Regional Qld ready for digital… almost?

At around 9.00am (EST) today, analogue television transmissions in the Regional Queensland aggregated market will be switched off.

The switch-off will affect local transmissions for ABC, Seven Queensland (STQ), WIN (RTQ), Southern Cross Ten (TNQ) and SBS in the markets of Cairns/Far North Queensland, Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton, Maryborough/Wide Bay and Toowoomba/Darling Downs/Southern Downs – covering a total market population of around 1,764,000 viewers, making it the largest analogue shutdown in Australia to date.

According to the latest Digital Tracker survey, covering the period July to September 2011, around 85 per cent of households in the Regional Queensland market have converted at least their main TV set to digital.  While retailers have experienced the expected last minute rush for digital set top boxes and TVs, it is estimated that two per cent of viewers in the affected market may still be unaware of the switch to digital-only transmission.

Today’s switch-off will mark the end of almost fifty years of analogue television transmission in regional Queensland.  The first regional channel to sign-on was DDQ10 Toowoomba in July 1962, followed later in the year by TNQ7 in Townsville.

RTQ7 Rockhampton followed in 1963, then WBQ8 Maryborough/Wide Bay (1965), FNQ10 Cairns (1966), SDQ4 Southern Downs (1966), MVQ6 Mackay (1968) and ITQ8 Mount Isa (1971).

ABC began rolling out television services in regional Queensland with the launch of ABRQ3 Rockhampton and ABDQ3 in December 1963.

In 1986 the ABC began broadcasting radio and television services to remote and outback regions via the new domestic satellite AUSSAT.  This was joined by commercial station QSTV, operated by Telecasters North Queensland (TNQ7/FNQ10), in 1988.

Also in 1988, the Toowoomba channel DDQ10 changed its call-sign and frequency to DDQ0 to allow Brisbane channel TVQ0 to change to the Ten frequency.

Aggregation of the regional markets of Townsville/Cairns, Rockhampton/Darling Downs/Southern Downs and Wide Bay/Mackay took place on 31 December 1990, giving local viewers a choice of three commercial channels – Sunshine Television (now Seven Queensland), WIN and QTV (now Southern Cross Ten).  

In 1999, Alice Springs-based Imparja Television expanded its remote area service to Mount Isa and the remote Queensland market in competition with Seven Central (previously ITQ8 and QSTV, now Southern Cross Television).  The region is now also covered by Ten Central, a joint venture between Imparja and Southern Cross as a digital-only service providing a dedicated Network Ten schedule.

Viewers in the remote market covered by analogue terrestrial transmissions of Imparja and Southern Cross Television will still have access to analogue until 2013.  Today’s switch-off only affects the regional Queensland aggregated market.  Brisbane and the Gold Coast will continue to receive analogue television until 2013.

The Federal Government has made allowances for financial assistance to eligible households in converting either to digital television or, where digital television reception is not possible, to gain access to the satellite-based VAST system.

Viewers in locations where locally-based “self-help” transmission facilities are not being upgraded to digital may also need to convert to VAST.

For details on the digital conversion, assistance options or access to VAST, refer to the Digital Ready website or telephone 1800 20 10 13.

After the Regional Queensland market the next region to lose analogue transmissions will be Southern NSW and the ACT in June 2012.

Seven wins ‘11

No surprises for anyone to read that the Seven Network has come out as the overall winner in the 2011 ratings battle – its fifth annual win in a row.

Seven ends the year (Weeks 7-48, excluding Easter, 6pm-12mn, 5 cities) with a 31.0% share, followed by Nine (26.3%), Ten (21.4%), ABC (15.9%) and SBS (5.4%).  For Seven it’s an increase from last year’s share of 28.7% while Nine, ABC and SBS recorded drops compared to 2010, and Ten rose only slightly from 21.2% as it launched its new channel Eleven this year and revamped former sports channel One.

Broken down to individual channels, Seven (23.0%) was ahead of Nine (19.5%), Ten (15.8%), ABC1 (12.4%), SBS One (4.6%), 7TWO (4.6%), GO! (4.0%), Eleven (3.5%), 7mate (3.4%), Gem (2.8%), ABC2 (2.3%), One (2.1%), SBS Two (0.8%), ABC News 24 (0.7%) and ABC3 (0.6%).  The growth in the multi-channel audiences has seen all primary channels recording a decline on 2010’s numbers.

7TWO overtook Nine’s GO! as the top-rated multi-channel, while Ten’s new youth-themed channel Eleven ends its first year in third spot.

It was a year where Seven could do little wrong, achieving a clean sweep of 40 overall prime-time wins out of 40 weeks, due to a strong early evening line-up of Seven News, Today Tonight and Home And Away and its reality portfolio – The Amazing Race: Australia, Dancing With The Stars (pictured), My Kitchen Rules, Australia’s Got Talent and a revamped The X Factor – all performing well giving the network a massive lead up to mid-evening.  Thursday nights got a boost with Beauty And The Geek, and the long-running Better Homes And Gardens gave Seven a boost on Fridays.

