Australian Television Broadcasting
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Television broadcasting in Australia began officially on 16 September 1956, with the opening of
TCN-9 TCN is the flagship television station of the Nine Network in Australia. The station is currently located at 1 Denison Street, North Sydney. The licence, issued to a company named Television Corporation Ltd headed by Frank Packer, was one of the ...
, quickly followed by national and commercial stations in Sydney and Melbourne, all these being in 625-line
black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...
. The commencement date was designed so as to provide coverage of the Olympic Games in Melbourne. It has now grown to be a nationwide system that includes a broad range of public, commercial, community, subscription, narrowcast, and amateur stations.
Colour television Color television (American English) or colour television (British English) is a television transmission technology that also includes color information for the picture, so the video image can be displayed in color on the television set. It improv ...
in the
PAL Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a color encoding system for analog television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...
625-line format was introduced in 1967 and went to a full-time basis on 1 March 1975 while
subscription television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, b ...
, on the Galaxy platform, began in January 1995.
Digital terrestrial television Digital terrestrial television (DTTV, DTT, or DTTB) is a technology for terrestrial television, in which television stations broadcast television content in a digital signal, digital format. Digital terrestrial television is a major technologica ...
was introduced on 1 January 2001 in Australia's five largest capital cities. As early as 1929, two Melbourne commercial radio stations, 3UZ and 3DB were conducting experimental mechanical television broadcasts these were conducted in the early hours of the morning, after the stations had officially closed down. In 1934, Dr Val McDowall at amateur station 4CM Brisbane conducted experiments in electronic television.


Public television

Australia has three national public broadcasters, the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...
, the
Special Broadcasting Service The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public broadcasting, public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from tax revenue. SBS operates six TV channels (SBS (Australian TV chann ...
, and, as more recently,
National Indigenous Television National Indigenous Television (NITV) is an Australian free-to-air television channel that broadcasts programming produced and presented largely by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It includes the six-day-a-week ''NITV News Updat ...
.


Australian Broadcasting Corporation

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...
is a division of the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...
, established in 1956. ABC TV,
ABC Family American cable television, cable and satellite television network Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through four different owners and six different name changes dur ...
,
ABC Entertains ABC Entertains is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was launched on 4 December 2009 as a children's channel called ABC3. It was rebranded on 19 September 2016 to ABC ME. It rebra ...
and
ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...
are available nationally, in to
ABC Australia (Southeast Asian TV channel) ABC Australia, formerly Australia Television International (or just Australia Television), ABC Asia Pacific, Australia Network and Australia Plus, is an Australian pay television channel, launched in 1993 and operated by the Australian Broadca ...
, focused at the
Asia Pacific Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
region. ABC TV carries a variety of local and national news, current affairs, and sports coverage, as well as Australian arts and comedy programming. It is well known for broadcasting British programming, primarily from the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
,
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...
, and
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
.
ABC Family American cable television, cable and satellite television network Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through four different owners and six different name changes dur ...
, established as a second digital-only channel called ABC2 on 7 March 2005. Originally aimed at providing 'more choice, more often', the channel mainly provided repeats of popular ABC productions, such as ''
Australian Story ''Australian Story'' is a national weekly current affairs and documentary style television series which is broadcast on ABC Television (Australian TV network), ABC Television. It is produced specifically by the ABC News and Current Affairs, AB ...
'' and '' Stateline'', and was prohibited by law from carrying programmes from a number of genres; however, after the removal of these restrictions the channel's content was broadened considerably. It was announced by the ABC that, from 4 December 2017, ABC2 was to be replaced by ABC Comedy, ending the channel's 12-year run.
ABC Entertains ABC Entertains is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was launched on 4 December 2009 as a children's channel called ABC3. It was rebranded on 19 September 2016 to ABC ME. It rebra ...
, a third digital-only kids channel began on 4 December 2009.
ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...
, a digital news channel began on 22 July 2010. ABC Kids, a digital shared channel began on 2 May 2011.


