Now for something Extra

Inevitably when one starts the other one follows.

Last year the Seven and Prime7 networks launched datacast channel TV4 – now TV4ME – featuring predominantly a mix of infomercials and niche programming.

Now it appears Nine is set to follow suit with the launch of Extra.

The new channel is now broadcasting a test signal on Nine’s digital channel 94 in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.  It is not clear if the channel will be expanded to include affiliate WIN – covering various regional areas as well as Perth and Adelaide – and the Nine-owned stations NBN and Nine Darwin.

Extra so far promises “the very best in home shopping and so much more of what you’re looking for”.

News of the Nine Network’s new cash-driven venture comes after reports that the three commercial networks are again handed financial concessions from the Gillard government in the form of more licence rebates worth tens of millions of dollars.

Extra starts 6.00am on Monday (AEDST).

Source: The Australian
YouTube: MCProductionsAU

Nine Darwin – 40 years today

Although television started in Sydney and Melbourne in 1956 it wasn’t too much longer before other capital cities joined in – Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth in 1959, Hobart in 1960, Canberra in 1962 – but for people in Australia’s smallest and most isolated capital city it was a much longer wait.

It was 1971 before television arrived in the Northern Territory capital of Darwin.  The first channel to air was ABC’s local outlet ABD6, opening in August 1971.

Darwin’s first commercial channel, NTD8, opened three months later – 11 November, 1971.  The first program on opening night was an Australian classic, Skippy The Bush Kangaroo.

Although Darwinites are known to like a drink, apparently the arrival of television had a major impact on attendances at Darwin pubs as many would race home to enjoy the wonders of the new medium.  This would potentially be of concern to the local brewers, except that at the time Swan Breweries was a major shareholder in NTD8 and, as the sole commercial channel in town, business was thriving.

Colour television was to arrive formally in March 1975.  In a TV Times article in October 1974, it was reported that NTD8 was confident that it was on schedule to have its facilities upgraded for colour in time for the March deadline.  The ABC, however, was less optimistic.  With a vast network of hundreds of transmitter sites Australia-wide to be converted, ABD6 was far down the list of sites to be enabled for colour – with a tentative conversion date of sometime in 1978!

But on Christmas Day, 1974 – barely two months after the article’s publication – Darwin was devastated by Cyclone Tracy.  Much of the city was destroyed and Darwin faced a mass evacuation to bring the population down from 45,000 to 10,000 within days as the recovery effort took place.

The cyclone took out all television and radio stations but the ABC, as the national broadcaster, was able to get ABD6 and its radio services back on the air within days.  NTD8, however, was less fortunate and took until October 1975 to return to the airwaves – providing even then a fairly rudimentary service.

But in the years to follow the city of Darwin was re-built as was NTD8.  The channel also undertook a $2 million redevelopment of its studios in the early 1980s, although transmission hours by 1982 were still largely limited to the evenings, with daytime broadcasting only on Sundays and Wednesdays.  The channel was also limited in communication infrastructure to the major cities, as the only inbound microwave link available to Darwin was leased full-time to ABC – leaving NTD with little means of timely access to national news stories or program material from interstate.  The channel did, however, maintain local programming including local sports coverage and discussion and a current affairs program, Spectrum.

The monopoly situation with the microwave link was rectified by 1982, finally giving NTD8 an instant connection to the major cities and enabling it to launch its first news service, News At Seven, in October of that year, initially in affiliation with the Nine Network but later changed to Seven.  One of the original members of the News team was Andrew Bruyn, who became the channel’s general manager in 1991 and continues in that role today.

By the mid-1980s, NTD8 was part of a bid to obtain the licence to operate a Remote Commercial Television Service (RCTS) to remote central Australia via the new AUSSAT domestic satellite.  The bid was unsuccessful, with the licence instead going to Imparja Television, operated by the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA). 

NTD lodged an appeal against the decision but in the meantime the channel was bought out by Kerry Packer, who sought to negotiate operating the new channel as a joint venture with CAAMA but at the last minute his company withdrew the appeal and CAAMA proceeded to launch Imparja in January 1988.

When Packer regained control of the Nine Network in 1990, NTD8 was brought into the network.  Despite ownership by Nine, NTD8 as the sole commercial broadcaster in Darwin continued with the Channel 8 branding, providing a composite schedule of programming from all three commercial networks. 

In 1994, Darwin became the last capital city in Australia to gain access to SBS – and it was 1998 before a second commercial channel, Seven Darwin, was launched in Darwin.

The launch of Seven Darwin (now Southern Cross Television) then saw NTD8’s schedule change to a mix of Nine and Ten network programs until New Year’s Day, 2003, when the channel was re-branded as Nine Darwin, even though it was still broadcasting on Channel 8.  The change saw the loss of most Network Ten programming and local access to a full-scale Ten schedule was not to arrive until 2008 with the launch of Darwin Digital Television (DDT).

DDT launched as a digital-only channel operated jointly between Southern Cross and Nine and the new channel gave incentive for viewers to convert to digital television, leading to Darwin adopting digital television at a faster rate than most other markets.  In the latest Digital Tracker survey, of the markets still in simulcast between analogue and digital, Darwin is leading the nation in digital conversion – with 89 per cent of households having converted their main television set, compared to the national average of 81 per cent.

Despite the arrival of competition – and the subsequent suite of digital multi-channels – into what is Australia’s smallest capital city (population: 120,000) Nine Darwin continues to take pride as the market leader and maintains its local reputation with its flagship being the local Nine News bulletin, fronted by Jonathon Uptin (pictured).  Production of the local newscast has recently been revamped to match the look and style of its Nine Network counterparts in the eastern states. 

As well as maintaining the Nine Network schedule the channel also conducts occasional local programming initiatives, ranging in topics including local history and recreational activities, and provides commercial production facilities to its local clients. 

Nine Darwin also provides transmission of Nine’s digital channels GO! and GEM.  Darwin is scheduled to switch to digital-only television transmission in the second half of 2013.

Source: NTD, Digital Tracker, TV Times, CAAMA, Australian Television Archive

Dixie calls it a day

Perth television newsreader Dixie Marshall last night announced her resignation from the newsdesk at STW9 effective immediately:

“I have loved every moment of working for Channel Nine, but it’s now time to be brave and make a change.  After more than 25 years as both a reporter and newsreader, I’ve had enough of reading and reporting stories about tragedy - floods, fire, earthquakes and violence.

“I’m making a strategic career decision to move into another phase, which will allow me to participate in the changes happening within our state and city.  It’s a fantastic time to be a West Australian, with so much entrepreneurial spirit on show, and I want to be part of that and make a contribution.”