Seven also scored a massive hit on Sunday nights with British series Downton Abbey.

Drama series Packed To The Rafters was still a standout performer but didn’t rate quite as well as in 2010, having lost a number of key cast members in the last year, and with some risky scheduling by Seven that saw the series given a lengthy mid-season break and then winding up the 2011 series prematurely.  But the mid-season break for Rafters saw it replaced by the new series Winners And Losers, a strong ratings performer though not a match for Rafters.

In the morning battle, Sunrise is still dominant in the breakfast timeslot nationally but Nine’s Today is performing stronger in Sydney and Melbourne.  The Morning Show continues to rule the mid-morning timeslot, claiming victory over Nine’s Kerri-Anne (which was cancelled last week) and The Circle.

But not everything quite went Seven’s way.  The network’s new period drama Wild Boys, featuring Daniel MacPherson and former Rafters star Zoe Ventoura, got off to a strong start but failed to maintain an audience and will not return in 2012.  Game show Deal Or No Deal, once a dominant performer at 5.30pm, is fading against Hot Seat, and drama series City Homicide went out with a whimper.  And last week’s special Kyle And Jackie O’s Night With The Stars was presented with a lead-in of two million viewers (with the “winner announced” on The X Factor) but saw viewers switch off in droves.

New imported series No Ordinary Family, Detroit 187, Teen Wolf, Suits and Law And Order: LA all failed to click with viewers. 

For the Nine Network the year started confidently, with promises that the network would be the “home of comedy” in 2011.  It was soon apparent, however, that the only ones laughing were the other networks.  The supposed flagship of the new comedy line-up, Ben Elton Live From Planet Earth, was a spectacular dud, even leading to a public apology by Elton himself, and was axed after only three weeks.  New US shows $#*! My Dad Says and Mike And Molly also failed.

The once dominant US sitcom Two And A Half Men was on the decline on the back of the Charlie Sheen scandal and his subsequent sacking from the series, but The Big Bang Theory – ironically from the same producer as Men – became a strong performer, to the point where Nine has become somewhat over-reliant on its popularity, ended the ratings year with 14 episodes scheduled in prime-time over five nights.

The multi-million dollar deal which saw Hamish Blake and Andy Lee come across from the Ten Network saw their new series Hamish And Andy’s Gap Year start to a strong ratings result but overall popularity waned as the series progressed, although it rated well in younger demographics.

The Joy Of Sets with Tony Martin and Ed Kavalee promised a humourous and affectionate look at the various aspects of television, but viewers didn’t take to it at all with later episodes playing out in a late-night timeslot.

Nine’s first half of the year was also not helped by lack lustre performances by new Eddie McGuire vehicles Million Dollar Drop, Between The Lines and a revival of This Is Your Life.

Nine had some smiles, however, by strong ratings for the ongoing Underbelly franchise, with a series of telemovies and the 1920s-themed series Underbelly: Razor rating well. 

The TV Week Logie Awards rated well (1,323,000, over four hours) up against the series return of MasterChef Australia (1,569,000, 90 minutes), while the NRL State Of Origin series returned excellent figures with all three games well exceeding the 2 million viewer mark.

But while the first half of the year was not a great one for Nine, its second half was  somewhat better and can be largely attributed to adopting the reality genre in the stripped 7.00pm timeslot, starting with a new-look The Block which became a ratings hit.  Some strategic coding by Nine in the ratings system has seen The Block – The Winner Announced claim the #1 program of the year – all seven minutes of it.

(Such coding of programs, a tactic employed by all three commercial networks, have made a mess of the Top 20 list – as below – where individual episodes of series and specific segments of special events are singled out to give them higher or multiple positions in the rankings.)

Nine then used the 7.00pm timeslot for its late-year series Celebrity Apprentice, also returning strong results. The popularity in the reality genre for Nine will see it launch an Australian version of singing competition The Voice, and reviving Big Brother in 2012.

But while it was a year that Seven could do little wrong, for Network Ten it was a year where there was little they could get right.  The network’s heavy investment in expanding its news and current affairs portfolio saw 6PM With George Negus (later 6.30) fail to maintain any audience traction up against the tabloid opposition, although the network should at least be credited for attempting to lift the bar in the standard of prime-time current affairs reporting and giving the show a fair run before finally axing it in October.

The 6.30pm Ten Evening News failed to click with viewers and was axed after two months, and Ten’s subsequent extension of the 5.00pm bulletin to a 90-minute format saw its numbers drop considerably.  The mess of the network’s weekend newscasts, which saw the national 5.00pm newscast dropped and then re-instated and the 6.00pm state-based bulletins launched and then dropped in favour of an extended national news bulletin, has not done it any favours either. 

