Digital switch timetable
The switch to digital begins in Mildura from January 2010 and ends in our major capitals in 2013.
- Published by David Knox
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Senator Conroy has mapped out the switch from analog to digital television, beginning, as expected in Mildura, NW Victoria.
“The regional broadcasting licence covering the Sunraysia district in northern Victoria has the highest penetration of digital TV in Australia, at over 70 per cent of homes, so it makes sense to start there,” Senator Conroy said.
The timetable is as follows:
* January – June 2010: Mildura / Sunraysia, Victoria
* July – December 2010: Regional South Australia
* January – June 2011: Regional Victoria (excluding Mildura)
* July – December 2011: Regional Queensland (Whole, excluding Noosa)
* January – June 2012: Regional New South Wales (Southern NSW TV licence area)
* July – December 2012: Regional New South Wales (Northern NSW TV licence area, excluding Central Coast and Gold Coast)
* January – June 2013: Tasmania (Whole), Perth, Brisbane (including Gold Coast, Noosa)
* July – December 2013: Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney (including Central Coast), Regional & Remote WA, Remote Central & Eastern Australia
Not surprisingly Free TV Australia, which represents the commercial free to air broadcasters, is cautiously optimistic, but has called for benchmarks to be set for minimum take-up levels before analog is turned off.
“The timetable is challenging but achievable,” Free TV’s Julie Flynn said, “and we look forward to working with the government and other stakeholders to ensure no viewers are left behind as we make the transition to digital.”
Press Release:
The commercial television industry today welcomed the federal government’s announcement of a Digital TV switchover timetable for Australia.
“The timetable provides greater certainty for the industry and Australian viewers,” Free TV Australia chief executive, Julie Flynn said today.
“The timetable is challenging but achievable,” Ms Flynn said, “and we look forward to working with the government and other stakeholders to ensure no viewers are left behind as we make the transition to digital.”
In a country the size of Australia, if even one per cent of people can’t convert, that amounts to 200,000 viewers no longer receiving free-to-air television.
Ms Flynn said most Australian viewers rely solely on free-to-air broadcasters for their television service, and as such, it is important that viewers are well informed about the coming changes.
“We are determined to work in the interests of viewers to ensure minimum disruption during the switch-over process.
“Free TV recommends that benchmarks be set and achieved for minimum take-up levels of Digital TV in each region, before analog switch-off occurs,” Ms Flynn said.
Sources: Sen Stephen Conroy, Free TV Australia
26 Responses
turn off analog before 2013 in perth i think 2011
in all metro areas
In Reply to Andrew on the 21 October 2008. American spellings have eaten their way into our version of the Queen’s English. I believe those of us that can still read & write the Queens English should educate these poor people that can’t.
The American, Webster changed a lot of English spelling in north America after 1776 for several reasons. One of them was to distance themselves from the English after a fairly bloody revolution involving the British government.
We are Australians, not Americans, thank the fates for that. We could also do without a lot of the American content on commercial television. Maybe that’s where our young people are picking up all this American spelling and bad English grammar from. By the way, Colour is the correct English spelling. The yanks leave the U out.
I for one would like to see more Australian, British, Scottish & Irish content on Television. Why, well that’s where the majority of us came from and our way of life is mostly styled on the culture of the above mentioned countries.
Living on the west Coast of Tasmania in a small town called Waratah. Our Television services are very minimal. Till just recently we only received analogue transmissions. ABC, WIN and Prime. We now get ABC Digital, 1,2 and 3 plus HD ABC and two digital radio stations. No sign of SBS. The analogue stations are so weak that reception is impossible without a masthead Antenna amplifier. Tasmania is so mountainous on the west coast that UHF TV signals don’t propagate very well. It would have been more prudent to keep a couple of VHF transmitters in service for digital, but then that would require a special receiver ( set top box ). I wonder if commercial television will even bother going digital for most of the west coast. Most small towns are under 1000 people, Waratah only has 300, not much buying power there.
When it rains reception becomes difficult as the UHF signals are attenuated by the water droplets. Analogue television becomes impossible to watch due to a greater receiver inherent noise, due to the fact that receiver gain is flat out. (Snow). Luckily I am at an age where commercial television, I can do without. I can always watch a Blu-ray or DVD on my home theatre set-up. If I miss the news on ABC there is always the Internet for world information. I miss SBS though, I wish they would hurry and put a digital translator in.
The take up of digital is slow because we didnt even have any digital stations to watch here till november of last year. And even then it is still only abc and sbs that are digital. gwn and win are still analogue. Other than being able to only now get abc2 why would we bother?
id rather spell analog without the silent u and e. waste of keystrokes if you ask me. silent letters are shit
It will be interesting to see when Imparja actually go digital in there “amazing” $4 million studio
There are a lot of elderly citizens who are not equipped with the knowledge many of us have here. Maybe they will have tech-savvy family, maybe not. The changeover is slow because it’s a big change, and just telling everyone to go out and buy a new TV, etc. is stupid; not everyone has the means.