PerthNow reports that Marshall is believed to be headed for a role in public relations, despite earlier suggestions that she had accepted a job at Tourism Western Australia.

With a background in newspaper and radio journalism, Marshall joined the STW9 newsroom in 1984 and later moved to Melbourne to join the Seven Network.  At Seven she became the first female sports reporter on television, contributing to VFL/AFL coverage, Seven Nightly News, Olympic Games reports and co-hosting Sportsworld with Bruce McAvaney.

Returning to Perth in the early ‘90s, Marshall re-joined STW9 as a senior reporter and weekend newsreader.  In 2003, she began presenting the channel’s weeknight 6.00pm bulletin, first with Sonia Vinci – making them the first all-female newsreading team in Australia – and more recently alongside Perth television veteran Greg Pearce.

Last night’s bulletin ended with a tribute presented by Pearce and sports presenter Michael Thompson with a flower bouquet handed over by weather presenter Angela Tsun.

It is not yet known if Marshall will be replaced at the newsdesk, with Pearce to read the news solo in the interim.

Source: PerthNow, NineMSN

Royal Weddings: 1981 and today

Tonight (Australian time), an estimated two billion viewers worldwide will be watching the long-awaited wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton at London’s Westminster Abbey.

The wedding marks the culmination of a media circus that has seen the world’s major broadcasters all converge on London to breathlessly bring viewers in their respective countries every known detail of the wedding – and where there are no facts to report, there has been lots and lots of speculation. 

In Australia there will be live prime-time coverage of the wedding via ABC1, ABC News 24, Seven, Nine and Ten – while 7TWO and GEM will also be utilised to work around sporting commitments for Seven and Nine. 

ABC2’s proposed alternative coverage featuring commentary from the Chaser boys has been controversially axed at the last minute following orders received from the royal family that no coverage shall be used for a satirical nature.

Despite the ruling affecting the Chaser, Network Ten is expected to continue its light-hearted wedding coverage, to be fronted by Nova FM presenters Ryan ‘Fitzy’ Fitzgerald and Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli, bookended by a special edition of The 7PM Project and a late-night edition of The Circle.  The Nine Network’s planned coverage is also set to include an appearance by Dame Edna Everage. 

Pay TV is also getting in on the event with BBC World News, UKTV, E!, Fox News, CNN and Sky News all providing various levels of coverage.

SBS has decided not to partake in all this wedding excitement and its main channel SBS1 will broadcast its normal Friday night fare, including its late-night ‘adults only’ series How To Get More Sex.

The Australian media’s hysteria surrounding the wedding of William and Kate is not entirely unlike that of the wedding of William’s parents, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, at London’s St Paul’s Cathedral in July 1981.

Like today’s ceremony, the 1981 royal wedding was an Australian TV network programmer’s dream with the ceremony landing straight into Australian prime-time schedules. 

The ABC, Seven, Nine and Ten networks all provided saturation coverage of the wedding with their own correspondents and celebrities despatched to London to provide daily reports in the lead-up to the event and to present commentary on the day’s activities.  Coincidentally, Ten’s celebrity royal wedding correspondent in 1981, Ita Buttrose, is performing a similar role for the Nine Network in 2011.

For Sydney and Melbourne viewers, the only viewing alternative on the night of Wednesday, 29 July 1981, was the then relatively new Channel 0/28, whose lineup of foreign-language movies (Persche Si Uccide Magistrate from Italy, and Buynu Bükük from Turkey) were probably not the most useful viewing alternatives in an era where there were few other viewing options available – no pay-TV, few households had VCRs and there was no such thing as the internet.

Ratings for the night showed that viewers easily preferred the Nine Network’s coverage, with Melbourne’s GTV9 scoring a rating of 34 points in the prime time of 8-8.30pm, followed by ABV2 (20 per cent), HSV7 (15 per cent), ATV10 (10 per cent) and 0/28 coming last with zero per cent.  An hour-and-a-half later, GTV9 was still in front on 31 per cent, followed by ABV2 (17 per cent), ATV10 (15 per cent), HSV7 (13 per cent) and 0/28 (one per cent).

In Sydney, TCN9’s prime-time coverage peaked at a score of 41 per cent, followed by ABN2 (16 per cent), TEN10 (14 per cent), ATN7 (11 per cent) and 0/28 (one per cent).

A handful of commercial channels declined to cover the Charles and Diana wedding – including Adelaide’s ADS7 who instead decided to show a John Wayne movie (The Sons Of Katie Elder) with a delayed telecast of the wedding ceremony the following day.  However, ADS7’s decision to provide an alternative was not well rewarded as the channel fared last in the evening’s ratings and scoring only a third of the viewers of its nearest competitor, ABS2.

Source: The Age, 7 August 1981.  The Age, 11 August 1981. Sydney Morning Herald, 6 August 1981.  TV Week, 25 July 1981.

UPDATE @ 15.00 AEST 30.4.2011:  The Seven Network has won the ratings for the night of Friday 29 April:  Seven (29.8%), Nine (22.7%), ABC1 (18.3%), 7TWO (8.0%), Ten (7.5%), SBS1 (2.7%), GO! (2.4%), 7mate (1.9%), GEM (1.7%*), ABC2 (1.6%), Eleven (1.6%), One (0.5%), SBS2 (0.5%), ABC3 (0.4%), ABC News 24 (0.4%*).

* Excludes simulcasts with standard definition channels.

ABC success sparks Nine spin-off

Just days after the resounding ratings and critical success of ABC’s two-part mini-series Paper Giants: The Birth Of Cleo, the Nine Network has announced production of what is essentially a sequel.

The new two-part mini-series, to commence production in 2012, is set to trace the rise of a young Kerry Packer, after the death of media mogul father Sir Frank, in particular the events surrounding the formation of his rebel cricket competition, World Series Cricket, which revolutionised cricket in the late 1970s with the glamour of prime time coverage on his Nine Network, ending decades of the traditional broadcast of the game by ABC.  The new series will follow the legal battles, the secret player dealings and the turf battles with the cricket establishment.

The new series will be a production of Southern Star and John Edwards, the team behind Paper Giants, which told the story of the 1972 launch of groundbreaking women’s magazine Cleo by editor Ita Buttrose (played by Asher Keddie, pictured right) and with the support of Kerry Packer (Rob Carlton, pictured above).  The performances of the cast, but Keddie and Carlton in particular, as well as the reconstruction of the early 1970s era have earned rave reviews and high ratings over its two nights on ABC1.  The Sunday night debut was watched by 1.2 million viewers across the five capital cities, while the Monday conclusion was watched by 1.34 million – making it ABC’s highest rating program of the year to date.  By Monday night the series also clocked up over 17,000 views on ABC’s online viewing portal ABC iView.

