ABN (TV station)

Last updated

ABN
Australian Broadcasting Corporation logo (1974-).svg
Channels
Programming
Affiliations ABC Television
Ownership
Owner Australian Broadcasting Corporation
History
First air date
5 November 1956;67 years ago (1956-11-05)
Former channel number(s)
2 (VHF) (analog) (1956–2013)
Call sign meaning
ABC New South Wales
Technical information
Licensing authority
Australian Communications and Media Authority
ERP 200 kW (analog)
50 kW (digital)
HAAT 168 m (analog)
205 m (digital) [note 1]
Transmitter coordinates 33°49′12″S151°11′6″E / 33.82000°S 151.18500°E / -33.82000; 151.18500 (ABN)
Links
Website www.abc.net.au/tv/

ABC Television in New South Wales comprises national and local programming on the ABC television network in the Australian state of New South Wales, headquartered in Sydney.

Contents

ABN or ABN-2 was the historic call sign of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television station in Sydney. The station began broadcasting on 5 November 1956 as the second television station in New South Wales and Sydney. Its original studios were located in Gore Hill and were in use up until March 2004, when they were co-located with ABC Radio, Radio Australia, ABC-TV Set Construction and ABC Australia at the Corporation's headquarters in the inner city suburb of Ultimo. [1] Its main transmitter, however, remains at Gore Hill. [2] The station can be received throughout the state through a number of relay transmitters, as well as domestic satellite transmission on the Viewer Access Satellite Television (formerly Optus Aurora) platform.

History

The first national public television station in Australia opened in Sydney at 7:00pm on 5 November 1956 under the call sign ABN-2. It was opened by Prime Minister of Australia Robert Menzies, with the first television broadcast presented by Michael Charlton, and James Dibble reading the first television news bulletin with full-time colour broadcasting introduced in March 1975.

For more than 40 years, Gore Hill was best known as the location of the ABC's Sydney television studios, which were fully opened in 1958 and which operated until 2002, when the site was closed and sold off. Later, the ABC moved its television operations to its broadcasting centre in Ultimo.

The station has also carried a number of programs originally produced at Channel 31 stations in other states (programs such as Aurora Community Channel and National Indigenous Television.

ABN commenced digital television transmission in January 2001, broadcasting on VHF Channel 12 while maintaining analogue transmission on VHF Channel 2.

The analogue television signal for Sydney, Gosford and surrounding areas was shut off at 9.00am on 3 December 2013. [3] [4]

Programming

Local programming

ABN's schedule is similar to the national ABC schedule, with the exception of some news, current affairs, sport and occasionally, election programming.

ABC News New South Wales is presented by Jeremy Fernandez (Sunday–Thursday) and Lydia Feng (Friday–Saturday). The weeknight bulletins also incorporate NSW weather forecasts presented by Tom Saunders as well as a national finance segment presented by Alan Kohler in Melbourne.

Digital multiplex

LCNServiceSD/HD
2 & 21 ABC TV SD
20 ABC TV HD HD
22 ABC Kids/Family SD
23 ABC Entertains SD
24 ABC News SD

Relay stations

The following stations relay ABN throughout New South Wales:

CallRegion servedCity Channels
(Analog/
digital)
First air date3rd letter's
meaning
ERP
(Analog/
digital)
HAAT
(Analog/
digital)
[note 1]
Transmitter coordinatesTransmitter location
ABCN Central Tablelands Orange 1 (VHF) [note 2]
36 (UHF)
31 March 1964Central Tablelands160 kW
570 kW
655 m
677 m
33°20′32″S148°59′1″E / 33.34222°S 148.98361°E / -33.34222; 148.98361 (ABCN) Mount Canobolas
ABDN Grafton/Kempsey Coffs Harbour 2 (VHF) [note 3]
36 (UHF)
28 June 1965Dorrigo160 kW
250 kW
661 m
730 m
30°19′2″S152°51′35″E / 30.31722°S 152.85972°E / -30.31722; 152.85972 (ABDN) Mount Moombil
ABGN Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area Griffith 7 (VHF) [note 2]
11 (VHF)
25 July 1966Griffith200 kW
50 kW
416 m
412 m
34°7′17″S146°14′7″E / 34.12139°S 146.23528°E / -34.12139; 146.23528 (ABGN) Mount Bingar
ABHN Newcastle/Hunter Valley Newcastle 5A (VHF) [note 4] [note 3]
37 (UHF)
5 June 1963Hunter River200 kW
250 kW
405 m
440 m
32°53′30″S151°32′18″E / 32.89167°S 151.53833°E / -32.89167; 151.53833 (ABHN) (analog)
32°53′24″S151°32′20″E / 32.89000°S 151.53889°E / -32.89000; 151.53889 (ABHN) (digital)
Mount Sugarloaf
ABLN Broken Hill Broken Hill 2 (VHF) [note 5]
10 (VHF)
14 December 1965Unknown5 kW
4 kW
95 m
104 m
31°57′5″S141°26′26″E / 31.95139°S 141.44056°E / -31.95139; 141.44056 (ABLN) Rocky Hill
ABMN South West Slopes and Eastern Riverina Wagga Wagga 0 (VHF) [note 2]
46 (UHF)
30 April 1965Unknown200 kW
600 kW
466 m
543 m
34°49′13″S147°54′5″E / 34.82028°S 147.90139°E / -34.82028; 147.90139 (ABMN) Mount Ulandra
ABMIN Mungindi Mungindi 10 (VHF)
NA
7 January 1974MungindI0.1 kW59 m 28°59′37″S149°1′0″E / 28.99361°S 149.01667°E / -28.99361; 149.01667 (ABMIN) Mungindi
ABQN Central Western Slopes Dubbo 11 (VHF) [note 6] [note 2]
12 (VHF)
12 September 1966Unknown400 kW
100 kW
638 m
638 m
31°20′34″S149°1′23″E / 31.34278°S 149.02306°E / -31.34278; 149.02306 (ABQN) Mount Cenn Cruaich
ABRN Richmond and Tweed Lismore 6 (VHF) [note 3]
29 (UHF)
20 April 1964Richmond and Tweed200 kW
200 kW
621 m
645 m
28°32′44″S153°17′15″E / 28.54556°S 153.28750°E / -28.54556; 153.28750 (ABRN) Mount Nardi
ABSN Bega/Cooma Bega 8 (VHF) [note 2]
NA
29 June 1966South East200 kW428 m 36°35′53″S149°22′58″E / 36.59806°S 149.38278°E / -36.59806; 149.38278 (ABSN) Brown Mountain
ABTN Manning River Taree 6 (VHF) [note 7] [note 3]
7 (VHF)
29 April 1966Taree315 kW
80 kW
599 m
599 m
31°42′7″S152°40′43″E / 31.70194°S 152.67861°E / -31.70194; 152.67861 (ABTN) Middle Brother
ABUNUpper Namoi Tamworth 7 (VHF) [note 3]
8 (VHF)
27 September 1965Upper Namoi72 kW
22.5 kW
859 m
849 m
30°17′4″S150°10′2″E / 30.28444°S 150.16722°E / -30.28444; 150.16722 (ABUN) Mount Dowe
ABWN Illawarra Wollongong 56 (UHF) [note 8] [note 2]
51 (UHF)
28 October 1963Wollongong960 kW
250 kW
618 m
618 m
34°37′23″S150°41′39″E / 34.62306°S 150.69417°E / -34.62306; 150.69417 (ABWN) (analog)
34°37′24″S150°41′40″E / 34.62333°S 150.69444°E / -34.62333; 150.69444 (ABWN) (digital)
Knights Hill

Notes

  1. 1 2 HAAT estimated from http://www.itu.int/SRTM3/ using EHAAT.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Analogue transmission ceased as of 5 June 2012 as part of the national shutdown of analogue television
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Analogue transmission ceased as of 27 November 2012 as part of the national shutdown of analogue television.
  4. ABHN also broadcasts on analog UHF channel 48 with 1200 kW ERP at 441 m HAAT. ABHN was on VHF channel 5 from its 1963 sign-on until the late 1970s, moving to its current channel in order to accommodate FM radio.
  5. Analogue transmission ceased as of 15 December 2010 as part of the national shutdown of analogue television.
  6. ABQN was on VHF channel 5 from its 1966 sign-on until 1988, moving to its current channel in order to accommodate FM radio.
  7. ABTN was on VHF channel 1 from its 1966 sign-on until 1990.
  8. ABWN was on VHF channel 5A from its 1963 sign-on until 1988.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TEN (TV station)</span> Australian TV station

TEN is Network 10's flagship station in Sydney. It was originally owned and operated by United Telecasters Sydney Limited (UTSL), and began transmission on 5 April 1965 with the highlight of the opening night being the variety special TV Spells Magic. It also serves as the Australian headquarters of Paramount.

GLV and BCV are Australian television stations licensed to serve Traralgon, Bendigo and the region of Victoria. The stations are owned and operated by Southern Cross 10.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ABW (TV station)</span> Television station in Western Australia, Australia

ABC Television in Western Australia comprises national and local programming on the ABC television network in the Australian state of Western Australia, on a number of channels under the ABC call sign. There is some local programming from the Perth studio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CBN (Australian TV station)</span> Television station in Southern New South Wales & ACT

CBN is an Australian television station licensed to, and serving the regions surrounding Orange, Dubbo and central and southern New South Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AMV (TV station)</span> Television station in Regional Victoria

AMV is an Australian television station licensed to, and serving the regions surrounding Wagga Wagga and Albury-Wodonga in south western New South Wales and north eastern Victoria. The station was, for many years, merged with RVN-2 as the Riverina and North East Victoria Television Service.

