Mildura without Network 10: “TV will be so dreary!”

After Sunday, Mildura Digital TV is no more, leaving residents without Channel 10 shows after joint licence holders WIN TV and Seven chose to discontinue the station, after 18 years.

10 has said it is “bitterly disappointed” and advised viewers to watch programmes via 10Play.

On Wednesday the govt announced plans to offer VAST access which has been described as not realistic given the satellite costs for homes.

TV Tonight has canvassed the opinions of several locals from Sunraysia to get a view from the couch.

How do you feel about the loss of Channel 10 as a Free to Air signal in Mildura?

Elizabeth, Postcode 3500: I feel sad for the region not just myself. Up until the age of 26 I always lived in a capital city and I had the luxury of all free to air networks. I moved into regional Australia at the age of 26 (for work) and I haven’t left! I learned from those in both regional QLD and regional VIC (the two places that I have worked) that they didn’t grow up watching shows like Beverly Hills 90210 and Neighbours! It’s funny reflecting what I watched as a teenager and then learning others had not grown up watching these shows! One of my friends who is Mildura born said she remembers the day Channel 10 came to the region. She was very excited (as I am sure many others were too). Thinking back now they would have missed out on early Big Brother and Australian Idol seasons too! I loved these shows in their early years.

Nikki, Postcode 2648: It’s definitely a negative, as it’s yet another rural service that’s been lost. On a social scale, it affects those who can’t afford smart TV’s and internet connections the most. And those who aren’t digitally savvy. It reinforces both social and geographic disadvantage in our region.

Karyn, Postcode 2648: Not happy, I really enjoy watching Free to Air Channel 10 and will really miss all of the shows Channel 10 offers.

Cindy, Postcode 2505: It is a shame, there a quite a few programs that we watch on this channel. When I was growing up we only ever had mostly Channel 9 and it was only in my early twenties that we even got Channel 7.

Across the entire year which Channel 10 shows do you watch on a regular basis or consider favourites?

Elizabeth: Have You Been Paying Attention, Australian Survivor, The Cheap Seats. Occasionally we watch Masterchef Australia, Thank God You Are Here, Gogglebox and if the Matilda games are airing on 10 we may watch them too. I know it no longer airs but I watched every The Living Room episode! It was a favourite of mine on 10.

Nikki: Taskmaster, The Amazing Race Australia, First Dates, The Cheap Seats, I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.

Karyn: The Project, Taskmaster, Deal or no Deal, MasterChef, Have You Been Paying Attention, The Cheap Seats, Gogglebox, Australian Survivor, The Doghouse, The Masked Singer, First Dates, Hunted, Amazing Race Australia, Shark Tank, Thank God You’re Here. All the good shows!!!

Cindy: Australian Survivor, Deal or No Deal and even The Bold and the Beautiful.

Are there storylines and characters you feel you will be missing out on?

Elizabeth: I don’t watch soaps and my favourite dramas on 10 I have fortunately watched on Paramount+ but I currently do not have a subscription, so I am thankful. As those who watch Bold and the Beautiful or Neighbours (for example) I am sure they would be very disappointed with this news given the characters they are invested in.

Karyn: I will miss the relatable characters on Googlebox and the different take The Project does of the news. I will miss all of the comedy shows. TV will be so dreary.

Cindy: To be honest I watch shows that are on and (I’m) not that invested in the shows if I don’t see them. It would be a shame for those who are invested in their TV shows.

Do you plan to keep watching via 10Play? How user friendly do you find it with net speeds / Smart TV etc?

Elizabeth: Because we LOVE Australian Survivor in particular we will watch on 10 Play but I am not happy about it as it can and has been unreliable in the past. We don’t miss an episode of this show. The internet has improved over the years and I am just hoping that we can watch it next year without too many hiccups. I am not sure if we can watch live or if we have to wait until it’s aired on TV. I haven’t kept up with 10Play’s capabilities. I remember a story you wrote last year that 9Now had that option, I can’t recall 10 having this feature.

Nikki: Yes. I already use this as a backup. It does fill a gap when I can’t watch it live (catch up TV) but rural internet connections are not always reliable. Watching live is by far the best choice so that I don’t accidentally see or read spoilers before I watch an episode.

Karyn: I will probably rarely watch shows on 10play as we live in a remote area and our internet service is not very good.

Cindy: Probably not.

Who do you hold responsible for this loss of channel, and who would you like to see fix it?

Elizabeth: I believe the government has a responsibility as I feel ALL Australians should have access to the same content across the country. I do understand smaller populations lead to less TV stations (we noticed this travelling around Australia last year in our caravan) but Mildura and the Sunraysia region has about 60,000 people. To me that’s a large area to NOT have access to this network in this modern age. I am not sure who should fix it. Networks? Government? But I feel it needs to be fixed and not brushed under the carpet. If nothing happens soon it will be forgotten and I feel that it will then never return.

Nikki: Either the State or Federal governments. Again, it’s a matter of compacting social disadvantage and government should be stepping in to offset the geographical disadvantage we already experience.

Karyn: I’m not sure who is responsible.

Cindy: I think most of the younger generation watching streaming channels like Netflix, Stan, Disney etc so it is probably just going to happen.

Where do you think you will now spend those hours you devoted to 10 shows now going?

Elizabeth: To be honest streaming platforms and the ABC or SBS. I have not watched 7 or 9 for years except for the occasional drama that you may recommend. I don’t watch a lot of TV, I am very selective but I do watch something every night with my husband and / or my kids and in winter it’s a little bit more!! To be honest a good 50% of my viewing is on streaming platforms and YouTube and most of the ABC offerings we stream from my device to the TV. But I will be sad to not have access to the shows on 10 because we actually watch all of them live!

Nikki: I will still watch, just via the app. Probably less hours due to the barrier to accessibility.

Karyn: I will probably spend more time reading rather than watching TV.

Cindy: If I am going to watch TV I mostly watch Nine’s lifestyle channel or SBS World Movies so as disappointing to be losing Channel 10 it is not going to affect me too much.

Anything else?

Elizabeth: I feel for the low income earners in the Mildura region who don’t have the internet and who would rely on FTA networks (especially Pacifica islander families and refugee families). As a teacher I know that during covid lockdowns the school provided internet connections for families so students could get online for classes. Obviously once we returned to regular classes this did cease. Talking to a graduate teacher (23 years old) I asked her opinion on this issue and she admitted that she doesn’t watch TV but when I said ‘Do you watch the Matildas games?’ she actually said yes! And she was disappointed that we couldn’t watch it on TV post 30th June.

Cindy: Most of the Free to Air TV is rather boring to watch as I am not into sports much. My husband loved V8 Supercars and was disappointed when that was taken off Free TV. I do think it will just happen more and more.