channelled through Te Māngai Pāho, a Crown entity, and in a less-focused way through New Zealand On Air, which funds both English- and Māori-language programmes.