WIN Television
| Ownership | |
|---|---|
| Owner | WIN Corporation |
WIN Television is an Australian regional television network, that broadcasts in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Canberra, South Australia, Tasmania, and Western Australia.
It is owned by the WIN Corporation, controlled by the privately held Oberon Broadcasters, owned by Bruce Gordon. The name, WIN, stands for Wollongong-Illawarra New South Wales.
It was originally a single Wollongong-only station, WIN-4, before expanding into other states by acquiring other television stations. As a result, WIN Television through its 24 owned-and-operated stations has transmissions that span the largest geographical area in the world.[1] The only areas that it doesn't broadcast to are the five major capitals, northern and far western New South Wales, the Northern Territory, northern South Australia, and a few small isolated areas.
On May 30, 2007, Southern Cross Broadcasting announced its sale of NWS-9 to WIN Television's parent company, WIN Corporation, for $105 million.[2] On June 8, 2007, Sunraysia Television announced its sale of STW-9 to WIN Television's parent company, WIN Corporation, for $163.1 million.[3]
History
Southern New South Wales
WIN's first station, WIN-4, was located in Wollongong. Television Wollongong Transmission Ltd began broadcasting on the 18 March 1962, and broadcast on VHF channel 4. The station's callsign stands for Wollongong (and the) Illawarra Network or, fitting in with the Australian callsign scheme, Wollongong Illawarra New (South Wales). The station was originally owned by several Wollongong businessmen who in 1963 sold to Rupert Murdoch. He subsiquently sold WIN-4 ten years later to Paramount International Television chief Bruce Gordon. Murdoch did this so he could buy controlling interests in capital city stations TEN-10 Sydney and ATV-0 (now ATV-10) Melbourne.
Coverage expanded a few years later, with WIN-11 Moruya and Batemans Bay, WIN-3 Narooma, WIN-6 Bega and WIN-3 Eden.
With aggregation looming, the long links WIN and the Nine Network had would put them in good stead; they would pick up the Nine Network affiliate for Southern New South Wales. In 1989, WIN expanded into the rest of Southern New South Wales, with new stations WIN-31 Canberra, WIN-39 Orange, WIN-52 Bathurst, WIN-63 Dubbo and WIN-62 Wagga, amongst others, and new facilities in Orange, Wagga and Canberra.
News bulletins are produced from Wollongong and Canberra; the Canberra news bulletin is the top rating (and only half-hour) commercial bulletin in the ACT.
Griffith
WIN TV expanded further into Griffith, New South Wales, purchasing MTN-9 Griffith and supplementary station AMN-31 Griffith from its local owners in 1998. The station had previously been part of the Prime Television network of stations. The station already had links with WIN, taking its feed from its Wollongong base. For information on MTN pre-1998, please read the Prime Television topic. On 18 August 2006 WIN Television announced that Griffith's locally produced news bulletin would be axed and merged with Wagga Wagga's 30 minute news bulletin which is read and produced in Wollongong, New South Wales[4][5].
Victoria
WIN Television Victoria began as several stations serving the western parts of Victoria. They were:
- GMV-6 Shepparton, beginning on the 23 December 1961
- BTV-6 Ballarat, launching on 27 April 1962, and
- STV-8 Mildura, which started on the 25 November 1965.
In the 1980s, BTV-6 and GMV-6 would become part of Associated Broadcasting Services, who also owned radio station 3MP in Melbourne and a regional radio network including 3UL Warragul (now 3GG), 3YB Warrnambool and 3SR Shepparton.
In the 1990s, ABS would be brought out by ENT Limited, who also owned TVT-6 in Hobart. STV-8 Mildura would also join BTV-6 and GMV-6, having earlier been part of the Southern Cross Network, along with BCV-8 Bendigo and GLV-8 Gippsland. This brought on a name change to Television Victoria, otherwise known as Vic Television.
VicTV became the affiliate of the Nine Network in 1992, expanding across regional Victoria. BTV and GMV's callsigns were changed to VTV, but STV's was kept intact (Mildura wasn't included in aggregation). In 1994, ENT was brought out by WIN TV, and Vic Television became WIN Television Victoria.