The national broadcaster has now scheduled a repeat of the series, to appear in a three-hour screening next Sunday, 24 April, from 8.30pm on ABC2.

The Australian reports that ABC was keen to pursue the rise of Kerry Packer and World Series Cricket as a sequel, but the ratings success of Paper Giants saw Nine rush into a deal with Southern Star and effectively block ABC from any access to Nine’s archive of cricket coverage, promotions and player footage.

Despite the deal struck between Southern Star and Nine, the production company is said to be discussing options for another magazine-themed drama for ABC.

Source: Nine Network, The Australian

A decade of digital TV

Australian television first entered the digital age on 1 January 2001 – a decade ago today.

On that day all five networks – ABC, Seven, Nine, Ten, SBS – commenced full-time standard-definition digital transmission in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth as part of the initial roll-out of digital television.  High-definition signals were not to launch until later in the year.

Regional areas and other cities were to gradually be covered by digital broadcasts as ABC, SBS and regional broadcasters upgraded their infrastructure to include digital in the years that followed.  Indeed, even now, some regional and remote areas are still yet to receive commercial television channels, either the primary or multi-channels, in digital.

However, very few would have actually witnessed those first digital transmissions on 1 January 2001.  With the government making last-minute changes to digital broadcasting standards as late as towards the end of 2000, very few manufacturers had been able to commit to producing compatible receiving equipment much before the launch date.  Even after 1 January, major retailers may have had a handful of set top boxes (STB) on display but would be lucky to have had any to actually sell.  Broadcasters themselves even had to scramble for the few tuners that were available.  Colin Knowles, head of ABC’s digital roll-out, told The Sunday Age late in December 2000 that he had only been able to secure five units nationwide which would be used for signal testing.  The commercial networks were forced to underwrite the initial roll-out of digital tuners, just to get them in the stores, but even then only a few thousand were expected to be in the marketplace nationwide by the end of February.

As well as the lack of supply, the cost of even the most basic set top box came with considerable cost as manufacturers sought to recoup their development costs for the new technology.  A standard definition STB would have likely cost anything from $700 recommended retail – and a high-definition box would set you back over $1000.  In both cases, the tuners only served to downgrade the digital signal to one that can be displayed through a traditional cathode ray tube (CRT) TV – so a high-definition tuner would not display high-definition when used on a CRT TV, it just meant that you could view high-definition channels.

As for television sets with integrated digital tuners – ten years ago they were still yet to hit the market and before they arrived a standard-definition set was estimated to set you back around $5000 – even more if you wanted a high-definition set, estimated to cost anything around $8000.  Prices for digital tuners would inevitably come down but it was not going to happen quickly, particularly given the high price tag for early adopters.

And in introducing digital television, the government had placed restrictions on offering more channels – even though the technology supported it – seemingly as a concession to the pay-TV lobby.  Only ABC and SBS were initially allowed to set up multi-channels and even then they had rigid restrictions on what they could actually air on them.  Basically, anything resembling entertainment was not allowed.  News bulletins were only allowed if they were in foreign languages.  Specific program genres like education, children’s and arts programs would be allowed.  Not really the sort of programming to encourage people to run out and buy digital tuners en masse.

As well as offering widescreen, crystal clear pictures and improved sound quality, digital television also offered multi-view broadcasts on sporting events – a feature that has been used maybe once or twice as a pilot in the early years of digital television, but not since.  Indeed, the networks were even lacking in providing widescreen broadcasts of some sporting events, a genre that seems a natural fit for widescreen transmission, in the earlier years.

ABC’s first ventures in digital multi-channelling – ABC Kids and youth channel Fly TV – were launched late in 2001 but due to budget constraints were shutdown less than two years later.  SBS later launched the World News Channel, providing continuous broadcasts of foreign language news bulletins and not much else.

Is it any wonder that viewers didn’t immediately adopt digital TV?  With such a lack lustre introduction by the broadcasters and heavy restrictions by government, the take-up of digital tuners by the viewing public was less than spectacular.

By the middle of the decade it was realised that the government’s initial planned cut off date for analogue television – 2008 – was fast approaching and the viewing public was far from being ready.  The date for the analogue shutdown was postponed and incentives were put in place to encourage viewers to make the transition to digital TV.  Some of the rigid genre restrictions on multi-channels, such as ABC2 launched in 2005, were being lifted and areas like Tasmania, Mildura and Darwin, all lacking a third commercial channel, were being allowed a digital-only commercial channel operated by the existing local commercial broadcasters.

By 2007, networks were allowed to start offering exclusive high-definition content, not in simulcast with the analogue or standard-definition signals, which led to Seven, Nine and Ten launching HD-specific channels which offered limited amounts of exclusive programming, though this was mostly restricted to off-peak daytime or late-night timeslots so that major prime-time programming was still able to viewed in high definition.

Late in 2008, the free-to-air broadcasters collaborated to launch a joint initiative, Freeview, to promote digital television to the wider audience on behalf of all networks – emphasising the multi-channel platform and  subscription-free nature of free-to-air digital television as an alternative to pay-TV, and later the promotion of Freeview-branded equipment such as PVRs, though this specifically-branded equipment is not mandatory for receiving or viewing digital television but would be needed to have access to the Freeview electronic program guide (EPG) which is now in operation.

In 2009 the commercial networks were permitted to launch a second standard-definition channel.  Network Ten took the first, and most radical, step and re-launched its Ten HD channel into a 24/7 sports channel, One HD, which was simulcast as its second standard-definition channel.  Ten figured that sport was the most desired programming genre for high-definition and would be the genre least affected by internet downloads, and offering a sports format would act as a deterrent for viewers adopting pay-TV.  The downside is that Ten’s main channel was now denied any high-definition programming.

The Nine Network followed later in 2009 with a youth-focused standard-definition channel, GO!, which also included a catalogue of classic titles from the 1960s and 1970s.  Seven’s first digital-only channel, 7TWO, presented largely an extension of the Seven brand with a mix of general entertainment programming with some exclusive titles.  In more recent times 7TWO has focused more firmly on British programming such as soap operas, lifestyle programming and classic comedy and drama.

The Federal Government allowed ABC a budget increase to enable it to set up a children’s channel, ABC3, by the end of 2009.  But, while SBS was denied its requests for more funding for its digital initiatives, the World News Channel was re-worked into SBS2 in June 2009, offering the same news bulletin format during the day but with a wider scope for programming in the evenings, including lifestyle programming, foreign-language drama series and movies.