The 7PM Project has now been extended to an hour, and re-named The Project.  Its overall average has dropped as a result and it is to be seen if the expanded format can build on its numbers in 2012.

Ten’s reality giant MasterChef Australia was back for a third series this year.  Although the program continued to rate well, the mood of the audience was well down on previous years and the show’s finale – split into two shows to ‘force’ viewers to sample The Renovators sandwiched in between – rated well lower than the two previous season finals and its Junior MasterChef spin-off also failed to maintain a strong audience.

The new show The Renovators (pictured) promised to do for home makeovers what MasterChef did with cooking – crank the challenges, production values and the budget to the hilt, and to saturate the schedule.  The problem was that viewers didn’t take to The Renovators as they had come to adopt MasterChef, therefore dragging down Ten’s entire schedule.  It will also be no coincidence that Nine’s revamped The Block made its debut just prior to The Renovators and hence stole much of its thunder.

Ten’s drama slate has looked somewhat depleted this year, with Neighbours being moved across to Eleven.  Ten’s second series of Offspring was a strong performer and will be back next year, but action-packed police drama Rush again failed to gain a decent audience and will not appear in 2012.

Apart from MasterChef’s two-part finale, Ten’s only appearance in the year-end Top 20 was the AFL Grand Final, ending the network’s ten-year association with the league as the free-to-air rights next year go solely to Seven.

Ten’s re-working of comedy show Good News Week into Good News World was a critical and ratings disaster, while the new topical discussion show Can Of Worms got a modest audience response but was not helped by some erratic scheduling.  The second series of the Australian version of Undercover Boss also failed to rate with viewers.

The network did have better results with the return of The Biggest Loser and Talkin’ ‘bout Your Generation.

Imported shows Blue Bloods, Hawaii Five-O, The Defenders and Ringer have also returned poor results, while the big-budget series Terra Nova – filmed on location in Australia – started strongly but has failed to maintain viewers’ interest.

Over at ABC ratings are not of primary concern but the ABC1 channel has scored some critical and ratings hits during the year.  The two-part series Paper Giants: The Birth Of Cleo (pictured) was a ratings hit in April, while the eight-part adaptation of the book The Slap was widely acclaimed and received strong Thursday night figures for the broadcaster.

The long-running Spicks And Specks also rated well during the year with its final-ever episode last week scoring over 1.5 million viewers.  The Gruen Transfer and its spin-off Gruen Planet were also popular on Wednesday nights.

Highlights for SBS during the year included Cadel Evans’ victory in the Tour de France (704,000), followed by documentary series Go Back To Where You Came From (pictured), where six Australians were taken on a reverse journey of those taken by refugees that have landed at our shores.

In digital multi-channels, the most-watched broadcast was Day 9 of Wimbledon on 7TWO, attracting 737,000 viewers, followed by movies Transformers and 2012 on GO!.  Neighbours was a consistent performer for Eleven, often winning nightly digital channel rankings but its average over the year saw it ranked at the 10th most popular program on digital channels for the year.

But the biggest TV event of the year is one that fell outside of the official ratings survey.  The April wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, with coverage across four free-to-air networks and a number of pay-TV channels, was watched by millions but took place during the two-week ratings break taken around Easter so its numbers are not included in the year-end tally.

From today networks go into summer non-ratings mode, though viewing data is still collected and reported to networks over the non-ratings period.

The 2012 ratings year begins on 12 February and continues through to 1 December, with a two-week Easter break in April.

Seven wins 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007

Free-To-Air Top 20 Programs (Rank, Title, Network, Duration, Audience (five cities)):

1 THE BLOCK -WINNER ANNOUNCED (Nine) 0:07:06 3,370,000
2 AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT-THE WINNER ANNOUNCED (Seven) 0:10:06 2,980,000
3 UNDERBELLY: RAZOR -EP1 (Nine) 1:01:21 2,794,000
4 MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA - THE WINNER ANNOUNCED (Ten) 0:16:00 2,745,000
5 THE BLOCK -AUCTION (Nine) 0:45:50 2,736,000
6 THE 2011 MELBOURNE CUP CARNIVAL: MELBOURNE CUP-THE RACE (Seven) 0:06:05 2,667,000
7 TEN'S AFL FINALS 2011: GRAND FINAL COLLINGWOOD V GEELONG (Ten) 3:02:30 2,641,000
8 STATE OF ORIGIN RUGBY LEAGUE QLD V NSW 3RD - MATCH (Nine) 1:50:58 2,492,000
9 MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA - FINALE NIGHT (Ten) 1:01:34 2,402,000
10 UNDERBELLY: RAZOR -EP2 (Nine) 1:01:16 2,352,000
11 THE BLOCK -GRAND FINAL (Nine) 1:07:10 2,309,000
12 STATE OF ORIGIN RUGBY LEAGUE QLD V NSW 1ST - MATCH (Nine) 1:41:24 2,245,000
13 RUGBY LEAGUE GRAND FINAL (Nine) 1:51:01 2,172,000
14 STATE OF ORIGIN RUGBY LEAGUE NSW V QLD 2ND - MATCH (Nine) 1:44:00 2,165,000 
15 MY KITCHEN RULES-WINNER ANNOUNCED (Seven) 0:10:00 2,127,000
16 THE X FACTOR - THE WINNER ANNOUNCED (Seven) 7 0:08:00 2,026,000
17 THE 2011 MELBOURNE CUP CARNIVAL: MELBOURNE CUP-RACE PRESENTATIO (Seven) 0:33:27 1,967,000
18 AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT-TUE (Seven) 1:34:32 1,936,000
19 THE 2011 GRAND FINAL PRE GAME (Ten) 0:20:58 1,914,000
20 DOWNTON ABBEY (Seven) 1:11:48 1,906,000