A few years later, Mildura's news bulletin, which was produced at STV in Mildura was moved to Ballarat, and became pre-recorded.
Mildura Digital Television
In 2004, WIN and Prime formed a joint venture company (Mildura Digital Television) to bid for a digital supplementary license being offered for the Mildura/Sunraysia license area. It was successful, and started broadcasting in January 2006.
Queensland
WIN Television Queensland started out as television stations DDQ-10 Toowoomba (starting 13 July 1962) and RTQ-7 Rockhampton (starting 7 September 1963).
In the 1980s, DDQ-10 was changed to DDQ-0, so that Brisbane's TVQ-0 could be changed to TVQ-10.
In 1988, DDQ and RTQ merged to become Vision Television, later Star Television. Star TV was preparing to become a Network Ten affiliate in 1990 when regional Queensland would be aggregated, however, WIN Television purchased the station a few days before aggreation was due to take place. As a result, Star TV was given the Nine affiliation; the Ten affiliation going to former Nine affiliate QTV. DDQ became RTQ; Star TV became WIN Television Queensland.
News bulletins come from both studios for the different regions, with weather bulletins from the one studio.
South Australia
WIN Television South Australia was once two separate television stations:
- SES-8 Mount Gambier, which began on 25 March 1966, and
- RTS-5a Riverland (centred at Renmark and Loxton), which started 26 November 1976.
In 1999, both stations were purchased by WIN Television, and they became known as WIN South Australia. Until recently news bulletins came from both stations, however, they are now both from the one station in Mount Gambier.
The stations only take programs from Nine. WIN South Australia were granted a supplementary licence in both licence areas, under the call signs MGS in Mount Gambier and LRS in the Riverland. This station is known as WIN Ten (using Network Ten identification), taking a feed from Ten Adelaide.
Adelaide
On May 30, 2007, Southern Cross Broadcasting announced its sale of NWS-9 to the WIN Corporation for $105 million. It is expected that NWS-9 will join SES-8 and RTS-5a, as WIN Television stations in South Australia.
Western Australia
Prior to WIN Television's expansion into Western Australia, GWN was the sole commercial network operating in regional areas, and carried programming from the Seven, Nine and Ten networks. In March 1999, WIN WA started broadcasting in Western Australia, taking programming from Nine and Ten while GWN became affiliated solely with Seven.
Despite having strong relationships with the Nine Network, WIN WA worked out of Ten Perth until recently, when following Win's acquisition of STW-9 the staff have been moved over to their property. Win WA has also historically shown Ten Perth's news bulletins, but have flagged a move to replace these with the news bulletin from STW-9. [6].
The history of GWN as a solus operator (the only operator) has limited WIN's ability for success in the region. WIN Television rates highly in most markets, but has run second to GWN in every ratings survey to date. The second ratings survey of 2006 placed WIN WA with only a 34.7% commercial audience share in prime time, compared to GWN with 65.3%.[1].
Perth
WIN offered to buy STW-9 in Perth on April 21, 2007, when the board of Sunraysia Television endorsed their revised offer of $163 million[7]. On June 8, 2007, Sunraysia Television announced its sale of STW-9 to WIN Television's parent company, WIN Corporation, for $163.1 million, after accepting the endorsed offer.[8] WIN Corporation will now own all Nine Network affiliated television stations in metropolitan and regional Western Australia.
Tasmania
WIN Television began as TVT-6 Hobart, which began on the 23 May 1960.
In 1982, ENT Ltd - the owner of TNT-9 Launceston - purchased TVT-6, forming TasTV. TVT-6 became TasTV Southern Tasmania.
In 1989, TNT-9 was sold to Tricom Corporation (now Southern Cross Broadcasting), and split TasTV into two; Southern Cross in the north, TasTV in the south.
On 30 April 1994, the Tasmanian television markets were aggregated, and TVT became an affiliate of the Nine Network. In 1994, ENT was purchased by WIN, and TasTV became WIN Television Tasmania.
As of March 2005 WIN Northern Tasmania (Digital Channel), became the first local commercial station to include Now & Next, and Extended Program information on their digital transmission.