In 2010, ABC sacrificed its high-definition channel to launch its 24/7 news channel, ABC News 24, as a free-to-air competitor to pay-TV channels like Sky News.  Seven and Nine also followed suit by ceasing the simulcast their main channel in high-definition and instead offering a full-scale third unique channel, even though their high-definition channels, 7mate and GEM, would feature a lot of vintage and standard-definition programming not designed or intended for high-definition viewing.  For viewers that had hoped to see their favourite prime-time programs or signature events like sporting telecasts in high-definition, it is a disappointment – although this scenario may only be an interim phase to allow more channels across their limited broadcast allotment until the complete shutdown of analogue television which may then allow the networks the opportunity to re-assess and potentially extend their digital channel offerings.

Network Ten announced in August last year that it would replace its standard-definition simulcast of One HD with an entertainment-focused channel, Eleven, to launch early in 2011.

With all this activity by the national and commercial broadcasters, the community TV sector was all but left out of the equation entirely.  Federal governments, both past and present, had denied the community TV sector access to the digital platform even though it had given various handouts and concessions to the national and commercial broadcasters – such as free broadcasting spectrum, infrastructure rebates and the commercial networks gaining a $250 million license rebate from the Federal Government.  It wasn’t until late 2009 that temporary broadcast capacity was granted to the community TV sector and relevant channels in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth are now broadcasting in digital.

Since early 2009 the Federal Government has commissioned a quarterly survey, Digital Tracker, to monitor the conversion rate of households to digital television.  The first Digital Tracker survey, covering the period January to March 2009, reported that 47 per cent of households Australia-wide had converted at least one television set to digital.  The most recent survey, covering the period June to September 2010, found that 75 per cent of households had made the switch to digital.

It has not been until 2010 that the first analogue shutdowns were implemented.  Mildura/Sunraysia was the first area to make the change from analogue transmission in June 2010, with regional South Australia following last month.  Regional Victoria and Queensland will follow during 2011, with all remaining areas scheduled to convert from analogue television by 31 December 2013.

Source: The Sunday Age, 24 December 2000. Sun Herald, 10 December 2000.  Sydney Morning Herald, 1 January 2001.

Queensland TV stirred up by aggregation!

North Queensland is known to get hit by cyclones over the summer months – but in December 1990 its local television station was well and truly stirred up by a fierce wind of another sort.

The Federal Government’s aggregation policy of expanding choice of commercial television services in eastern states regional areas was about to hit its next stage – aggregating the Queensland regional markets of Townsville/Cairns, Rockhampton/Darling Downs and Wide Bay/Mackay into a competitive market comprised of the three regions’ commercial monopoly services – QTV, Star Television/Vision TV and Sunshine Television Network, respectively.

Sunshine Television Network (officially, SEQ8 Wide Bay and MVQ6 Mackay) was all set to be aligned to the Seven Network, while Star Television (RTQ7 Rockhampton) and Vision TV (DDQ0 Darling Downs) were to be affiliated to Network Ten and QTV (TNQ7 Townsville and FNQ10 Cairns) was preparing to tie-in with Nine as they each planned to expand into each others’ markets to give viewers a choice of three commercial channels.

Star Television’s RTQ7 was owned by WIN, the regional broadcaster that had affiliated with the Nine Network in Southern NSW and Canberra when  that market was formed with aggregation in 1989.  Obviously, having Star Television linked to the third-ranked, and financially-troubled, Ten Network was not a desirable scenario. 

As a result, on Christmas Eve, 1990, WIN sealed a deal to buy out Star’s sister station, Darling Downs-based Vision TV (DDQ0), from owner David Haynes and in the process had tied up a deal with the Nine Network for programming Star for the expanded regional Queensland market. 

The deal was going to turn Star’s schedule completely around at only a week’s notice before the launch date across the expanded market – 31 December.  But the news was worse for QTV.  Although QTV’s owners, Telecasters North Queensland – ironically, a company 21 per cent owned by Nine – had been negotiating a program supply deal with Nine for three years, they had still yet to sign the dotted line as aggregation was fast looming.  Negotiations were continuing on the basis that Telecasters felt that Nine were still asking for too much in affiliation fees – essentially a significant percentage of all income received – which would leave QTV basically operating as a slave to the Nine Network with no local production, which they felt would be looked upon poorly by the broadcasting authority, and such a steep levy would financially hurt their shareholders.  The situation was further compounded by the fact that any previous negotiations with Nine as an Alan Bond-owned company were now apparently thrown out as Kerry Packer had re-gained control of the Nine Network and the network was seeking top dollar for its output. 

It should be noted, also, that WIN owner Bruce Gordon (pictured) was a long-time friend of the Packer family – having got his first break in the business via Kerry’s father Sir Frank in the mid 1970s.  WIN had apparently expressed some interest in gaining the Nine affiliation for Queensland six months before aggregation, when Packer regained control of Nine, but nothing more came of it until WIN was approached by Nine at the last minute after negotiations with QTV had appeared to have stalled just days before Christmas.  The deal for WIN to buy DDQ0 and sign Star Television up with Nine followed.

Telecasters North Queensland got informed on Christmas Eve that Nine was withdrawing its offer to provide programs for QTV as it had now partnered with Star (WIN), leaving QTV with no network partner to supply programming. 

"You don't expect your largest shareholder to pull the plug on you," QTV general manager David Astley told the Sydney Morning Herald, "but that's just what they have done."

It was not disclosed at the time if Gordon had agreed to pay the same programming levies that Nine had demanded of Telecasters North Queensland – although WIN general manager John Rushton told the Sydney Morning Herald: "We didn't pay them what they initially asked and we had to pay them more than what we initially said we should.” – but the deal struck between WIN and Nine apparently also tied in with a re-negotiated program supply deal for WIN’s existing station in Southern NSW and Canberra. 

A frantic few days followed as Telecasters had quickly formed ties with the Ten Network.  Telecasters had little option but to align with Ten as the rival networks, Star and Sunshine, were now firmly affiliated to Nine and Seven respectively.

QTV’s station identification at the start of 1990…

… and how QTV looked by the end of 1990.

QTV’s pre-aggregation schedule, promotion and sales activity had been based heavily on its planned Nine Network affiliation, so the broadcaster had to re-align its entire schedule and rate card to match Ten’s.  Meanwhile, Star Television was re-branding itself as WIN, to match its NSW counterparts, and was obviously happier in replacing its Ten Network schedule with the top-rating Nine Network line-up.

Telecasters were putting on a brave face, however, telling viewers that they were feeling far more at ease at dealing with Ten than they were dealing with a rigid Nine Network, and were confident that Ten’s revamped schedule, including new US titles The Simpsons and Twin Peaks, going into 1991 was going to work for QTV.  Ratings would likely not be as high as with Nine affiliation, but neither would the overheads and affiliation fees.

