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Govt promises all TV channels for regional Australia

The Federal Government makes big TV reception promises, telling viewers in the bush they're going to get all same TV channels as the city.

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Viewers in regional Australia rejoice….

The Federal Government says you’re going to receive exactly the same TV channels as the folk in the big smoke.

Senator Stephen Conroy today announced that the Government has partnered with regional commercial broadcasters so all Australians can access the same number of TV channels, no matter where they live.

The Government will provide $34 million over four years to regional networks in South Australia, remote and regional Western Australia, and remote and central Australia to deliver all channels, including GO!, GEM, 7TWO, 7mate, ONE, and the soon-to-be-launched ELEVEN.

Initially commercial channels will be in standard definition.

“This is an historic outcome for regional Australia,” Senator Conroy said. “For decades, viewers in smaller TV licence areas have put up with having only two commercial TV channels, often missing out on some of the country’s most popular programming.

“True equalisation of TV services in Australia was long considered impossible; the Gillard Government is proud to have achieved the realisation of what has been a long-held dream for many people in regional and remote Australia as part of the digital switchover program.

“This means viewers in these areas will receive the same number of commercial channels as people in capital cities,” he said. “All they need to do is install a set top box or, if they prefer, buy a new digital TV and connect it to their existing aerial – just like people in capital cities.”

The Government will provide 50% of capital and operational costs for new transmitters until the end of the digital switchover in 2013, with regional commercial broadcasters meeting the remaining and ongoing costs.

It’s certainly an ambitious promise, despite not making make any mention of other regional areas.

If it goes ahead in time for ELEVEN it will mean regional viewers won’t miss out on shows such a Neighbours and The Simpsons when they make the leap from TEN.

WIN, Prime, Southern Cross and Imparja will announce the rollout schedule in coming days.

ABC and SBS services – including ABC2, ABC3, ABCNews24, and SBSTWO – will also be provided via both terrestrial and satellite broadcast, and will include their high definition channels.

“Once the rollout of these new channels is completed, any viewer anywhere in Australia who cannot access the full suite of commercial digital TV channels via terrestrial broadcast will be able to access VAST,” Conroy said. “This will end once and for all the digital divide in TV services between regional and remote Australians and those living in our cities.”

Viewers in blackspots will have access via Viewer Access Satellite Television (VAST). The government has previously announced subsidies for set-up costs to eligible households.

28 Responses

  1. I live in the Eyre Peninsula, Southern Cross said tonight it will be June before we get any new channels, all we get from them now is 7, 9 & 10, it’s not just good enough

  3. That’s good news for regional and remote Australia. My sister lives in (very!) remote WA and she’ll have to get VAST. It’ll be interesting to see how it works. As she can only watch tv via satellite and gets no ABC2 etc.

    I wonder what happens to GWN. As that is pretty much Perth 7 but with country news.

  4. there is a downside though. WIN TV has cut the local news services in the South East and Riverland because it says it can’t have all the new channels and separate local news bulletins. It’s on abc.net.au/southeastsa.

  5. @Steve – none of us “need” these additional channels but regional viewers have been clamouring for the same deal as the major capitals ever since they got them.

    @Thomas – not true. Many viewers in regional cities have terrestrial TV but still only have access to ABC’s and SBS’s multichannels and, in a few cases, One. So no 72, 73, 90, or 99 (or their equiv LCNs).

    @David S. – Perth might be a remote city but we’ve got the same channels as the east-coast capitals, and have had them for as long. Perhaps you were thinking of Port Hedland?

  7. I receive the Newcastle (regional) towers with a below average signal (unwatchable when windy/raining), the Sydney (metro) towers with a very poor signal (unwatchable most of the time), and I don’t receive my local tower at all (thanks to a small hill between my house and the tower, and the tower being very low powered).

    What is the Government going to do for me? Will I have to use “VAST”? How am I supposed to connect that to my Windows Media Center DVB-T Tuner? Or will I be able to use a DVB-S tuner? Will VAST use the international DVB-S standard, or will the Government be inventing its own?

    If all regional viewers are going to get the same channels as people in metro areas, does that mean we can finally watch Malcolm in the Middle at 3:30 on Ten? Or will we continue to be stuck with SC10’s Infomercials?

  10. Doubts about my ability to get GEM and 7mate in the bush was the one thing stopping me from moving from Sydney to Remotesville WA. Now that’s been fixed I’m putting the family on a plane to Perth next week. Put another grub on the barbie and fire up the satellite gizmo – mum’s got a thing for Friends repeats and daddy wants him some Miami Vice!

  12. Its all very good to get the channels but what about getting live programming instead of delayed? In Darwin OneHD show F1 and motogp delayed by 30-40 minutes, being doing so for the whole year. Do we live in a time warp or something?

  13. So what does this mean right now for Eleven on Southern Cross Ten?

    Rollout is over 4 years so does that mean SC10 can still hold out on Eleven or is it likely to launch the same as the metro areas.

  16. Ultimately it is still up to the network if they want to provide the channels. Southern Cross Media are yet to confirm if they will broadcast Eleven. Nothing the gov can do about it if they don’t.

  18. Clearly what should be written into law is that any service provided to capital markets is also provided day and date to all regions or if they are unable to do this then that service should be put on hold……..this would then make it impossible to have the recent debacles involving Prime and Southern Cross from happening again.

    Conroy also needs to address the current debacle – Foxtel vs Austar – with regional viewers again being on the receiving end of a 2nd grade service in comparison to the capital markets

  19. This is only for people requiring the VAST service – not for those Regional viewers who get their Digital TV terrestrially.

    When the govt pushed through the changes to the legislation earlier this year it was specifically for satellite delivery only

  21. I think as @doug has mentioned, this may have a direct impact on the Anti-Siphoning Laws. Realising they would like to make some sports events available on digital channels, the government needed to make sure that everyone has the ability to get them all.
    Let’s keep our fingers crossed that it’s sooner rather than later.

  22. This announcement means pay tv will get some AFL games without FTA simulcast & to partly compensate the FTA get 35 million payout & get some more advertising revenue in regional areas .

  23. This is the news I’ve been waiting for!!!
    so i have all the digital channels although there was a delay when ONE and 7two was launched but GO!, 7mate and GEM came on time now hopefully Eleven will come on time which is looking very likely we’ll see when the schedule comes in the next few days.

  24. Would have been great if they’d done this before ONE was launched, would have saved alot of effort to finally bring it (and 7mate) to tassie.

    Great news for regionals nonetheless

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