Free-To-Air Digital Multi Channel Top 20 Programs (Rank, Title, Channel, Duration, Audience (five cities)):

1 WIMBLEDON 2011 - DAY 9 (7TWO) 1:37:11 737,000
2 TRANSFORMERS -EV (GO!) 3:00:14 486,000
3 2012 -EV (GO!) 3:14:57 441,000
4 AUST FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2011 - RACE (One)2:00:00 428,000
5 WIMBLEDON 2011 - DAY 7 (7TWO) 2:46:45 408,000
6 SURVIVOR: REDEMPTION ISLAND -EV TX1 (GO!) 0:58:00 371,000
7 HEARTBEAT-SAT (R) (7TWO) 1:07:09 350,000
8 JONATHAN CREEK (7TWO) 1:07:32 349,000
9 SURVIVOR: REDEMPTION ISLAND -EV (GO!) 1:36:15 344,000
10 NEIGHBOURS (Eleven) 0:30:35 343,000
11 M-FIRST BLOOD (7mate) 2:00:51 338,000
12 PAUL BLART: MALL COP -EV (GO!) 1:56:36 337,000
13 HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE -EV (GO!) 3:20:46 337,000
14 DOC MARTIN-EP.2 (7TWO) 1:02:01 335,000
15 HEARTBEAT (R) (7TWO) 1:06:18 330,000
16 HEARTBEAT-EP.2 (R) (7TWO) 1:05:31 325,000
17 THE VICAR OF DIBLEY-TUE (R) (7TWO) 0:49:38 322,000
18 HEARTBEAT-SAT EP.2 (R) (7TWO) 1:02:40 315,000
19 HEARTBEAT-WED (R) (7TWO) 1:08:04 314,000
20 DOC MARTIN (7TWO) 1:03:09 308,000

Data © OzTAM Pty Limited 2011. The Data may not be reproduced, published or communicated (electronically or in hard copy) without the prior written consent of OzTAM.

TV4 coming to the Seven Network

The Seven Network has announced that it will be broadcasting the datacast channel TV4 on its digital signal from early December.

TV4, operated by marketing and production company Brand New Media, has been broadcast on the digital signal of Seven’s regional affiliate Prime7 since 18 September.

The channel promises “information rich content around lifestyle, finances, community, education and shopping”.

If online discussion about Prime7’s broadcast of TV4 is any indication, Seven Network viewers can expect the channel to largely consist of infomercials – low-rent programming that is normally reserved for mid-dawn timeslots.

Datacast services are intended for the transmission of information or niche format content and are precluded from providing general entertainment or mainstream programming.  An extended trial of datacasting was conducted in Sydney via Digital Forty Four, providing access to shopping and religious programming, government information and parliamentary broadcasts as well as an electronic program guide (EPG) for all free-to-air channels.  The trial also provided a free-to-air outlet for National Indigenous Television (NITV), whose access in most areas is otherwise limited to pay-TV platforms.  The trial concluded in 2010.

Seven will be broadcasting TV4 on digital channel 74 in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and regional Queensland.  TV4 is currently available on digital channel 64 via Prime7 in regional NSW, Victoria and the ACT.

The last bounce for Ten’s AFL

Network Ten has announced that it will walk away from AFL coverage at the end of this year’s season as it will not seek to enter into an agreement to take over any of the Seven Network’s commitment to the game from next year.

Network sports director David Barham told The Age:

"It is a bit of a shame. It's the choice of the network. It's purely a business decision.  Everyone is disappointed but understands the decision.

"We are really, really proud of what we achieved. I am proud of the people that I have worked with over the years. I think Ten should be recognised for the contribution it made to the game because no-one has done more for broadcasting the game than the Ten Network in NSW and Queensland.

"We put more game into NSW and Queensland in prime time than any other broadcaster in the history of the game. That was one of the reasons they (AFL) are expanding into these northern markets because of the real back-breaking work the Ten Network did over the last 10 years."

Ten’s commitment to AFL started with the 2002 season when they teamed up with Nine and Foxtel in a landmark five-year deal that saw the game’s television broadcast rights taken off Seven, which had broadcast the AFL and its predecessor – the VFL – for all but one season since 1957.

