ATN is the Sydneyflagshiptelevision station of the Seven Network in Australia. The licence, issued to a company named Amalgamated Television Services, a subsidiary of John Fairfax & Sons, was one of the first four licences (two in Sydney, two in Melbourne) to be issued for commercial television stations in Australia. The station formed an affiliation with GTV-9 Melbourne in 1957, in order to share content. In 1963, Frank Packer ended up owning both GTV-9 and TCN-9, so as a result the stations switched their previous affiliations. ATN-7 and HSV-7 joined to create the Australian Television Network, which later became the Seven Network. ATN-7 is the home of the national level Seven News bulletins.
ATN-7 began broadcasting on 2 December 1956 and became the third television station in Sydney to begin regular transmissions.
The station opened in 1956 with principal offices and studios located at Mobbs Lane, Epping. The initial black and white cameras and other equipment was supplied by the Marconi Company of England. Conversion to PAL colour occurred on 1 March 1975. Digital DVB-T commenced on 1 January 2001.
The initial transmission tower in 1956 was located near the ABC tower at Gore Hill, Sydney. This was eventually demolished after ATN was invited to share a new site at Artarmon which was built by a new 3rd, commercial broadcaster TEN-10.
ATN-7 commenced digital television transmissions on 1 January 2001, broadcasting on VHF Channel 6 while maintaining analogue transmission on VHF Channel 7.
Beginning in the early 2000s, on-air programs were sent by digital link from the Seven Network's national program play-out centre at Docklands in Melbourne where the Master Control Room was located for all metropolitan and regional feeds to be controlled. Programming line-up, advertisement output, feed switching, time zone monitoring and national transmission output was previously delivered here. All Seven Network owned and operated studios used to have their live signals relayed here: for instance, ATN's output was fed to HSV and then transmitted via satellite or fibre optics to the towers around metropolitan Sydney. In 2019 however, this function was transferred to a new play-out centre in Sydney as part of a joint venture with the Nine Network.
The analogue signal for ATN-7 was turned off at 9:00 a.m. on 3 December 2013 by using a special five-minute retrospective clip of the local station and the song "My City of Sydney" by Tommy Leonetti, used for the first time in 30 years, combined with the old "Mother kangaroo putting her baby joey to bed" animation, which was played during the channel closedown sequence until the network began 24-hour service in 1993. The Good Night curtain at the end of the animation was tweaked to Goodbye and the TV mascot appeared for the final time to turn the analogue picture into a small white dot which slowly went away before going completely black, before the analogue signal itself was completely switched off.[2]
In June 2023, 7NEWS moved their operations from Martin Place to their new purpose built studios in Eveleigh. In July 2023, Sunrise hosted its very first broadcast at its new studios. The first edition went to air live at 5:30am on 24 July 2023, with hosts Natalie Barr and Matt Shirvington, newsreader Edwina Bartholomew and sports presenter Mark Beretta, followed by The Morning Show’s Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillies.[3] Joining 7NEWS, 7NEWS Spotlight, The Latest and 7NEWS.com.au, for the first time in more than 40 years, the entire Seven Sydney operation and all broadcast and operational staff (across all departments) are now under one roof. The new space cover two floors of Seven’s head office and are five times larger than the previous Martin Place location, with permanent sets for all programs. It brought to an end 19 years of Sunrise and Seven News, and 16 years of The Morning Show broadcasting at Martin Place.[4]
News and live telecast programs are presently broadcast from the Eveleigh studios.[7]
RaceCam
ATN's engineering staff received two Emmy Awards – making ATN the first Australian company to receive such an award – for the technology, invention and further development of RaceCam, live mobile point-of-view TV cameras which were initially developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s for the station's coverage of the Bathurst 1000. Visiting commentators from the United States organised for ATN staff to supply the camera and transmission systems for CBS' coverage of NASCAR races.
