Indigenous TV goes digital
National Indigenous Television will become the first new free-to-air channel since the commercial TV networks launched their high-def channels and the launch of ABC2.
- Published by David Knox
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The National Indigenous Television (NITV) service is Australia’s first free-to-air digital television channel not created by a commercial or public TV network. It launches officially in Sydney today.
The launch on Broadcast Australia’s Digital Forty Four datacast channel is the first new free-to-air TV content to be made available since the commercial TV networks launched their high-definition TV channels earlier this year, and the ABC’s launch of ABC2.
NITV says the channel features “a daily news and weather service created for and by indigenous people, award-winning sports programs, stunning dramas, insightful documentaries, cultural programming, music events, children’s shows, hilarious comedy, indigenous lifestyle and reality series and entertaining movies”.
“This is the biggest TV reception market in Australia and it is the location with the largest Aboriginal population. About 60,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people live in Sydney,” said NITV chief executive Patricia Turner.
Broadcast Australia managing director Graeme Barclay said new content should help convert more people to free-to-air digital TV.
Ms Turner said NITV, funded by the Government, was now available to about 150 Aboriginal communities in remote Australia via free-to-air TV and satellite.
And it also recently became avaiable on the Foxtel, Optus, Austar, Neighbourhood Cable and TransACT pay-TV services.
Meanwhile the NITV board are believed to be waiting on the outcomes of reports of financial mismanagement earlier this year.
Source: The Australian
11 Responses
This is good news. I watch this channel via Optus Aurora satellite and I find it surprisingly entertaining. And the National NITV News comes from the Sky News studios, which is interesting.
and now for the rest of the country when?
newtaste, ACC is full screen on Channel 46.
When will they put the Parliamentary channels on full screen also?
And yes, I agree, let’s put TVS on digital.
With NITV being full screen on Channek 40, I guess acctv can drop the “datacast” farce and also broadcast full screen on Channel 46.
The government should hurry up and get TVS on Digital otherwise it will close down like Access 31 in Perth!!!!!!
Now NITV only needs to launch in the other capitals and in regional areas where there are more indigenous Australians living.
We also need C31 to go digital too!
I wonder when TiVo will bother to put the schedule on their tv guide?
Same here Richard, where’s the 31’s?
Good to see more community channels broadcasting on free to air digital, now where is TVS?
So is this channel staying on payTV as well?
Everything on D44 looks like you took a 3rd-generation VHS tape and ran it through a RealVideo encoder circa 1996.
I’d feel a lot better if they dumped EXPO and ACC and replaced it with this though.