Special Broadcasting Service

SBS Television The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from tax revenue. SBS operates six TV channels ( SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS World Movies, SBS ...
is a division of the
Special Broadcasting Service The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public broadcasting, public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from tax revenue. SBS operates six TV channels (SBS (Australian TV chann ...
, founded to provide for the estimated 20% of Australians that speak a language other than English in the home, aiming to complement the
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
. In recent years SBS TV has begun to target a broader cross-section of the Australian community, in part because of the emergence of specialty subscription television channels aimed at such minorities. In addition to its free-to-air channels, SBS also has an interest in the World Movies Channel which has since been revived on free-to-air TV as
SBS World Movies SBS World Movies is an Australian free-to-air television channel showing international movies. The channel features foreign language films, documentaries, independent, annual films, art films and mainstream cinema and interviews with intern ...
and it relaunched on the 1st of July 2019. SBS shows many non-English language films with English subtitles, and each morning shows news bulletins in foreign languages from around the world in its ''WorldWatch'' timeslot. In addition to this, a great deal of programming from the
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
,
Arte Arte (, , ; ' ('), sometimes stylised in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European Union, European public service Television channel, channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based Europea ...
,
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
and
CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...
, and even
Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...
are shown. Acquired entertainment programs include the US animated series ''
South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...
'', ''
Queer as Folk ''Queer as Folk'' may refer to: * Queer as Folk (British TV series), ''Queer as Folk'' (British TV series), 1999–2000 * Queer as Folk (American TV series), ''Queer as Folk'' (American TV series), a 2000–2005 American and Canadian version of th ...
'' and ''
Inspector Rex ''Inspector Rex'' (German: ''Kommissar Rex''; Italian: ''Il commissario Rex'') is an Austrian-Italian police procedural television series created by Peter Hajek and Peter Moser. Originally an Austrian series aired from 1994 to 2004 on ORF 1, in ...
''. In addition to news and current affairs programming such as
SBS World News ''SBS World News'' is the news service of the Special Broadcasting Service in Australia. Its flagship nightly bulletin is broadcast at on SBS with additional weeknight late bulletins from on SBS. ''SBS News'' is the name of the news app and ...
and ''
Dateline A dateline is a brief piece of text included in news articles that describes where and when the story was written or filed, though the date is often omitted. In the case of articles reprinted from wire services, the distributing organization is ...
'', the network also commissions locally produced documentaries, movies and comedy programs. Less-popular mainstream sports such as soccer, cycling and athletics are also shown. SBS currently broadcasts six channels: SBS, known as 'SBS One' between 2009 and 2015,
SBS Viceland SBS Viceland (stylised as SBS VICELAND) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). It began as SBS TWO on 1 June 2009, and was branded as SBS 2 between 2013 and 2016. On 8 April 2017, SBS V ...
, known as SBS Two between 2009 and 2016,
SBS World Movies SBS World Movies is an Australian free-to-air television channel showing international movies. The channel features foreign language films, documentaries, independent, annual films, art films and mainstream cinema and interviews with intern ...
,
SBS Food SBS Food (formerly Food Network) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). The channel airs programs about food and cooking, from cultures around the world. History SBS first ...
, known as Food Network Australia between 2015 and 2018,
NITV National Indigenous Television (NITV) is an Australian free-to-air television channel that broadcasts programming produced and presented largely by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It includes the six-day-a-week ''NITV News Updat ...
, also known as National indigenous Television (see #National Indigenous Television and more info about this channel in that section), and
SBS WorldWatch SBS WorldWatch is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). The channel shows multilingual international news bulletins in more than 30 languages, as well as two local bulletins ...
launched on the 23rd of May of 2022.


National Indigenous Television

National Indigenous Television National Indigenous Television (NITV) is an Australian free-to-air television channel that broadcasts programming produced and presented largely by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It includes the six-day-a-week ''NITV News Updat ...
, funded by the
Commonwealth of Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It has a total area of , making it the sixth-largest country in ...
, is produced in
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
and broadcast via
Imparja Television Imparja Television (IMP) is an independent Australian television station servicing over , across six states and territories: Northern Territory, South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania. It is based in Alice Spri ...
's existing satellite capacity. The idea for a national, indigenous television service was initially conceived by the National Indigenous Radio Service (the peak Indigenous radio group), which initially lobbied the government to start a new, nationwide indigenous television network. Although no major political party championed this cause, commercial broadcaster
Imparja Television Imparja Television (IMP) is an independent Australian television station servicing over , across six states and territories: Northern Territory, South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania. It is based in Alice Spri ...
stated in 2004 that it would run such a network, at least within its own licence area. In 2005 the federal
Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts The Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts (DCITA) was an Australian government department that existed between October 1998 and December 2007. The Department was closed on 3 December 2007 and its authority w ...
considered funding such a station, and conducted a review process. On 13 July 2007 NITV launched, replacing
Indigenous Community Television Indigenous Community Television (ICTV) is an Australian free-to-view digital television channel on the Viewer Access Satellite Television service. It broadcasts television programs produced by, and for, Indigenous Australians in remote communi ...
on the
Optus Aurora Optus Aurora was a free-to-view satellite television platform in Australia, which aimed at providing television and radio services to remote and black spot areas using the Optus C1 and B3 satellites. The service was available in all areas, using ...
remote satellite service. On 12 December 2012 NITV was launched on free to air on which was the 4th digital channel of SBS, making this channel available to all Australians wherever SBS digital television is broadcast.