News bulletins come from Hobart. The news format was changed on 2006-01-30, with WIN News in Tasmania now a half-hour bulletin of local, national and international news. Previously, the news was split into a 6pm Tasmanian state bulletin, and a 6.30pm national news bulletin. The Hobart newspaper The Mercury reported on 2006-01-05 that the ratings didn't justify having two news bulletins, plus the airing of A Current Affair at 7pm (which is now screened at 6.30pm). The only other Tasmanian commercial news bulletin, Southern Cross Nightly News, had attained a 64.9% market share of the 6pm news audience during the 2005 survey period [9].
Tasmanian Digital Television
- Main article: Tasmanian Digital Television
In 2002, WIN and Southern Cross joined forces to create Tasmanian Digital Television (or TDT), which launched in late 2003. TDT broadcasts mainly Network Ten programming. WIN operates the administration and sales side of the company.
Programming
WIN Television has an affiliation with the Nine Network, as well as Network Ten in regional Western Australia, and for the most part WIN's programming schedule is similar to that of the Nine Network. WIN Television produces a limited amount of local programming, including local news service WIN News.
WIN Television's Australian programming productions consists of television shows including; Susie, Destinations, Goodsports, and Fishing Australia. On May 17, 2007, WIN Television announced a new midday program called Susie.[10]
Western Australia
WIN WA broadcasts a variety of programming from both the Nine Network and Network Ten, as well a small amount of programming from WIN Television.
WIN WA's current programming includes; 1 vs. 100, 60 Minutes, A Current Affair, AFL, Australia's Funniest Home Video Show, Big Brother, Cold Case, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, Footy Classified, Getaway, House, Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, McLeod's Daughters, Medium, NCIS, Neighbours, Numb3rs, Rove, Thank God You're Here, The Simpsons, The Footy Show, What's Good For You, and Without a Trace.
Current schedule
| 6:00 PM | 6:30 PM | 7:00 PM | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUN | National Nine News | Backyard Blitz | 60 Minutes | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | CSI: Miami | ||||
| MON | WIN News† | National Nine News^ | A Current Affair^ | What's Good For You | 1 vs 100 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | |||
| TUE | Crime and Justice | Neighbours At War | CSI: NY | The Nation | |||||
| WED | McLeod's Daughters | Cold Case | Without a Trace | ||||||
| THU | Getaway | RPA Where Are They Now? | The Footy Show | ||||||
| FRI | Friday Night Football (NRL)* | ||||||||
| SAT | National Nine News | Australia's Funniest Home Video Show | Primeval | Saturday Night Movie | |||||
Western Australia
| 6:00 PM | 6:30 PM | 7:00 PM | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUN | The Simpsons | 60 Minutes | Big Brother: Live Eviction | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | CSI: Miami | ||||
| MON | WIN News | A Current Affair | Big Brother | Big Brother: Live Nominations | 1 vs 100 | CSI:NY | |||
| TUE | The Simpsons | House | NCIS | ||||||
| WED | McLeod's Daughters | Cold Case | Without a Trace | ||||||
| THU | Getaway | RPA Where Are They Now? | The Footy Show | ||||||
| FRI | Thank God You're Here | Friday Night Movie | |||||||
| SAT | The Simpsons | Australia's Funniest Home Video Show | Saturday Night Football (AFL) | ||||||
Note: News & Current Affairs are in Grey; Drama is in Blue; Sitcoms, Animation and Comedy are in Purple; Lifestyle programs are in Green; Factual programs and Documentaries are Yellow; Reality, Game shows and Talk shows are in Red; Sport is in Orange; Movies are in Pink. The above represents WIN Television's usual primetime schedule in the majority of broadcast markets. It does not reflect one-off events, and program starting times may vary from those shown. For up-to-date information, see WIN's online television guide. (link) †In all regions except for Mackay and Wide Bay, where National Nine News is broadcast in the timeslot. ^In all regions except for Mackay, Wide Bay and Tasmania, where the lineup consists of A Current Affair followed by Temptation. *In Queensland and New South Wales only. In other areas, Airline airs at 7.30, followed by Airport at 8pm and Waking The Dead at 8.30.