ABC TV, formerly known as ABC1, is an Australian national public television network. It is owned and operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is the flagship ABC Television network. The headquarters of the ABC TV channel and the ABC are in Ultimo, an inner-city suburb of Sydney.

Television frequency allocation has evolved since the start of television in Australia in 1956, and later in New Zealand in 1960. There was no coordination between the national spectrum management authorities in either country to establish the frequency allocations. The management of the spectrum in both countries is largely the product of their economical and political situation. New Zealand didn't start to develop television service until 1965 due to World War 2 and its economic harm in the country's economy.

ABC Television is the general name for the national television services of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Until an organisational restructure in 2017/2018, ABC Television was also the name of a division of the ABC. The name was also used to refer to the first and for many years the only national ABC channel, before it was renamed ABC1 and then again to ABC TV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SBS (Australian TV channel)</span> National public television network in Australia

SBS is a multicultural public TV network in Australia. Launched on 24 October 1980, it is the responsibility of SBS's television division, and is available nationally. In 2023, SBS had an 8.5% audience share, compared to 2018 when SBS had a 7.7% audience share.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ABC Canberra (TV station)</span> Television station in Australian Capital Territory, Australia

ABC Television in the ACT comprises national and local programming on the ABC television network in the Australian Capital Territory, which includes the capital city of Australia, Canberra, and broadcasts on a number of channels under the ABC call sign. There is some local programming from the Canberra studio, most notably the nightly 7PM News, presented by James Glenday and Adrienne Francis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ABD (TV station)</span> Television station in Northern Territory, Australia

ABD is the call sign of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television station in Darwin, Northern Territory. The station was the first to go to air in Darwin, on 13 August 1971. Its studios are located in the inner city of Darwin, with analogue transmitter owned by the Nine Network on Blake Street in The Gardens and digital transmitter on Deloraine Road. The station is received throughout the territory through a number of relay transmitters, as well as by satellite on the Viewer Access Satellite Television platform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ABT (TV station)</span> Television station in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

ABT is the call sign of a television station operated by the publicly-owned Australian Broadcasting Corporation, with a transmission area covering southern Tasmania. ABT began broadcasting on VHF channel 2 on 4 June 1960, with studios in inner-city Hobart and transmitter at Mount Wellington. The "AB" in the call sign stands for "Australian Broadcasting", as in Australian Broadcasting Commission. The "T" in the call sign stands for Tasmania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ABQ</span> Television station in Queensland, Australia

ABC Television in Queensland comprises national programming on the ABC television network in or from Brisbane, Queensland which broadcasts on a number of channels under the ABC call sign. There is some local programming from the Brisbane studio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ABS (TV station)</span> Television station in South Australia, Australia

ABC Television in South Australia comprises national and local programming on the ABC television network in the Australian state of South Australia, headquartered in Adelaide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ABV (TV station)</span> Television station in Victoria, Australia

ABV is the call sign of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television station in Melbourne, Victoria.

VTV is an Australian television station broadcasting in regional Victoria in Australia. The network was owned by ENT Ltd., before being purchased by the WIN Corporation.

RTQ is an Australian television station broadcasting in regional Queensland in Australia. The network was owned by Star Television, before being purchased by the WIN Corporation on 5 October 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NEN (TV station)</span> Television station in Northern New South Wales & Gold Coast

NEN is an Australian television station licensed to, and serving northern New South Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of Australian television</span>

This timeline of Australian television lists important station launches, programs, major television events, and technological advancements that have significantly changed the forms of broadcasting available to viewers of television in Australia. The history of television in Australia can be traced back to an announcement from the Menzies' government concerning plans for television services in Sydney and Melbourne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WIN (TV station)</span> Television station in Southern New South Wales & ACT

WIN is a television station serving southern New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. It is the flagship station of the WIN Television network.

References

  1. "Inside the ABC - Issue 7 - Building on the Future". Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Archived from the original on 15 November 2004. Retrieved 27 July 2007.
  2. "Communications - Television - Sydney national television station ABN2 transmitting masts at Gore Hill, Sydney New South Wales [photographic image] / photographer, John Tanner. 1 photographic negative: b&w, acetate". National Archives of Australia . 1959. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  3. Kidman, Angus (25 June 2012). "Analogue TV gets an official switch-off date". Lifehacker Australia. Archived from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  4. Knox, David (3 December 2013). "Sydney switches off analogue TV". TV Tonight . Archived from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.