Prior to their Eveleigh Studios at the Australian Technology Park, the Seven Network's Martin Place studios, once referred to on-air as News Central and based on the first five floors of The Colonial Building in Sydney were the main news presentation studios for, Seven News Sydney, Sunrise, Weekend Sunrise, and The Morning Show. Comprising 3,000 square metres, viewers and tourists can see programs being broadcast from the street level studio.
In March 2021, it was announced that the Seven Network would move out of Martin Place to Eveleigh by the end of 2022 after almost two decades.[8] The decision is understood to be a cost-saving move away from CBD property leasing. This then got delayed to mid-2023.
On 25 June 2023, Seven News Sydney signed off its final bulletin at Martin Place studios, wrapping 19 years and 6,873 days of broadcast. From 26 June 2023, its new broadcast home is at a purpose built studio at Eveleigh headquarters. The new space is five-times larger than Martin Place, allows for permanent sets for all programs, with two complete control rooms and more than 40sq m of LED screens, while all newsroom operations will now be located on a second entire floor.[9][7]
Seven News Sydney is directed by Sean Power and presented by Mark Ferguson and Angela Cox from Sunday to Thursday and Michael Usher and Angie Asimus on Friday and Saturday from Seven's headquarters, located at Eveleigh. Sport is presented by Mel McLaughlin from Sunday to Thursday and Matt Carmichael on Friday and Saturday. Weather is presented by Angie Asimus from Sunday to Tuesday and Sally Bowrey on Friday and Saturday.
News updates for Sydney are presented throughout the afternoon and the early evenings, with news updates during the night being shown nationally, they can be seen on Seven, 7two and 7mate, as well as 7flix.
At the end of 2003, a year before all of the Seven Network's News and Current Affairs moved to Martin Place, the ill-fated dual presenter format of Ross Symonds and Ann Sanders came to an end after the pair failed to make an ratings impact in the Sydney market, losing viewers to competition winner Nine News Sydney (then National Nine News), which had led in the ratings for decades. After Ian Ross took over from both Symonds and Sanders in 2003, Seven News Sydney became the 6pm ratings leader from February 2005 until 2010.
Ross presented his final bulletin for Seven News Sydney on Friday 27 November 2009 with Bath taking over as main weeknight presenter on Monday 30 November 2009. Former Nine News presenter Mark Ferguson took over from Bath as weekend news presenter from Saturday 28 November 2009. The bulletin retained its ratings lead until it was overtaken again by the rival Nine News bulletin in the ratings in 2011 – Seven's 6pm bulletin won 14 out of 35 ratings weeks.[10]
In January 2014, Mark Ferguson was appointed weeknight presenter, replacing Chris Bath due to poor ratings. Bath became weekend presenter and continued to host Sunday Night until her resignation in July 2015,[11] after which Melissa Doyle took over.[12] More changes to Sydney's news presenting team in subsequent months saw former Melbourne weather presenter David Brown replace Sarah Cumming as Sydney's weather presenter and Mel McLaughlin replace Jim Wilson as the sports presenter.[citation needed]
In August 2016, it was announced that Michael Usher would replace Melissa Doyle as Friday and Saturday presenter. Doyle will move into a new expanded role as senior correspondent and host of Sunday Night.[13]
For its efforts in bringing news of the 2014 Sydney hostage crisis to the whole of Australia (ATN's Martin Place news rooms and facilities were evacuated and news operations shifted to a makeshift studio miles from the site, with additional coverage from other stations nationwide), Seven News Sydney became the 2015 Logie Awards winner for Most Outstanding News Coverage.
In June 2020, Jim Wilson left Seven after 28 years with the network, to become a new host of 2GB's Drive program. His last sports bulletin was 27 June 2020. It was later announced that Matt Shirvington would replace him.[14]
On 5 November 2020, David Brown left the Sydney newsroom to return to Melbourne with Angie Asimus promoted to weeknights weather presenter.[15]
In December 2020, it was announced Angela Cox would be joining Michael Usher as co-host of the weekend news bulletin from January 2021.[16]
In June 2023, Matt Shirvington stepped down from his role of weekend sports presenter, to take up his new role as co-host of Sunrise.[17]Matt Carmichael was announced as his replacement.