Commercial television

In order to allow for commercial licensing, the country was divided into a number of licence areas. When these were drawn up in the 1950s, each major city or regional area – about 50 in all – was considered its own market region. In each of the five major capitals, three commercial licences were granted (the exception being
Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
which did not receive its third commercial station until 1988), while smaller cities or regions were granted a single licence. The process of '' aggregation'' began in 1989. Regional markets were merged and (usually) three licences were granted in the new, aggregated, area, with the exception of Tasmania and Remote & Central Australia, which got two licences. As some markets were formed by the merger of up to six different individual markets, this meant that some stations had to merge or form partnerships in order to remain competitive. Around the same time, many remote market regions were replaced with two
satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...
market regions – one for regional
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
, and one for remote central and eastern Australia – although each of these regions was only granted two licences. Some remained un-aggregated, and are today known as diary markets. These were granted a second licence, sometimes to the same company that owned the existing licence. Two-broadcaster areas were later granted a third licence, to a
joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
company formed as a partnership of the two existing broadcasters. Examples of these include
Tasmanian Digital Television TDT is a digital television station in Tasmania, Australia. It is jointly owned by WIN Corporation and Southern Cross Austereo, operating as ''Tasmanian Digital Television''. History In Australia, the major capital cities, and a majority of the ...
,
Mildura Digital Television Mildura ( ) is a regional city in north-west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Mildura had a population of 34,565 at the 2021 census. When nearby Wentworth, Irymple, Nichols Point, Merbein and Red Cl ...
,
Darwin Digital Television DTD, also known as 10 Darwin, is a digital television station in Darwin, Northern Territory. It is jointly owned by Nine Entertainment (owner of Nine Darwin) and Southern Cross Austereo (owner of Seven Darwin) and operates under the company nam ...
and
West Digital Television West Digital Television is an Australian digital television network jointly owned by Seven West Media and WIN Corporation. It broadcasts free-to-air on a number of digital terrestrial transmitters in regional and remote areas of Western Aust ...
service. Areas with one broadcaster were also granted a third licence to the same company that owned the other two licences.


Metropolitan

There are three commercial metropolitan networks, the
Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...
,
Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...
and
Network 10 Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's UK & Australia division and is one of the five national free-to-a ...
. Originally, the networks operated within metropolitan areas, but have expanded into regional areas through the acquisition of local affiliate broadcasters. Seven Network * Headquarters & Main studio: Eveleigh, Sydney *National play-out centre: Frenchs Forest, Sydney Nine Network * Headquarters & Main studio:
North Sydney North Sydney is a suburb and commercial district on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. And is the administrative centre for the local government area of North Sydney Council. History The Indigenous people on the s ...
* National play-out centre: Frenchs Forest, Sydney Network 10 * Headquarters, Main studio & National play-out centre: Pyrmont, Sydney