For the 2007-2011 rights deal, Ten partnered with Seven in a deal worth $780 million – at the time the largest sports broadcasting rights deal ever in Australia – with some games sold off to Foxtel.

Ten’s commitment to AFL was strengthened in 2009 with the launch of high-definition sports channel One, where AFL was the flagship of the schedule.  The channel enhanced its AFL coverage with programs including One Week At A Time.

Ten had been a bidding partner with Seven for the 2012-2016 contract but withdrew from the process at the last minute following the arrival of interim CEO Lachlan Murdoch. 

Under Murdoch, Ten has also wound back some sports programming from One in favour of special interest and general entertainment programming.  The removal of AFL from the schedule may see more changes to the channel’s schedule.

The Ten decision is expected to see its commentary team moved on, although Stephen Quartermain is expected to stay on as the network’s main sports anchor for Ten News in Melbourne. 

The future of One’s One Week At A Time and Ten’s long-running Before The Game beyond the end of this year is uncertain though there is some speculation that the latter may go across to Seven, a network whose track record with AFL-themed entertainment programming has been rather patchy.

In securing the free-to-air rights to the 2012-2016 seasons, Seven had the option of on-selling some of its weekly commitment of four free-to-air games to another network.  Up until now Ten was believed to be considering taking on two weekly games.  Nine is not believed to have been interested.

Now from 2012, Seven will broadcast four weekly games plus the Brownlow Medal, all finals and the Grand Final.  The network is also expected to utilise its high-definition channel 7mate for selected coverage outside of Victoria.

General manager for Seven Melbourne, Lewis Martin paid tribute to Ten’s commitment to broadcasting AFL:

“We are excited about the prospect of carrying all the AFL games for which we bid.  But we wish to acknowledge that Channel Ten has been a terrific AFL broadcast partner for the past five years, and their commitment to the game over the past decade. We understand and empathise with how difficult these decisions can be.”

Foxtel will broadcast all nine weekly games, including re-broadcasting Seven’s coverage, and finals excluding the Grand Final.

Source: The Age, Herald Sun

Obituary: Noel Stanaway

Noel Stanaway, former Queensland television weatherman and local boating identity, has died from a stroke at the age of 76.

A long-time presenter at Brisbane radio station 4KQ, Stanaway was a weather presenter for Brisbane television channels BTQ7 and TVQ10 during the 1980s.

From the early ‘90s, Stanaway presented weather and fishing reports for Sunshine Television News, based on the Sunshine Coast.  In 15 years at Sunshine Television (now Seven Queensland) he never took a day’s sick leave.

He had a lifelong passion for boating, writing books on the topic and was commodore of the Mooloolaba Yacht Club.  For his contribution to boating he was awarded a British Empire Medal and an Australian Sporting Achievement Medal.

He enjoyed fishing and racing cars and also earned his pilot’s licence. 

A funeral for Noel Stanaway will be held in Caloundra next Tuesday.

Source: Seven Local News

Regional Queensland gets digital deadline

Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy has announced the date that Regional Queensland viewers will lose all analogue  television transmission and will only be able to access free-to-air television via digital.

On 6 December 2011 all local analogue transmissions for ABC, SBS, Seven Queensland (STQ), WIN (RTQ) and Southern Cross Ten (TNQ) will be closed down.

In the latest Digital Tracker survey, covering the period January to March this year, around 83 per cent of households in the Regional Queensland market have already made the transition to digital television.

The Regional Queensland market stretches from Cairns and Far North Queensland down to Toowoomba and the Darling Downs and Southern Downs regions – representing a population of around 1,764,000.

Viewers in the Regional Queensland market who are unable to receive digital television via normal terrestrial broadcast may be eligible to access the satellite-based VAST platform, which will be available to Regional Queensland from June 2011, and some households may qualify for government assistance in making that conversion.

Queensland viewers in more remote parts that receive commercial television from Imparja and Southern Cross Television will still have until the second half of 2013 to make the switch from analogue television, and Brisbane and Gold Coast viewers will have until the first half of 2013.

Source: Digital Ready, DBCDE

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.

Seven, Foxtel kick AFL goal

It’s been months in the making but now, finally, the deal has been done to secure the rights to the AFL for the next five seasons.

In a record-breaking $1.25 billion deal, the Seven Network has emerged as the major free-to-air broadcast partner for the 2012-2016 seasons – with Foxtel holding pay-TV rights and Telstra securing online and mobile coverage.  The deal far exceeds the $780 million paid by broadcasters for the current 2007-2011 rights agreement.

Under the new deal, Seven will broadcast four of the nine weekly games – utilising both its primary channel as well as its digital multi-channel 7mate – while Foxtel will present live coverage of all nine weekly games and Telstra will broadcast all games via its Next G mobile telephone and T-Box platforms.