The change also saw QTV re-work its evening news structure – instead of supplementing its half-hour local news service with National Nine News from Brisbane, the new-look QTV was now going to run its own one-hour bulletin, QTV Eyewitness News, covering both local and national news and presented by former Brisbane newsreader Bruce Paige alongside existing QTV news presenter Samantha Kume.

The wash-up from the pre-aggregation tussle also brought out repercussions.  The then Australian Broadcasting Tribunal (ABT) in 1991 launched an investigation to determine if Packer had excessive influence over the regional Queensland market, as he continued to own 21 per cent of Telecasters North Queensland, even though it had become a Ten affiliate, and had indirect influence over the market through his Nine Network affiliation to WIN.  Packer later sold his interest in Telecasters, and the company further cemented its ties with the Ten Network by becoming the largest Australian shareholder in the network – buying a 40 per cent stake in Ten in 1992.

In 1993, QTV was re-branded on-air as Ten Queensland and, with Telecasters being bought out by Southern Cross Broadcasting in 2001, the network was then re-branded to its current identity, Southern Cross Ten.  While QTV and Ten Queensland had maintained a locally-based news service in its north Queensland markets, the change to Southern Cross saw the bulletin cancelled with subsequent local news content for the region, as with other Southern Cross Ten markets, provided only via brief news updates compiled in Canberra.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald, 29 December 1990, 12 January 1991, 10 July 1991.  The Age, 27 May 2004.
YouTube: aussiebeachut1

The signs… they are a-changin’

For Sydney’s TCN9, it’s the end of an era as the famous “TCN9” lettering (pictured, right) that has appeared outside the station’s Willoughby premises for fifty years has been replaced.

According to Nine’s Facebook page, the old signage has been taken away for cleaning and preservation, while a shiny new “9” logo (pictured, below) now takes its place.

TCN9 has occupied the Willoughby site since its inception in 1956 – although the station’s earliest programs emanated from a church hall in Surry Hills as the Willoughby site was yet to be finished.  It is the only one of Sydney’s three commercial channels to still be based at its original premises.  TEN10 moved out of its original North Ryde studios back in the early 1990s, while ATN7 has moved out of its Epping studios to the inner suburb of Redfern, with news operations based in the Sydney CBD.

Thanks to The Spy Report for the heads up.

Rob Kelvin calls it a day

Adelaide newsreader Rob Kelvin has announced that he will be retiring from the Nine News desk at the end of the year.

His retirement comes after taking several months’ leave this year – “a fair sort of dress rehearsal for retirement,” he told AdelaideNow.

Kelvin had worked in radio in the 1970s, including radio station 4AY Townsville, 3SH Swan Hill, 7HT Hobart and Adelaide's 5KA and 5AD, before joining NWS9 in Adelaide in 1979 as a sports presenter.

He moved into newsreading in 1983.  And it was in 1987 that he was paired up with Adelaide newsreading veteran Kevin Crease.  It was a partnership that continued for twenty years before Kelvin had to deliver the news that his long-time colleague had died from cancer in 2007.

News director Tony Agars says that despite retirement, Kelvin may still have a presence at NWS9:

"Rob now reads through until the end of the year.  After that it's not the end for us. Rob is quite keen and I'm certainly very keen to have Rob with us for a while yet. We're talking about some projects now that Rob can get his teeth into and certainly I reckon you'll see Rob reading news as we've got holidays and things like that coming up."

As well as reading the news, Kelvin has reported from the Commonwealth Games for the Nine Network, in Brisbane in 1982 and Auckland in 1990.  He also hosted NWS9’s 25th anniversary celebration event in 1984.

Kelvin now looks forward to spending more time with wife Anna and son Jesse and not having a life dictated by deadlines:

"No deadlines, that's the amazing thing about retirement.  Once upon a time, I had a wrist watch that had six alarms on it and they were different things that I would have to do at different times during the day and it would go off for all these different things. And I haven't missed a deadline that I'm aware of in 32 years."

Kelvin will present his last Nine News bulletin on New Year’s Eve and Kate Collins and Michael Smyth, who both read the news over Kelvin’s recent absence, will front Nine News in Adelaide from 3 January.

Source: AdelaideNow, NWS9

Rex Heading

Rex Heading, the man who created Humphrey B. Bear in the 1960s, has died from cancer at the age of 81.

Heading was working at Adelaide radio station 5KA when he became one of the first staff appointed by the city’s first television station, NWS9 – Rupert Murdoch’s first television station – when it was preparing to launch in 1959. He was the new station’s first program and production manager, overseeing early programs including Adelaide Tonight, The Country And Western Hour and the channel’s big-budget Christmas pantomimes.

When NWS9’s resident children’s character Bobo the Clown moved across to rival channel SAS10 in 1965, Heading needed a new character to take his place:

“I believed what we wanted was some form of three-dimensional cartoon character. I had spent time years earlier drawing cartoons for some not very discerning magazines, and so I sat down with a pad and started to draw. After a lot of sketching based around a human outline, the result was Humphrey B. Bear.”

Humphrey made his debut on NWS9’s The Channel Niners and was so successful he was soon given his own show, Here’s Humphrey. The new program was screened nationally across the Nine Network and many regional stations, creating an iconic children’s brand that has lasted generations and would run on Nine almost continuously for over forty years.

In the 1970s, Heading created a breakfast show featuring Cheryl Mills and characters Winky Dink and Hot Dog – and the success of Here’s Humphrey also led to a spin-off, The Curiosity Show. Heading’s contribution to children’s television led to him being made a foundation member of the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal's children's program committee, as well as to the committee that founded the Australian Children's Television Foundation.

His success in production at NWS9 led to him being promoted to general manager and then managing director. He was involved in the establishment of regional television stations in Kalgoorlie, WA, and the Riverland district in South Australia, and spent three years working for the Ten Network. He also worked for Crawford Productions and radio 3AW.

In 1996, Heading co-wrote the book Miracle on Tynte Street: The Channel 9 Story and in 2006 was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to the television industry as a producer and director.

The death of Rex Heading comes only a few months after the passing of Tedd Dunn, the creator of another children’s TV character, Fredd Bear, in 1964.

Source: WA Today, TV Tonight, ABC, Miracle On Tynte Street: The Channel 9 Story.

Digital channel update: SA, Broken Hill, Darwin

Some developments today in the rollout of digital television services in some of the smaller markets.

Darwin’s Nine Network station, NTD,  has today officially switched on local relays of digital channels GO! and GEM – hence completing the rollout of both channels to all capital cities either via Nine or WIN.  The new channels can be found in Darwin on digital channel 99 and 90 respectively, with GEM broadcasting in high-definition format only.