Regional and remote

The population of Australians living outside of metropolitan areas are served by a number of regional television networks that are affiliated with a metropolitan counterpart. Before the 1980s, regional stations were mostly independent with some forming loose partnerships and others merging into local networks. However, the Hawke Labor government introduced a system known as aggregation – regional television equalisation – which would provide viewers with the same viewing choices as those in the metropolitan cities. Consequently, the regional stations and networks continued to merge and expand, and became affiliated with one of the three metropolitan networks. Further equalisation later occurred in the 2000s – with the advent of digital television – to areas that escaped initial aggregation. Today,
WIN Television WIN Television is an Australian television broadcasting, Australian television network owned and operated by WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single television stat ...
,
Imparja Television Imparja Television (IMP) is an independent Australian television station servicing over , across six states and territories: Northern Territory, South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania. It is based in Alice Spri ...
and
Southern Cross Austereo Southern Cross Media Group Limited, Trade name, doing business as Southern Cross Austereo, is an Australian media company which operates broadcast radio and Terrestrial television, television stations. It is the largest radio broadcaster in Au ...
notably remain independent, whereas broadcasters like
Prime Television Prime7, formerly Prime Television and other names, was an Australian television network. Prime Television launched on 17 March 1962 as '' CBN-8'' in Orange, and later expanded to cover regional New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Ca ...
, the
Golden West Network Seven Regional WA is an Australian television network serving all of Western Australia outside metropolitan Perth. It launched on 10 March 1967 as BTW-3 in Bunbury, and became known as the Golden West Network (GWN, and later GWN7) in 1979. It ...
,
Sunshine Television STQ is an Australian television station, licensed to, and serving the regional areas of Queensland. The station is owned and operated by the Seven Network from studios located in Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast. The callsign STQ stands for ' ...
and
NBN Television NBN is an Australian Australian television broadcasting, television station based in Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle, Australia. The station was inaugurated on 4 March 1962 as the first regional commercial television station in New Sout ...
have been absorbed by the metropolitan networks over the years. As with some of the metropolitan stations, local content is present only in the form of local news bulletin or local advertising. The amount of local news provided varies from two-minute updates to full-hour, seven nights a week news bulletins.


Current ownership

Commercial stations in metropolitan markets (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth), in addition to many regional markets, are owned and operated by their respective network. In some regional and remote markets, the stations are owned by an affiliate broadcaster. Some regional and remote markets have one operator holding a monopoly over all three networks, with one "digital only" station of the three operating under a supplementary licence. Other regional markets have only two operators — each affiliated with a respective network — who have formed a "digital only" joint venture station to operate under a supplementary licence and broadcast the remaining third network.Officially, so called "digital only" services are supplementary licences given through Section 38B of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992. Even though Australia no longer has any analogue television signals, the then-commonly used term "digital only" is listed here for posterity.


Notes


Community broadcasting

In 1993 the
Australian Broadcasting Authority The Australian Broadcasting Authority was an Australian government agency whose main roles were to regulate broadcasting, radio communications and telecommunications. The Authority took over the functions of the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal ...
allocated licences for a sixth television channel for non-profit community and educational use on a trial basis. The groundwork for community television was laid in the
Broadcasting Services Act 1992 The ''Broadcasting Services Act 1992'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia, which broadly covers issues relating to content regulation and media ownership in Australia. The law stipulates what is political advertising and the spe ...
, which defined a new service category, community television, for the first time. Prospective community television providers were invited to apply for transmitter licences, which were granted to groups in
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
,
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
,
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
,
Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
and Lismore. In February, 1995, the West Australian Community Broadcasting Association was appointed to manage access to the sixth channel in
Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
and
Mandurah Mandurah ( ) is a coastal city in the Australian state of Western Australia, situated approximately south of the state capital, Perth. It is the state's second most populous city, with a population of 90,306. Mandurah's central business dis ...
on behalf of groups based in the two cities. Licences were also granted in 1996 to Hobart Access Community Television Inc in
Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...
and Bendigo Community Television Inc in
Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...
however these were not renewed. Similarly, a licence for BushVision in
Mount Gambier Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with a population of 25,591 as of the 2021 census. The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier (volcano), Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about ...
was granted in 2005, but it later lapsed. Permanent licences for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth were allocated in 2004, while trial licences remain in effect in Adelaide and Lismore. The
Australian Community Television Alliance The Australian Community Television Alliance (ACTA) is a not-for-profit industry association representing free-to-air community television (CTV) channels licensed by the Australian Government The Australian Government, also known ...
, established in March 2008 is the national representative organisation for community television. The CEO of TVS
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, Laurie Patton, is the Secretary and represents ACTA on the Federal Government's Digital Switchover Taskforce Industry Advisory Group. In addition to these, a number of community groups produce programming in regional areas, including Queanbeyan Canberra Television (QCTV) in
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
, Hunter Community Television in
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
, Illawarra Community Television (ICTV) in
Wollongong Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...
and WARP Television in Bathurst. Groups in a number of areas including
Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...
and Victor Harbor have unsuccessfully applied for licences. Aurora Community Television, Australian Multicultural Television, Ballarat Community Cable Television, Channel Vision (Canberra) and Satellite Community TV, although not licensed as community stations, provide similar services. Community Television stations went digital in 2010. However, in September 2014 Australian federal communications minister
Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party an ...
announced that licensing for community television stations would end in December 2015. In September 2015, Turnbull, now Prime Minister, announced an extension of the deadline to 31 December 2016. The deadline was further extended incrementally by communications minister
Mitch Fifield Mitchell Peter Fifield (born 16 January 1967) is an Australian politician and diplomat who last served as the Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations. He previously served as a Senator for Victoria from 2004 to 2019, repre ...
until June 2021, however by 2015 Sydney's
Television Sydney Television Sydney (TVS) (call sign TSN-31) was a free-to-air sponsors-based community television station broadcasting in Sydney, Australia. The station lost both its community franchise and the battle to remain on the air on 8 December 2015 a ...
had ceased broadcasting, as had Brisbane's
31 Digital 31 may refer to: * 31 (number) Years * 31 BC * AD 31 * 1931 * 2031 Music * ''Thirty One'' (Jana Kramer album), 2015 * ''Thirty One'' (Jarryd James album), 2015 * "Thirty One", a song by Karma to Burn from the album '' Wild, Wonderful Purg ...
, switching to a short-live online streaming service. As of January 2021, the only remaining community television stations in Australia still broadcasting are Melbourne's C31 and Adelaide's Channel 44.


