On A Friday: Parallels with the past/Hello again!

It’s just two days until Australia’s newest free-to-air channel stops the ad loop and starts broadcasting its own set of programs.

Yes, at last Channel Eleven, the latest addition to Network Ten’s stable of channels, will rise and become Australia’s promised new “entertainment channel” aimed at younger audiences. Now, last time I checked, that was the job description of Channel Ten!

I found this tribute to bad taste in music, fashion and hair on YouTube. An ad for TEN Brisbane from 1991, it writes out for us at the end that “t – e – n” spells out “the entertainment network”!

t – e – n that’s entert….. oh, sorry. Catchy, isn’t it!

Twenty years later, Ten has had to shift its focus to be able to take on the big two commercial networks in Australia – Networks Nine and Seven. So, channel Eleven is in many ways Channel Ten, attempt number two.

The similarities between the Channel Ten of yesteryear and Channel Eleven are obvious. Remember how the 1991 advertisement started with the Simpsons and spliced the characters throughout? If you haven’t already seen it, take a look at the advertisement for Eleven:

THE ENTERTAINMENT CHANNEL! IT LIVES AGAIN!

With the number of Australians on digital television between  just 70 and 80 per cent, it is remarkable that Ten has moved the Simpsons, one of its flagship programs, completely over to digital-only Eleven! And then at the end of the month Neighbours will be joining it!

Ten will be investing 20 million dollars to improve its news offerings on the main channel to replace the Simpsons and Neighbours, competing with Seven and Nine’s news services. ^{(Ten news)}

Anyway, if you decide on Tuesday that you need entertaining, switch your digital dial to number 11.

News: Labor Announces Satellite Broadcasting to Improve Rural Digital Television Reception

The Labor Government is set to introduce satellite television  broadcasting as part of a series of infrastructure upgrades to provide digital television to “blackspot” areas.

In a media release published yesterday on the Labor Party website the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Senator Stephen Conroy said "This is a fantastic outcome for people in regional Australia, many of whom have received limited television services for many years."

Senator Conroy also claimed that "All regional Australians will now receive the same television services as people in the cities.” He also mentioned a “dedicated local news channel” in the system.

The cost of the satellite system is yet to be determined, and the Government is promising subsidies to “eligible” households who are not upgraded by the broadcasters.

Digital terrestrial transmitters will also be upgraded as part of the scheme, with new transmitters in Underbool and Ouyen near Mildura to be built. The Mildura licence area will be one of the first affected in the analogue television switch off, with the old signals ceasing prior to June this year.

The Liberal Shadow Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Tony Smith MP said in his own media release yesterday that he hopes the scheme “doesn’t end up as yet more Labor pie in the sky.” Smith also suggests that rural viewers should “believe it when they see it.”

A representative of Tony Smith’s office today told One Cuckoo Short of a Nest that it is “too early to say” whether the Liberals would continue with a satellite system if in power or opt for terrestrial upgrades instead. The representative explained that the Liberal party had “not been provided with enough information from Labor” on the details of the plan, including on how the subsidy will work or how much it will cost to upgrade the 100 transmitters involved. When asked if they saw an opposition policy being released on rural digital television services, the representative stated that “there will be a lot of policies released before the next election”, including a “full policy released” on this portfolio.

Free TV Australia’s CEO Julie Flynn has stated in a Free TV media release that “this is a big win for regional viewers who will lead the way in the transition to digital-only services.” The media release also states that “Free TV broadcasters are pleased” with the Government funding of a satellite service for those unable to receive terrestrial services.

Flynn also states that “Free TV will continue to work with the Government to deliver a smooth transition to digital services for all Australian viewers”.

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To view a list of current Australian free-to-air television channels, see “What’s On The Box?”.

On A Monday: As Time Goes By (Bye Bye Rove, Hey Hey Daryl)

This is On A Friday in disguise. Yesterday marked the final episode of the Network Ten program ‘Rove’ (previously ‘Rove Live’, and on Channel 31 ‘The Loft Live’). Rove started on the Nine Network in 1999, the same year that Nine program Hey Hey It’s Saturday was axed.

This was no coincidence as it is known that then-Nine Executive Kerry Packer preferred Rove, and cancelled the still successful Hey Hey in favour of the new program. Rove soon moved to Network Ten.

Now, with the final Episode of Rove having aired and Hey Hey set to return for a new season in 2010, the irony sets in. Apart from a brief overlap in 1999, the two shows have never aired at the same time yet there hasn’t been a year without either since 1971!

Rove and Hey Hey – Mutually exclusive.

What's On The Box?

With the launch of ABC 3 scheduled for the 4th of December this year, I have compiled a timeline of Australian free-to-air television channels. This shows all national channel movements from when TCN (now part of the Nine Network) went to air with the famous words "Good evening, and welcome to television", to the imminent ABC3. Network Ten is set to introduce another new channel (Greenguide, 5th November 2009), however as I know little about this I have not included it on this timeline.
Take a look - ABC 3 is not the ABC's first digital kids channel...

(View larger PDF)

In a related piece of news, Channel Nine have announced that Hey Hey It's Saturday will return for its first series in eleven years early next year. The program will air for 10-15 episodes starting in February.