Meanwhile, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has announced that it has assigned extra digital channel capacity for the local broadcaster covering the Spencer Gulf region in South Australia, and Broken Hill, NSW.

Southern Cross Media, which currently provides Southern Cross Television (Seven Network affiliate) and Southern Cross Ten, has been allowed extra capacity to provide additional digital channels to the local regions.  Southern Cross’ existing digital frequency currently has room only for the primary channels – Southern Cross, Southern Cross Ten and the soon-to-launch local relay of the Nine Network – meaning that local viewers have not had access to any of the new digital channels that have been launched by the capital city networks.

The decision as to which channels will be broadcast on the new frequency lies with Southern Cross Media.

The Regional South Australian markets, including Spencer Gulf and Broken Hill, will lose all existing analogue signals on 15 December 2010.

Source: ACMA

GEM’s last minute scratching

Viewers expecting to see the debut of the Nine Network’s new digital channel GEM at midday yesterday (Friday) were left underwhelmed when the channel failed to appear.

When Nine originally announced GEM almost two weeks ago, it was always clear that the channel was to officially launch this Sunday but, in a move designed to take some of gloss away from new rival 7mate which launches today, the channel was to start screening programs from midday yesterday.

Instead, digital channel 90 (and channel 80 in regionals) continued as the high-definition simulcast of the main Nine Network channel.

The failure of GEM’s appearance is apparently due to “technical issues” although Nine’s lack of pre-launch promotion for the channel probably ensured that not many viewers were aware of its pending debut anyway.  This lack of any pre-launch promotion, or any advice to viewers that GEM is replacing Nine’s HD simulcast, plus yesterday’s non-appearance all add fuel to speculation that the channel appears to be little more than a rushed-to-air effort to catch up to Seven’s 7mate and following Ten’s announcement of its new entertainment channel, 11.

Nine has now re-scheduled GEM to debut at 6.00am Sunday – meaning that their attempt to spoil Seven’s launch of 7mate has failed.  Although whether viewers actually care who was first by the sake of a day or two is largely irrelevant as this attempted one-upmanship is really just about network egos and is just another chapter in the unending battle between Seven and Nine.

But assuming there are no further delays, GEM’s schedule for Sunday is as follows:

6am Movie: Kim
8.30 Movie: Spring And Port Wine
10.30 Movie: Thousands Cheer
1.05pm Movie: Life With Father
3.35 Movie: The Jazz Singer
6pm The New Adventures Of Old Christine
6.30 Wife Swap USA
7.30 Random Acts Of Kindness (new episode)
8.30 Movie: The Bodyguard
11.10 The New Adventures Of Old Christine (rpt from 6pm)
11.40pm Wife Swap USA (rpt from 6.30pm)

GEM will be available via the Nine Network (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth) on digital channel 90 and via regional networks WIN (Queensland, Southern NSW, ACT, Victoria, Tasmania) and NBN (Northern NSW, Gold Coast) on digital channel 80, and from next month GEM and its counterpart GO! will be available on the Nine Network’s Darwin station.  A high-definition tuner, PVR or set-top-box will be required to view GEM.

GEM will also be available to Foxtel cable subscribers.

Southern Cross rolls out more channels

Regional broadcaster Southern Cross Media has announced the launch of new digital channels for Darwin, Tasmania and Spencer Gulf/Broken Hill markets.

Southern Cross Television will be providing the Seven Network’s new digital channel, 7mate, in Darwin (on digital channel 70) and Tasmania (digital channel 60) from 24 October.  The channel launches on the Seven Network stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Regional QLD this Saturday.

Viewers will need a high-definition capable digital tuner, PVR or set top box to access 7mate.

The company has also announced that it will be providing a relay channel of the Nine Network to viewers in the Spencer Gulf/Broken Hill region from 31 October.  Southern Cross is the only commercial TV broadcaster in that region and currently provides two channels – GTS/BKN (with Seven Network programming) and Southern Cross Ten – with provision for special event programming (such as sports) from the Nine Network.  Both GTS/BKN and Southern Cross Ten are broadcast in analogue and digital.

The new Nine relay will be broadcast exclusively in digital.

Regional South Australia, including Spencer Gulf and Broken Hill, is scheduled to lose all analogue television transmission on 15 December.  After the analogue shutdown the potential may exist for Southern Cross Media to gain access to additional broadcast spectrum which would allow it to start to relay the commercial networks’ digital multi-channels.

Source: TV Tonight, Freeview

GEM: Friday and Saturday

Nine’s new digital channel, GEM, is to be officially launched next Sunday, 26 September, but just to get the edge over the launch of 7mate the channel starts programming this Friday, 24 September from 12.00pm:

Friday 24:
12pm Movie: Singin’ In The Rain
2pm Movie: Gypsy
5pm The Ellen DeGeneres Show (rpt from Nine)
6pm The New Adventures Of Old Christine
6.30 Friends
7pm The Zoo
7.30 Getaway (rpt from Nine)
8.30 Movie: Jindabyne
11pm Movie: Critic’s Choice

Saturday 25:
1am Friends (rpt from 6.30pm)
1.30 Getaway (rpt from 7.30pm)
2.30 Movie: Jindabyne (rpt from 8.30pm)
4.50 Dangerman
5.50 GEM Presents
6am Movie: The Bridal Path
8am Movie: Critic’s Choice (rpt from 11pm)
10am Movie: The Yearling
12.45pm Movie: Northwest Passage
3.20pm Movie: The Madwoman Of Chaillot
6pm The New Adventures Of Old Christine
6.30 Deadly Surf
7pm Animal Emergency
7.30 Special: Every Heart Beats True – The Jim Stynes Story (rpt from Nine)
8.30 Movie: Evil Angels
11pm Movie: Gypsy (rpt from Friday)

(Programs and times are for the Melbourne market, other areas or time-zones check local guides)

GEM – replacing the existing 9HD channel – will be available via the Nine Network (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth) on digital channel 90 and via NBN (Northern NSW, Gold Coast) and WIN (Southern NSW, ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, Queensland) on digital channel 80.  GEM will be available on the Nine Network’s Darwin channel from next month.  Viewers will need a high-definition tuner or set top box to be able to access the channel.

GEM is also available on Foxtel for cable subscribers only on Channel 209 from 24 September.

Regional update on digital channel roll-out

The Nine Network’s two major regional affiliates, WIN and NBN, have both announced that they will launch Nine’s new digital channel, GEM, in their respective regional markets on the same day as in the capital cities.