Subscription television

Two of the three major providers of
subscription television in Australia Subscription television in Australia is provided using technologies such as cable television, satellite television and internet television by a number of companies unified in their provision of a subscription television service. Notable actors ...
carry a common service; however they have a number of differences.
Foxtel NXE Australia Pty Ltd, trading as the Foxtel Group, is an Australian pay television company that operates cable television, direct-broadcast satellite, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April ...
currently 'controls' the common service that Optus resell. This service is known as the Foxtel Platform.
Austar Austar was an Australian telecommunications company founded in 1995 as Community Entertainment Television (CETV). Its main business activity was subscription television. It was also involved with internet access and mobile phones. Austar's tel ...
broadcast into all of regional Australia (except
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
),
Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
and Darwin while Foxtel broadcast in all capital cities, the Gold Coast, the Central Coast and all of
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
until mid-2012 when Foxtel/
Austar Austar was an Australian telecommunications company founded in 1995 as Community Entertainment Television (CETV). Its main business activity was subscription television. It was also involved with internet access and mobile phones. Austar's tel ...
merged hence Foxtel gaining the Austar coverage areas.
Optus Television Optus Television is the cable television division of Australian telecommunications company Optus. History Its immediate predecessor was Optus Vision, a joint venture between Optus and Continental Cablevision, with small shareholdings by med ...
operates only in the small parts of
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
,
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
,
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
and
Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
where it has laid cable. SelecTV was the fourth provider of subscription television controlled by
WIN Corporation WIN Corporation is a private Australian media company, that owns assets including the WIN Television network, Crawford Productions and several local radio stations. The company is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. History Founding The WIN b ...
. SelecTV was available throughout Australia via satellite and focused on providing content in comparatively low priced packages to a number of specialised market segments; including Spanish,
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
, and
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
. As of January 2011, the service is no longer available. There are two small region-based subscription television providers; TransTV Digital which is available in
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
; and
Neighbourhood Cable Neighbourhood Cable was a telecommunications provider based in regional Victoria, Australia. The company owned and operated hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) cable networks in three Victorian regional cities of Mildura, Ballarat and Geelong before bei ...
based in
Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...
, and also available in
Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...
&
Mildura Mildura ( ) is a regional city in north-west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Mildura had a population of 34,565 at the 2021 census. When nearby Wentworth, Irymple, Nichols Point, Merbein and Red ...
. There are also a number of satellite services that target specific language speaking groups, the largest being UBI World TV, a non-English language service. Globecast TV and Pan Global TV are non-English language, Christian and sport channel platforms that are controlled by
Globecast Globecast is a French company providing services for the radio, television and media industry. These services are feeding various television and radio platforms: direct-broadcast satellite (DBS), digital terrestrial television (DTT), cable TV, IP ...
. Various operators run their own subscription services on these platforms. In addition, there are other satellite subscription services available through other providers. National IPTV operators include TPG IPTV.