For Victorian viewers Seven’s telecasts will include live Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon coverage.  NSW, Canberra and Queensland viewers will also get more live coverage via 7mate.

Seven will also broadcast the Brownlow Medal and all finals including the Grand Final.  Foxtel and Telstra will also have rights to the finals, excluding the Grand Final, and the Brownlow Medal presentation.

Foxtel’s coverage will also be ad-free ‘siren to siren’, unlike Seven’s, and will include the re-launch of its dedicated AFL channel expected to be offered to subscribers of their current sports package.

Seven also has the option to on-sell any of its four weekly games to either the Nine or Ten networks.  The current AFL free-to-air broadcast rights are shared between Seven and Ten, and the two networks had been joint bidders for the 2012-2016 deal until Ten’s last-minute withdrawal from the partnership just weeks ago.

Source: AFL, The Age

Good Friday Appeal tradition continues

Flashback to 1972… and Temptation and Great Temptation hostess Barbara Rogers and Homicide star Leonard Teale (pictured) are promoting the Good Friday Appeal telethons for Melbourne’s HSV7 and Adelaide’s ADS7.

The Adelaide telethon has long gone, but Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal continues to tap into the generosity of Victorians to raise funds for one of the world’s great children’s hospitals.  More than $211 million has been raised since the Appeal’s modest beginnings as a sports carnival in 1931.  Radio station 3DB joined the Appeal during World War II and HSV7 first took part in 1957.

This year’s telethon, the culmination of twelve months of various fundraising efforts across the state, will be held at Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium and broadcast across Victoria through HSV7 and regional affiliate Prime Television.  Melbourne radio stations 3AW and Magic 1278 as radio partners of the Appeal will also cover the day’s activities.

The Appeal promises to feature many of Seven’s on-screen personalities from various programs including Home And Away, Packed To The Rafters, Winners And Losers, Australia’s Got Talent, Seven News, Dancing With The Stars and The Morning Show.  Royal Children’s Hospital ambassador and former Seven personality Dan Webb, probably best known as host of game show Video Village in the 1960s and journalist with Seven National News in the 1970s and ‘80s, will also be making an appearance.

Last year’s Appeal raised a record total of $14,462,000.

The Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal.  Friday 22 April, from 9.30am.  HSV7 (Melbourne) and Prime Television (Regional Victoria) – in association with the Herald and Weekly Times and radio stations 3AW and Magic 1278

UPDATE @ 12.40 AEST 23.4.2011 The Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal has signed off with a record-breaking final total of $15,156,000.

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.

Seven wins 2010

The Seven Network has won the ratings battle for the fourth consecutive year – but all three commercial networks will have something to smile about.

Seven won the ratings year (which concluded yesterday) with an overall audience share of 28.7 per cent (6pm-12mn, 5 cities), followed by Nine (27.7), Ten (21.2), ABC (16.9) and SBS (5.6).

As far as individuals channels go, Seven (24.6) won against Nine (23.5), Ten (19.7), ABC1 (14.5), SBS1 (5.0), GO! (3.8), 7TWO (3.5), 7mate (2.7), GEM (1.7), ABC2 (1.6), One (1.4), SBS2 (0.6) and ABC3 and ABC News 24 (both 0.5).

Topping Seven’s ratings list is Packed To The Rafters (pictured), Australia’s Got Talent, the AFL Grand Final (and the re-match), Such Is Life: The Troubled Times Of Ben Cousins, the Melbourne Cup and the men’s final of the Australian Open.

Seven News, Today Tonight, Sunrise, The Morning Show and Weekend Sunrise all outrated their Nine Network rivals.

My Kitchen Rules (pictured) returned strong ratings but failed to dampen any enthusiasm for the return of Ten’s Masterchef Australia. The X Factor, despite all the hype, promotion and expense, failed to hit any significant ratings highs but returned decent ratings with a last-minute increase as the series came to a climax.  Dancing With The Stars also returned solid ratings as it ran its tenth series and Beauty And The Geek drew big numbers for what is normally a lack lustre Thursday night.

But not everything went Seven’s way this year.  The White Room, The Bounce, Australia Versus and Beat The Star were all prime-time ratings flops.  Iron Chef failed to gain a significant hold on the audience.  Home And Away, which has just ended its 23rd year, was beaten by repeats of US sitcom Two And A Half Men on Nine, and the future of City Homicide appears uncertain.

The Nine Network (i.e. Nine, GO! and GEM) is claiming victory in the advertiser-friendly demographics of 18-49, 16-39 and 25-54 age groups, although Nine’s primary channel was beaten by Ten in 16-39 age group viewers.