GEM, providing an entertainment-based line-up aimed at female viewers aged 35+, will be available in WIN’s and NBN’s respective digital coverage areas (excluding South Australia and Western Australia) on high-definition digital channel 80.  The new channel will be officially launched on Sunday 26 September.  WIN’s Perth and Adelaide channels, STW9 and NWS9, will also broadcast GEM from the same day on high-definition digital channel 90.

Viewers of the Nine Network’s Darwin channel will be able to view both channels GO! and GEM from early October, following upgrades to the channel’s transmission infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Tasmanian viewers may soon learn that they will be getting the Seven and Ten networks’ new digital channels, 7mate and 11.  Southern Cross Media, representing both Southern Cross Television and Tasmanian Digital Television, has previously said that they were not committing to carrying the new channels in the short term. 

It now appears that Southern Cross will be relaying the male-focused 7mate channel from mid-October, after the Commonwealth Games, while TDT could be carrying the new channel 11 from when it launches on the mainland in the new year.  There is no indication yet, however, whether Southern Cross Ten in regional NSW, Victoria, Queensland and the ACT will be carrying 11.

Southern Cross has had to consider significant investment and upgrade of its Canberra-based broadcast facility to allow it to provide the new channels, at a time when the broadcaster’s parent company has had to wear a $82.7 million loss from the last financial year.  Most of this loss was attributed to an American subsidiary which has been sold off, but the pressure is obviously on the Australian business to off-set the losses as much as possible.

Meanwhile, Prime Television in NSW, Victoria, ACT and the Gold Coast is expected to carry 7mate from when it launches in the capital cities next Saturday, 25 September.

Source: The Mercury, Freeview, Ninemsn

Nine’s GEM balances gender ledger

The Nine Network has announced its new digital channel – GEM – targetting females aged 35+.

The new channel, which will broadcast in high-definition and replace the existing high-definition simulcast of the main Nine channel, is expected to debut on Friday 24 September – just a day before the launch of Seven’s new male-focused channel, 7mate. The channel will have its official launch on Sunday 26 September.

Programming details for GEM, an acronym for “General Entertainment and Movies”, are fairly scant at present (Updated: More details in Nine press release, below) but it is reported to include programs like Secret Millionaire, The Big C, Weeds and Wife Swap as well as re-purposed news and current affairs content and a commitment to maintaining some of Nine’s sports content in high-definition – how the latter ties in with the proposed target demographic is unclear though it is a move that will please sports fans.

There is also no word if GEM will be carried by regional affiliates such as WIN or the Nine-owned channels NBN in Northern NSW and NTD8 in Darwin.

The launches of GEM and 7mate, while they provide more channel choices, will effectively mean two fewer high-definition simulcasts of network television – leaving SBS as the only network providing a high-definition simulcast of its main channel.

While ABC and Network Ten moved away from high-definition simulcasts, they did so to launch well-defined and well-branded unique channels, ABC News 24 and One HD, while GEM and 7mate from the outset (with the limited information that either channel has released to the public) appear to be a thinly-spread array of re-run material, a lot of which pre-dates high-definition production, with a handful of first-run programs that vaguely resemble a demographic-focused approach – a line-up that could just as well have been used to boost the content offerings of their existing channels 7TWO and GO instead of short-changing viewers who will now no longer have the option to see Australia’s two most popular networks in high-definition. The networks will argue that this is the only means in which they can offer a third channel as they are limited in how they can deliver multiple channels pending the complete shutdown of analogue transmission in 2013.

A formal announcement of GEM is expected from Nine later today.

UPDATE @ 16:25 AEST 13.9.2010: Media Release from Nine:

NINE ANNOUNCES A NEW GEM

Following on from the outstanding success of the GO! multi-channel, the Nine Network today announced plans for a third channel, GEM, which will launch on Sunday, September 26 aimed at the sophisticated, discerning viewer.

GEM will be a mix of new content, classic comedies, cherished drama series, all-time favourite movies, and all of Nine’s sport coverage in high definition.

GEM is designed to complement Nine’s premium channel, and the network’s number one multi-channel, GO!, attracting females 35+ and grocery buyers.

Leading the GEM lineup is the acclaimed new US drama series The Big C, starring Laura Linney as a woman making the most of her life after being diagnosed with cancer. Also starring Oliver Platt and Oscar nominee Gabourey Sidibe, The Big C’s recent premiere achieved record ratings for the US Showtime network.

The cult favourite Weeds will also be seen on GEM in a new season. Other first-run imports include Southland, Miami Medical, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, The New Adventures of Old Christine, and the lifestyle programs Wife Swap, Secret Millionaire USA, The Chopping Block USA and How Clean Is Your House?

Also on GEM will be a new season of Random Acts of Kindness (previously seen on Nine) featuring Shelley Craft, Scott Cam, Dr Andrew Rochford and Simmone Jade Mackinnon, treating everyday Australians to well-deserved rewards.

Rounding out the schedule will be the classic comedy Friends, stripped to air every week night, Aussie gold dramas McLeod’s Daughters, Sea Patrol and The Alice, and the hit US crime shows CSI, CSI Miami, CSI New York, The Closer and Cold Case, along with great movies such as Million Dollar Baby, The Aviator, 21 Grams and Being Julia.

Nine CEO David Gyngell said GEM would build on the network’s tearaway success with the GO! channel, which by a big margin is Australia’s most popular multi-channel across the key demographics and total people.

“GEM is what its title suggests – a general entertainment and movie channel, carefully crafted and targeted like GO! before it, to appeal to a wide audience cross-section and complement Nine’s existing successful brands,” Mr Gyngell said.

GEM will also include news and current affairs programs that will be different but complementary to those on the main channel. “We have a very significant investment in news and current affairs and some of that content will be repackaged to the style of GEM,” Mr Gyngell said.

High definition sport will be seen on GEM until the digital switchover in December 2013.

To receive GEM from September 26, viewers need to tune in to channel 90 on an HD-capable digital TV, PVR or set top box. If you have an analogue television you will need to connect your old TV to an HD-capable digital set top box, PVR, or digital recorder and tune in to channel 90.

Source: Media Spy

ACMA green lights 3D grand finals

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has granted temporary licences to both the Seven and Nine networks to allow them to broadcast the AFL and NRL grand finals respectively in 3D.

The temporary licences for both networks are applicable for the period from 18 September to 8 October and cover the markets of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

The AFL Grand Final is to be held on 25 September and the NRL Grand Final is scheduled for 3 October.

The broadcasts will be on digital channel 40 and will require a 3D compatible receiver and eyewear to view in 3D.  ACMA points out that because the trials are on a lower strength signal to normal television services that some viewers may still not receive the 3D telecast even if they have a compatible set and are within the relevant licence areas.