Datacasting

Datacasting Datacasting (data broadcasting) is the transmission of data over a wide area using radio waves. It typically refers to supplemental information sent by television stations alongside digital terrestrial television (DTT) signals. However, datacas ...
in Australia began as a test transmission in
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
using one of the reserved digital spectrum positions. Australian broadcast infrastructure company
Broadcast Australia BAI Communications, formerly Broadcast Australia, is an Australian telecommunications systems company. History Macquarie Bank completed its acquisition of National Transmission Agency in 2002 – the seed asset in the publicly listed Macquari ...
undertook the three-year trial using the
DVB-T DVB-T, short for Digital Video Broadcasting – Terrestrial, is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in Singapore in Fe ...
system. The trial consisted of a number of services on one standard 7 MHz
multiplex Multiplex may refer to: Science and technology * Multiplex communication, combining many signals into one transmission circuit or channel ** Multiplex (television), a group of digital television or radio channels that are combined for broadcast * ...
, collectively known as ''
Digital Forty Four Digital Forty Four was a Sydney-only trial datacasting service that was licensed by the Australian Broadcasting Authority (now the Australian Communications and Media Authority) beginning on 17 March 2004 for an initial two-year run until 31 Dec ...
''. The service was extended past the three-year period, but ended in March 2010 The services included; a combined program guide for the free-to-air broadcasters, named
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
; a news, sport, and weather datacast channel provided by the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...
; a government and public information channel, known as Channel NSW, which included real time traffic information and surf webcams; the Australian Christian Channel; the
Expo Channel Expo Channel is an Australian home shopping infomercial channel. It is owned by parent company Direct Group Pty Ltd, a marketing and direct sales company based in the Sydney suburb of Frenches Forrest, which also owns sister channel TVSN. T ...
; and various federal parliamentary audio broadcasts. Today, datacasting consists of information based channels that are broadcast as subchannels of the existing commercial broadcasters. As of mid 2013, these broadcast mainly infomercials. Examples include
TVSN TVSN (an acronym for "Television Shopping Network") is an Australian and New Zealand broadcast, cable television and satellite television network specialising in home shopping. It is owned by parent company Direct Group Pty Ltd, a home market ...
and
4ME 4ME was a digital advertorial datacasting service that launched on 18 September 2011 by Prime Media Group and Brand New Media. It was formerly available to homes in the Prime7/GWN7 viewing area on channel 64, and the Seven-owned viewing area o ...
.


Narrowcasting

There are currently five open-narrowcast services in Australia: * Aboriginal TV & TVNT – Darwin â€
link
* Goolarri Television (GTV) – Broome â€
link
*
Indigenous Community Television Indigenous Community Television (ICTV) is an Australian free-to-view digital television channel on the Viewer Access Satellite Television service. It broadcasts television programs produced by, and for, Indigenous Australians in remote communi ...
(ICTV) –
Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...
* Ngarda Community Television and Radio –
Roebourne, Western Australia Roebourne , also known by its Ngarluma name Ieramugadu (also spelled Yirramagardu), is a town in Western Australia's Pilbara region. It is 35 km from Karratha, 202 km from Port Hedland and 1,563 km from Perth, the state's capital ...
* Snowy Mountains Television (SMTV) –
Jindabyne, New South Wales Jindabyne () is a town in south-east New South Wales, Australia that overlooks Lake Jindabyne near the Snowy Mountains, in Snowy Monaro Regional Council. It is a popular holiday destination year round, especially in winter. This is due to its p ...
One of the narrowcast services, Indigenous Community Television (ICTV), is available to satellite users across Australia via the
VAST VAST is an American alternative rock band based in Seattle, United States. The acronym VAST stands for Visual Audio Sensory Theater and is the main creation of singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jon Crosby. The band is signed to 2blo ...
service. Aboriginal Television, GTV and Ngarda TV are local Indigenous-owned services that broadcast only to their home market. SMTV is also restricted to its home market of Jindabyne.


Amateur broadcasting

The Australian
amateur radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency radio spectrum, spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emer ...
bands include frequencies standard televisions can receive, which have led to
amateur radio operator An amateur radio operator is someone who uses equipment at an amateur radio station to engage in two-way personal communications with other amateur operators on radio frequencies assigned to the amateur radio service. Amateur radio operators ...
s making use of this by broadcasting video. The frequency overlap occurs roughly where television channel 16 lies. Typically, channel 16 is used for amateur television transmissions; however, other frequencies are sometimes utilized, especially those used by satellite television services. Most transmissions can be viewed and heard on an analogue television, but some transmissions require additional or other equipment.