Nine’s biggest hit of 2010 was drama series Underbelly 3: The Golden Mile.  Nine also scored well with the NRL State Of Origin and NRL Grand Final.  Reality show The Farmer Wants A Wife returned solid ratings, while The Block (pictured), however, perhaps fell short of expectations but still managed decent numbers. Hey Hey It’s Saturday, which aired on Wednesday nights before being reinstated to its traditional Saturday night spot, has struggled to maintain significant support outside of Melbourne and its future is yet to be decided.  Top Gear and its Australian version rated well.  Sydney-based police drama Cops LAC failed to click with viewers.

The TV Week Logie Awards scored slightly lower than last year though this time it had to contend with competition from Masterchef Australia.

Nine continues to draw heavily on Two And A Half Men to boost its numbers, not just on Nine but also on digital channel GO!  Eddie McGuire’s Millionaire Hot Seat is now paying dividends against Seven’s Deal Or No Deal.

For Network Ten, as well as the primary channel taking out the 16-39 age group, the biggest hit was once again Masterchef Australia.  Like last year the series broke new post-2001 ratings records with more than 4 million viewers tuning in to see the winner, Adam Liaw (pictured) announced.  The series spin-off Junior Masterchef started on a ratings high but despite the inevitable ratings drop that followed it still sat at the top end of the ratings ladder.

Apart from the Masterchef titles the top of Ten’s list of ratings performers were predominantly imported programs – Modern Family, NCIS, Glee and Undercover Boss – although Shaun Micallef’s Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation was a strong performer as was the Australian adaptation of Undercover Boss and the new factual series Keeping Up With The Joneses.  The special Hamish And Andy’s Caravan Of Courage: Great Britain And Ireland and the telemovie Hawke were also ratings hits. 

New drama series Offspring (starring Asher Keddie, pictured) returned good Sunday night figures, particularly with younger viewers, although the Thursday night series Rush has struggled to be consistent and has seen ratings fall.  Both shows have been renewed for 2011.

The elephant in Ten’s room this year, however, is the Commonwealth Games.  The 11-day competition, traditionally a ratings winner, failed to return any significant ratings results for Ten, although it did give a boost to sports channel One.  The effect of the Games, which took Ten’s entire prime-time schedule out of circulation for two weeks, has seen shows like The 7PM Project and Neighbours lose any sense of ratings momentum they might have had pre-Games and saw viewers flock to digital channels in search of other viewing options.  The 7PM Project has seen its numbers slowly claw back to somewhere near decent, but Neighbours continues to stumble and has hit hit new ratings lows this year but will live on next year on Ten’s new digital channel, 11.

ABC’s The Gruen Transfer was among its highest raters this year, and its election-themed spin-off, Gruen Nation, topped the national broadcaster’s ratings list this year.  Spicks And Specks and The Chaser’s Yes We Canberra were strong performers, along with imported shows Midsomer Murders, Doc Martin and New Tricks.  Drama series Rake, starring Richard Roxburgh, got off to a high-rating start but ratings quickly fell.  The network also had to get the axe out – a rare occasion – for its Wednesday night series, Strictly Speaking, which returned ratings that even had ABC hanging its head in shame.

SBS, which has lost the Top Gear franchise to Nine, saw ratings fall this year, though the network scored well with the FIFA World Cup, from South Africa, with the match between Ghana and Australia being watched by over 1.3 million viewers.

Networks now go into summer non-ratings mode until February, though viewing data is still collected and reported to networks over the non-ratings period.

Seven wins ‘09
It’s Seven in ‘08
Seven wins ‘07

The Melbourne Cup: 1960, 1970, 1980

The running of the 100th Melbourne Cup, on 1 November 1960, was a significant one for television. It was the first time the race was telecast direct to Sydney in a rare co-operative effort between Sydney’s three TV channels – ABN2, ATN7 and TCN9. The direct telecast, scheduled to run for about half-an-hour, included the race, the presentation of the Cup and interviews with the winning jockey, trainer and owner.

ABC’s Michael Charlton hosted the coverage and the commentary of the race was given by ABC’s Joe Brown – whose commentary was also broadcast through ABC radio nationally and overseas through Radio Australia – with TCN9’s Ken Howard presenting the post-race interviews. The telecast was directed and produced by Ron Davis of Melbourne’s GTV9.

Meanwhile, Melbourne viewers – denied the chance to see the race live on television until the late 1970s – would have to make do with delayed coverage of the race during the evening news bulletins on ABV2, HSV7 and GTV9. The film of the race would also be shown during In Melbourne Tonight (GTV9) and Sports Cavalcade (ABV2) and after The Bobby Limb Show on HSV7.

But, being the centenary running of the Melbourne Cup, ABV2 and HSV7 presented special programs devoted to the history of the event. ABV2’s The Cup – 100 Years was screened on Cup Eve and tracked the history of the event from Archer’s win of the very first Melbourne Cup in 1861. The special, which required more than three months of research, also included film footage of the 1897 Melbourne Cup.

HSV7 presented a one-hour Cup Eve special. The program, hosted by Michael Williamson with racing commentator Bill Collins, included newsreel footage of past Melbourne Cup races, dating back to the 1930s, and covered the important races leading up to the current event. The program also featured commentators from local and interstate newspapers with their selections for the day’s races.