And get over the spellings; it makes you sound old. Language evolves, don’t you know. Aussies love Americanisms. E.g. “Yoh-gurt”. In England, we say “Yoghurt”. “Analog”, “Analogue”. What’s the difference? the meaning is the same.
in what universe does it make sense to switch off regional areas before metro when they are missing the biggest incentive to buy digital- 10HD. southern cross and affiliates still don’t give regional viewers the exclusive programming on 10HD and they have pushed their own deadline back several times. boasting the better picture and sound quality just doesn’t cut it when you want people to upgrade to digital, most people don’t really care. but offer more choice and good shows that they may have been following for years until they got shifted to 10HD and people will switch. that’s what made me switch, i heard they were going to launch 10HD and there would be sci-fi nights so i ran out and upgraded, although 7 got their launch in before i did coz they didn’t announce it. and if regional areas still aren’t getting 10HD by the time this switch over happens they will probably end up buying an SD set top box first only to discover they wasted their money and should have bought HD when they do finally get it. this will create even more anger and confusion amongst the public and will turn this whole switch over into a fiasco that leaves a taste of bitterness in the mouths of many.
At least the timetable marks a point at which the analogue/analog debate becomes redundant. Even so, I remain in the former camp. Bring it on!
Oh no this means I need a new TV!! I guess it would be better to wait till 2013 then so the prices will drop.
David Knox, taking grammar lessons from a politician!!?!? 🙂
You are considered Southern NSW.
Full list is here.
Where was Canberra and ACT on that list? Or are we considered Southern NSW?
And when do GWN and WIN start broadcasting in digital? Because as far as I can see, it still ain’t happening. Talk about us Regional west aussies being behind the times!
I haven’t watched a non-Digital TV for years now, maybe the one at the TAB with the Teletext but that is about it.
The sooner it happens the better.
Cameron, to answer some questions from the PDF of the switchover timetable,
Broken Hill-will switch along with all SA regionals in 2010, possibly with new broadcaster (either a 7 or 9 solo digital-only affiliate)
Griffith NSWwill switch alongside southern NSW, possibly with third broadcaster (Ten affiliate) in early 2012
Darwinwill switch alongside Imparja and Seven Central and possible third satellite operator (again a Ten affiliate) in late 2013
(David, by the way i’m still at the English language dinner party [analogue of course], and the soup’s getting cold…)
I had been waving the “analogue” flag over “analog” right up until this post, feeling like the last guest to leave the English language dinner party…. but when I saw the Senator’s own website had “analog” even I went home…
I would say the toughest digital switchoff will be in South East Queensland.
Unlike other capitals, the Brisbane market is fragmented between two aggregated regional areas (Queensland and Northern NSW) with one area (the Gold Coast) getting both metro and regional services. I honestly think that digital switchoff for the fast growing Gold Coast should tie in with new GC-only,digital-only broadcasters replacing the aggregated Northern NSW market stations.
Did not expect S.A to be switched off as early as late 2010 and metro regions to go last. There seem to be some areas missing – Darwin (possibly goes with remote areas but they are small with a digital only station), Griffith and Broken Hill (assumed to be a part of S.A due to licence area being a part of Southern Cross GTS/BKN). I am also guessing that the regional area of S.A covers WIN S.A and GTS/BKN’s license areas but Imparja’s would be switched off in 2013.
With regional S.A having only single station markets broadcasting 2 channels, it would make more sense for these regions to get the extra channels i.e 10HD and a third digital only network. By having channel 9 in regional S.A would also increase the digital take-up especially since Mildura and Tasmania have seen that with channel 10. Perhaps having the extra SD channels that can be broadcast from next year, this could happen. I think the digital take-up in S.A is only about 40% and would increase to 70%+ with the availability of channel 9 and extra channels. HD would make things a little better but they only offer a little bit more. Regional S.A broadcasters may be broadcasting extra channels especially with Southern Cross announcing that HD will be available in 2009, but that is yet to be seen. The extra channels broadcast by ABC and SBS are not enough to go digital but I believe channel 9 being available in regional S.A would increase digital take-up.
Originally, I think the planned switch over date was late 2008 or early 2009.
Well, originally originally, I think it was 2006, but that was way optimistic.
I guess as they haven’t really been heavily pushing it, or explaining it to people clearly, it’s been a slow changeover, so has been delayed many times over.
How come it takes 6 months to flick a switch per region? Just tell eveyone in Australia to buy a new tv or set-top box by June 2009 which is pleny of time, and then switch off analogue.
I dont recall the last time I watched analogue anywhere. Digital has been around since 2000 in Australia, thats 8 years ago! How can people not know about it yet?
So here on the Central Coast we have about 5 years?? I’ve been trying to convince my mother to switch over because ‘analogue’ will be gone soon. Guess there no rush at all then!
I thought were sposed to have switched off by now???
why all of a sudden has “analog” been accepted spelling in this country? It was always an American spelling and Australia always used “analogue”, but now our own media outlets including The Australian newspaper, organisations like Free TV Australia, and sites like this one have adopted the US spelling?
Like the old days when our media spelled “color” instead of “colour”. Because the yanks do it, somehow it makes it acceptable here