New South Wales

Television Gladesville (VK2TVG) in
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
conducts three test transmissions per week on Channel 16, including a three-hour live to air program on Wednesday nights. The Central Coast Amateur Radio Club also has an amateur television repeater (VK2RTG) on Channel 16. VK2RTS broadcasts from Lawson near Katoomba on Channel 16. Club activity is on Mondays between 8 and 10p.m. A Voice liaison and control frequency of 147.325 MHz (+600 kHz duplex) is used. VK2RFM broadcasts from Oakdale near Camden on 1250 MHz FM which can be viewed with an analog satellite receiver. Club activity is Tuesdays between 8 and 10p.m. The liaison and control frequency is 147.400 MHz simplex. Both repeaters cover the entire Sydney basin. They are operated by the Sydney Amateur Television Group and may be activated and used at any time from the control channels. UHF TV Channel 35 was used until July 2001 when the
Australian Communications and Media Authority The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is an Australian government statutory authority within the Communications portfolio. ACMA was formed on 1 July 2005 with the merger of the Australian Broadcasting Authority and the Aus ...
reassigned the channel for digital television.


Victoria (2 Digital ATV Channels)

VK3RTV is Melbourne's main amateur television station, and is available via Channel 16 at the lower end of the UHF TV Band (below channel 28). The amateur television repeater is located on Mount Dandenong. There are a small number of amateur television enthusiasts (amateur radio operators with Television transmitting equipment) who transmit to Melbourne and surrounds via VK3RTV. These include VK3AAZ, VK3AOB, VK3AGJ, VK3BFG, VK3BCU, VK3CH, VK3CRG, VK3FMD, VK3GMZ, VK3IV, VK3JDA, VK3JDG, VK3KBL, VK3KHB, VK3KOS, VK3LA, VK3MN, VK3PB, VK3TMS, VK3TVZ, VK3XOK, VK3XKD and VK3XZA. VK3RTV is now a 2-channel digital television facility on 446 MHz. The new system features two standard definition digital channels. Bendigo in Central Victoria also has an Amateur Television Transmitter (VK3RBO) on the 13 cm band. This can be received using surplus microwave dishes and downconverters. The station is known to show episodes of the Amateur Television Program 'Amateurlogic'.


Queensland

Amateur television in Queensland had its beginnings in the late 1970s, after a group of local Ham radio enthusiasts showed interests in setting up their own television repeater, although this would not occur until the 1980s. For several years, broadcasters had to rely on a low-powered repeater located in Brisbane's northern suburbs, but eventually permissions were granted to have a more advanced and more central repeater constructed within the inner-city suburb of Spring Hill. In 1990, Brisbane's Amateur Television club provided a two-way television system for
Lamington National Park The Lamington National Park is a national park in the McPherson Range on the Queensland/New South Wales border in Australia. From Southport, Queensland, Southport on the Gold Coast, Australia, Gold Coast the park is to the southwest and Brisbane ...
during the park's 75th anniversary celebrations. In October that year, amateur television history was made when broadcasters VK4BOB and VK4XRL transmitted video to Sydney's ATV clubs which was relayed by the AUSSAT satellite. Various transmitters continue to broadcast to this day. Some Queensland ATV transmitters are located in the outer-Brisbane suburbs of Ocean View and
Wamuran Wamuran is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the City of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Wamuran had a population of 3,374 people. Wamuran is known for its roadside stalls selling the ...
. In November 2012, the Ocean View site will begin its first digital transmission test. In 2014, the Spring Hill repeater was demolished.


See also

*
Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...
*
History of broadcasting in Australia The history of broadcasting in Australia has been shaped for over a century by the problem of communication across long distances, coupled with a strong base in a wealthy society with a deep taste for aural communications in a silent landscape ...
* List of people in communications and media in Australia *
List of radio stations in Australia This is a list of radio stations that radio broadcasting, broadcast in Australia. Stations that are not included in the list are genuine internet radio stations that are not traditional AM, FM or DAB. The explanation of new internet radio broa ...


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Television Broadcasting in Australia Television in Australia History of television in Australia