Irene Gardiner: SPADA President on the calls for the Government to help fund Kiwi reality shows - Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

There's growing calls among industry experts for the Government to give NZ-produced reality shows a funding boost.

Local versions of shows like Married at First Sight and The Block currently don't get the 40 percent screen production rebate available to other programs - and Kiwi TV broadcasters are hoping to turn that around.

SPADA President Irene Gardiner says these shows were originally funded by advertising revenue - which has dried up in recent years.

"What's happened in our local industry is because of years and years of the big tech-ers operating here without regulation - advertising revenue has massively reduced and the spend that the big networks have for local content has basically gone down."

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