'Grateful': Coconet TV marks milestone

“It’s community, collaboration, it’s culture, and connectivity.”

That’s what the founder of Coconet.tv, Lisa Taouma, says has been the "good Cs" of the "world's largest hub of Pacific content".

This year, the online platform celebrates its 10-year milestone.

When Coconet TV burst onto the scene a decade ago, it changed the game in many ways. Not only did it become a unique place for Pacific content, but it was also an outlet where many young Pasifika could go and showcase their creativity.

Coconet has produced comedy skits, cooking bits, tips, and tricks with viral clicks. As well as creating the broadcasting branch Fresh TV, there are documentaries, profiles on inspirational rising stars, hilarious reality game shows, and award-winning series.

It has become the springboard for on-screen talent that’s boosted dynamic Pacific representation in the media industry while also immortalising culturally-centred storytelling for their audiences.

A decade of success, Taouma says is due to the relative and revolutionising of how Pacific life is experienced and viewed.

Taouma has unwavering gratitude to Coconet's coco-community for helping to sustain the platform.

“We are just grateful we’ve lasted this long and we’re just trying to last longer. Success is relative to the broader industry as well because we are a small Pacific company in a whole landscape of very big, mostly Pālagi companies in the media landscape.

“The Coconet platform, we are just so proud and grateful that it’s managed to sustain. The company is one thing, but the actual platform is all due to our community.

“Sustaining the viewership and the audience, that is just the key thing that our community has brought to the table in the village we’ve managed to create.”

In light of the changing media landscape and harsh funding cuts across the sector, the encroaching worry is not lost on Taouma.

Like many in the industry, she awaits the coalition Government’s Budget announcement on 30 May.

“We are waiting to see how things lie with Pacific media. Not just us, It’s the whole ecosystem of Pacific media. We are one cog in a much bigger wheel and everything that happens in our ecosystem, with radio, our other Pacific production companies, networks…it’s all a domino effect and everything impacts.

“Thank you so much for celebrating the Cocone, but we’re only a small part because there are other really important players who add all these other flavours and we need all the flavours.

“I am concerned, like everyone, but I think you can only deal with the hand that you’ve got in front of you.

Taouma shares some words of encouragement that she had earlier told her team in facing that uncertainty.

"There is a fine line between being realistic and catastrophizing”.

Determining the “we’ve done it” moment for Taouma and the team at Coconet TV would be difficult as they’re still producing works that reach new levels of relatability, such as the groundbreaking fakaleitī high school romcom, Inky Pinky Ponky.

Lisa hopes the future brings more quintessential Pacific content, "by Pacific people, for Pacific people in all our glorious forms.

“I’m most proud of making content that’s been authentic enough for the audience to relate to, ‘cause it’s about truth. I’m most proud of working with really talented young people and being able to put them into spaces to make their visions happen.”

Watch the full interview with Lisa Taouma below.