Ten years later, the 1970 Melbourne Cup was televised live to interstate viewers but continued to be a delayed telecast within Victoria. ABV2 and ABC regional stations in Victoria presented delayed coverage of the race at 6.00pm and again at 8.00pm. GTV9, which presented a ten-minute Cup preview the night before, also had its delayed coverage at 6.00pm. HSV7 – always keen to get one above its main rival – scheduled its delayed broadcast for 5.55pm. All four Melbourne channels featured the race in their main evening bulletins.

By the time 1980 came around, the telecast of the Melbourne Cup was a major television event. The Ten Network, presenting the Cup coverage for the third year running, started its day’s coverage with a 90-minute preview before crossing to Flemington Racecourse for six hours of live broadcast. The host broadcaster, ATV10, had seventeen cameras placed at strategic points around the track. Their coverage was headed by Phil Gibbs, with races called by Clem Dimsey, with the six-hour telecast also featuring Ray Warren (from TEN10 Sydney), Rob Readings (TVQ0 Brisbane) and John O’Neil (SAS10 Adelaide). Everyday co-host Annette Allison (pictured, below) hosted the fashion and celebrity interviews.

Network Ten’s 1980 coverage was also relayed direct to New Zealand, and remote areas in Australia saw the coverage via ABC through a special arrangement made with Ten. With nationwide coverage, it was at the time reported to being the largest sporting telecast ever undertaken in Australia.

Network Ten continued to cover the Melbourne Cup every year up until 2001. This year’s Melbourne Cup will be broadcast live tomorrow (Tuesday 2 November) through the Seven Network.

Source: TV Times (27 October 1960), The Age (27 October 1960), TV Times (28 October 1970), TV Week (1 November 1980), The Age (30 October 1980)

• 1959: The race that stopped a station

For Sale! One TV studio

The offices and studios for the Adelaide branch of the Seven Network are about to go to auction.

The premises, situated on the corner of Adam Street and Port Road in the suburb of Hindmarsh, are to be auctioned on 27 October.

Seven have only occupied the building since 2007 – having moved from their former premises in the suburb of Gilberton where the station had been based since it was launched as SAS10 in 1965 – and buyers are promised a secure 15-year lease to the network.

The studios on site are home to local editions of Seven News and Today Tonight.

The building claims a floor area of 1,887 square metres and is only a light-rail trip from the Adelaide CBD.

The current rent on the property is approximately $643,000 per annum.

Source: Real Commercial, Burgess Rawson

Kerry O’Brien signing off from The 7.30 Report

After fifteen years as host of ABC’s The 7.30 Report, Kerry O’Brien (pictured) has decided it is time to move on.

In a statement issued yesterday, O’Brien said:

"Quite simply it’s time for a new chapter.  I’ve been in the pressure cooker of daily current affairs hosting and interviewing for 21 straight years including six years at Lateline, and it’s been something of a marathon.”

"It has been an absolute privilege to work with some of the most talented and dedicated professionals in the business, and I leave with confidence that the 7.30 Report will be at the heart of ABC News and Current Affairs coverage for years to come.”

"This has been a great year for the program, and it’s good to leave on a high note.”

O’Brien, who took over as host of The 7.30 Report when the state-based editions were replaced with a national edition in 1996, is planning to leave the program at the end of the year and take on a new role at the national broadcaster in 2011, though details of such have not been announced.

ABC general manager Mark Scott paid tribute to O’Brien’s contribution to the broadcaster, which included six years as host of Lateline before taking on the role of hosting The 7.30 Report:

“As the ABC approaches its 80th year, few journalists have played such an important role, for such a long time, with such integrity and distinction, as Kerry O'Brien.  On behalf of all of his colleagues, I want to thank Kerry for his tireless commitment to the best in ABC journalism through his leadership at The 7.30 Report.”

Some of O’Brien’s political interviews on The 7.30 Report have created headlines, particularly during election campaigns – this year eliciting an admission from opposition leader Tony Abbott that not everything he says on the campaign trail is “gospel truth”, and earlier this year copped an outburst from former prime minister Kevin Rudd after being questioned over the failure of the Copenhagen climate change summit.

This year O’Brien also scored an interview with US president Barack Obama.

In a career that dates back to 1966, O’Brien has also worked on ABC current affairs programs This Day Tonight and Four Corners, has served as a North American correspondent for the Seven Network and presented current affairs programs Public Eye and Face To Face for Network Ten.  He has also been host of many election nights, State and Federal, for ABC.

ABC’s director of news Kate Torney has said that a replacement host for The 7.30 Report is to be announced in due course.  Some of the names speculated as possible successors to O’Brien include Chris Uhlmann, Tony Jones, Leigh Sales and Virginia Trioli.

Source: The Age, ABC, Celebrity Speakers, The Australian

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