In September 2024, Seven News announced further presentation changes with Sydney anchor Mark Ferguson would be joined by Angela Cox from Sundays to Thursdays bulletins.[18] In October 2024, it was announced Angie Asimus would join Michael Usher at the 7News Sydney on Friday and Saturday evenings. Asimus would also continue her role as Sydney weather presenter alongside Mark Ferguson and Angela Cox, Sundays to Tuesdays.[19]
The Seven Network is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of the five main free-to-air television networks in Australia. The network's headquarters are located in Sydney.
GTV is a commercial television station in Melbourne, Australia, owned by the Nine Network. The station is currently based at studios at 717 Bourke Street, Docklands. GTV-9 is the home of the Australian Open tennis coverage.
TNT is an Australian TV station based in Launceston, Tasmania, owned by Southern Cross Austereo. Originally broadcasting to northern Tasmania, it has broadcast to the whole of Tasmania since aggregation of the Tasmanian television market in 1994.
Sunrise is an Australian breakfast show program. It is broadcast on the Seven Network, and is currently hosted by Natalie Barr and Matt Shirvington. The program follows Sunrise Early News, and runs from 5:30 am to 9:00 am. It is followed by The Morning Show.
Nine News is the 24-hour national news service of the Nine Network in Australia. Its flagship program is the hour-long 9News bulletin at 6pm, with editions produced by Nine's owned-and-operated stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Darwin; regional editions for Northern New South Wales and the Gold Coast air under the name of NBN News and are produced in Newcastle. A supplementary regional news program for the Gold Coast in Queensland also airs each weeknight. National bulletins air throughout the day and evening, presented from Nine's headquarters in Sydney.
Matt Shirvington is an Australian former athlete and television presenter who held the Australian 100m national sprint title from 1998 to 2002. Shirvington is the third fastest Australian sprinter of all time. He qualified for the 100m semi-finals in Sydney 2000, finishing 5th.
Today is an Australian breakfast television news and current affairs program, with an infotainment base, hosted by Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo and includes news and weather updates. It broadcast weekdays on the Nine Network. The show also has a weekend edition called Weekend Today.
Seven News is the television news service of the Seven Network and, as of 2021, the highest-rating in Australia.
Weekend Sunrise is an Australian breakfast television program, broadcast on the Seven Network and currently hosted by Monique Wright and David Woiwod.
10 News First is an Australian television newscast, produced by Network 10. The network's flagship news program airs at 5PM on weekday evenings covering local, national and world news, including sport and weather. Weekend editions are presented nationally from Network 10's studios in Pyrmont, Sydney.
SAS, formerly SAS-7 and before that SAS-10, is a television station in Adelaide, South Australia. It is part of the Seven Network.
BTQ is the Brisbane television station of the Seven Network in Australia. BTQ was the second television station to launch in Brisbane, going to air on 1 November 1959, after QTQ launched three months earlier and before ABQ launched just 1 day after BTQ's launch.
Jennifer Anne Keyte is an Australian journalist and news presenter.
HSV is a television station in Melbourne, Australia. It is part of the Seven Network, one of the three main commercial television networks in Australia, its first and oldest station. It launched in time for the 1956 Summer Olympic Games in Melbourne. HSV-7 is the home of AFL coverage.
Major Mark Beretta is an Australian journalist, is currently co-host of Weekend Sunrise with Monique Wright. best known as a sports reporter on Seven Network program Sunrise, he has also been an officer in the Australian Army Reserve in public relations since 2019.
Michael Usher is an Australian television presenter and reporter. Usher presents Seven News Sydney on Friday and Saturday.
The Morning Show is an Australian morning talk show broadcast on the Seven Network and currently hosted by Kylie Gillies and Larry Emdur. The show airs between 9:00 am and 12:00 pm on weekdays and follows Seven's breakfast news program Sunrise, with both programs closely interlinked. The program features infotainment, celebrity interviews and live music performances.
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