ACMA has also pointed out that it will not be issuing any further licences for 3D TV trials pending its review into 3D broadcasting on free-to-air television.  The authority is currently reviewing reports received from the Nine Network and SBS from their recent 3D TV trials conducted for the NRL State Of Origin and the FIFA World Cup.

Coverage of the AFL Grand Final in 3D in the major capital cities will be of cold comfort to viewers in Tasmania who appear unlikely to be able to view the game even in high-definition, as the high-definition broadcast forms the launch of the Seven Network’s 7mate channel which is not likely to air in Tasmania in the short term.

Source: ACMA

Comment sought over GTV9 redevelopment

The company redeveloping the GTV9 studio site at 22 Bendigo Street, Richmond, is seeking community consultation over plans to convert the 102-year-old building into an eight-storey apartment block.

Vivas Lend Lease, which bought the building for an estimated $50 million earlier this year, is planning to build 550 apartments plus low-rise townhouses on the three hectare site.

The external facade of the original building is heritage protected but additional extensions added in recent decades are not – but Vivas Lend Lease says it “will work to capture the history of the site through sensitive and appropriate interpretive methods. This could be by way of an interpretive trail, street naming or interactive media.”

Hey Hey It’s Saturday producer and host Daryl Somers recently suggested that part of the site should be converted into a TV museum to pay tribute to the many programs and personalities that have entertained Australians from the iconic studios.

But not everyone is pleased with the proposed redevelopment.  Cr Stephen Jolly is one who believes local "residents are already majorly p----- off" with the over-development of Richmond:

"I'm not against development, but this is unchecked development. What about the infrastructure?  Developers are just seeing dollars, dollars, dollars, and trying to squeeze as many people in as they can."

Vivas Lend Lease has established a website to make available its ‘Master Plan’ for the site and to seek community feedback and progress reports on the redevelopment.

Feedback will be reported to the City of Yarra when Vivas Lend Lease presents its draft Development Plan in September.

GTV9 plans to vacate the premises and move to new facilities in the Docklands precinct early next year.

Source: Herald Sun, Vivas Lend Lease

Game over for Wimbledon

Nine’s Wide World Of Sports just got a little bit smaller with news today that the network plans to end its long-term association with the Wimbledon tennis tournament.

Nine has cited falling viewer support for the event in recent years as the reason for the move and as a result has decided it would rather spend the $15 million in licensing and broadcasting the world’s premier tennis event each year on boosting its bid for the rights to cover AFL football when the current arrangement expires at the end of the 2011 season.

Nine’s bid for AFL is set to include more live coverage – something that the current incumbents Seven and Ten are less likely to do – and support for a high-profile Monday night fixture.

Wimbledon was first telecast in Australia on ABC in the late 1960s, with limited coverage of finals matches and highlights packages, at a time when satellite telecasts to Australia were still in their infancy. 

Nine’s broadcasting of Wimbledon dates back to 1977, forming part of Kerry Packer’s strategy of building up the network’s schedule with major television and sporting events.  Packer also used to head to Wimbledon where he had an elaborate marquee set up to wine and dine with friends and business partners.

The opportunity may exist for another network to pick up the Wimbledon rights.  The event would be a perfect fit for Ten’s sports channel, One HD, but the network may be reluctant to commit to any bid for the rights pending the review of the anti-siphoning legislation which currently prevents key sporting events being televised exclusively on digital television.

Source: Herald Sun
Picture: What’s On The Tube

50 years of NZ TV

While New Zealand television is not normally covered on this blog, we would like to extend congratulations across the Tasman on the occasion of 50 years of television in New Zealand.

New Zealand’s first TV station, AKTV2 Auckland, signed on at 7.30pm on 1 June 1960.  Transmission was initially limited to two nights a week but was extended to four nights the following month.

Although New Zealand television was funded by viewers’ licence fees, a limited amount of advertising was allowed to boost funds – but advertising was limited to only a couple of days a week.

Television extended to Christchurch (CHTV3) and Wellington (WNTV1) in 1961 and Dunedin (DNTV2) in 1962. 

All four channels, though owned by the national broadcaster NZBC, were basically operating in isolation of each other.  It was in 1969 that all four channels were first linked up via a temporary microwave link to allow simultaneous transmission of the moon landing – although viewers were still seeing images after the event, as New Zealand was yet to establish satellite-receiving facilities and had to rely on film sent over from Australia.

A satellite link was established in 1971, and in 1972 New Zealanders watched the Melbourne Cup live via satellite.  Nationally networked programming was launched in 1973.

Colour television began in New Zealand in November 1973 – over a year ahead of Australia – but it was not without its challenges.  Colour coverage of the 1974 Commonwealth Games from Auckland was limited only to swimming, track and field and boxing events as the network did not have enough facilities to allow colour broadcast of all events.

A restructure of the nation’s public broadcasting interests was implemented in 1975 – with NZBC split up into separate radio and television divisions, and the splitting up of the single television network into two competing networks – TV One and TV2 – giving New Zealanders a choice of TV channels for the first time.

By 1980, the two networks are brought back under the one organisation, TVNZ, but maintaining the two-channel structure.

The end of the 1980s marked the arrival of New Zealand’s first privately-owned commercial television network, TV3.  The new network, bringing an end to almost thirty years of the state-owned monopoly, collapsed into receivership shortly after going to air – not able to compete with the Auckland Commonwealth Games and a stockpile of first-run programming being thrown against it by the two-channel TVNZ giant.  TV3 is later bought out by the Canadian CanWest organisation, a company that also bought a share of Australia’s Network Ten as it too was recovering from financial decline.

CanWest also supplemented TV3 with a second network, TV4, in 1997.  The new network, providing youth-focused programming, is later reworked into a music and entertainment channel, C4.

Pay television entered the New Zealand market in the 1990s with Sky Television, and a new free-to-air commercial network, Prime Television, is formed as a joint venture between Australia’s Nine Network and regional network Prime.  Prime in New Zealand is now owned by Sky.

Digital television commenced transmission in New Zealand in 2007 with the broadcasters providing a joint initiative, Freeview.  All free-to-air networks are carried on Freeview, with the addition of extra channels such as TVNZ6 (family and NZ-based programming) and TVNZ7 (news) and niche-format channels covering various genres including indigenous, multicultural, religious, public affairs and community programming.

To commemorate 50 years of New Zealand television, and to coincide with a special to go to air on 1 June, TVNZ has produced a special website, Cheers To 50 Years, including archival footage, trivia and tributes to half a century of television.

Source: TVNZ, Wikipedia, Freeview