News
WIN News is a local news service produced by the Australian regional television network WIN Television. Twenty bulletins across most of regional Australia[11] are produced out of WIN Television's studios in Wollongong, Ballarat, Mount Gambier, and Rockhampton. Although it is the sole local news bulletin in many areas, it competes with Prime News, GWN News, or Southern Cross Nightly News.
Bulletins
- Rockhampton, Cairns and Townsville, presented by Paul Taylor and Nicola Rae(news and sport) and Peter Byrne (weather)
- Sunshine Coast, presented by Marita Ranby and Travis McNamara (news), Travis McNamara (sport), and Davina Smith(weather)
- Toowoomba, presented by Marita Ranby and Travis McNamara (news), Pat O’Shea (sport) and Davina Smith(weather)
- Canberra, presented by Peter Leonard (news), Phil Small (sport) and Jessica Good (weather and fillin presenter)
- Wollongong and South Coast, presented by Geoff Phillips and Kerryn Johnston (news and weather) and Amy Taylor (sport)
- Reporters: Colin Duffy, Matt Tinney, Lee Steele, Matt Snelson, Danielle Post, Nick Dole, Samantha Derrick, Terry Aylett
- Griffith, Orange, Dubbo and Wagga Wagga, presented by Victoria Gibson (news), Joanne Morrissey (sport) and Maria Cook (weather)
- Regional Victoria, presented by Denis Walter (news), Gareth Hall (sport) and Jacqueline Taylor (weather)
- Riverland and Mount Gambier, presented by Sharny McLean (news and weather) and Chris Reid (sport)
- Regional Western Australia, presented by Kerryn Johnston (news), Amy Taylor (sports) and Peter Kapsanis (weather).
- Hobart, presented by John Remess (news and weather) and Colin McNiff (sport), Penny Tame (weekend news, sport and weather)
Criticism
WIN has been criticised by some viewers for its low production standards.[citation needed] Since it's relaunch in early 2005, a number of viewers complained about the quality of sets, graphics, and opening titles. WIN News has been relaunched a number of times following this, most recently inline with the revamp of the Nine Network and National Nine News on January 30, 2006. Due to the high costs of upgrading to widescreen production facilities in over 20 television markets, WIN News is still produced in an Analogue PAL standard.
Identity
WIN Television previously used a modified version of the Channel Nine logo on all its stations, regardless of if they were a sole Nine Network affiliate or not. However, in the last few years of the dotted logo's life, WIN preferred to use their own 'map of Australia' logo for some of its on-screen graphics - most notably, for watermarks in most regions - and promotions on other media (such as their website). This logo contained 'WIN' wordmark in the same typeface used for their version of the dotted logo, but often did not contain the nine dots - print advertisements and WIN's website, for example, used the dots, however the watermarks typically did not. Following the most recent removal of the dots from the Nine Network logo on 30 January 2006, WIN Television's logo has changed to match; however the old 'map of Australia' logo has still been occasionally seen, with the new font.
WIN has got a terrible track record when it comes to station identification.[citation needed] The network uses watermarks on all programs, and uses special watermarks (on screen logos during programmes) for news, sports and live programming. They often coverup Nine's own logos during such broadcasts. Their Australian map watermark (on screen logos during programmes) was once a target of hate mail to the station,[citation needed] but in further use, the watermark has been changed to be more appealing to the viewer. Also, they used to change the production end boards of the Nine Network to their own.
Logos
WIN Television has used many logos throughout its history.
| File:WIN1970.png | File:WIN1980.png | File:WIN1989.png | File:WIN LogoNew.png |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 - 1979 | 1980 - 1989 | 1989 - 2006 | 2006 - present |
Note: Pre-network logos can be found at the following articles; STW-9.
References
- ^ "About WIN Corporation". WIN Corporation. Retrieved 2007-06-05.
- ^ "WIN buys Channel 9 Adelaide". AAP. theage.com.au. 2007-05-30. Retrieved 2007-05-30.
- ^ "Sunraysia favours Ch 9 Perth sale to WIN". AAP. theage.com.au. 2007-06-08. Retrieved 2007-06-08.
- ^ "Griffith disappointed at loss of local WIN service". ABC Riverina. 2006-08-18.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Rowe, Tim (2006-08-19). "Local news hit hard in merger". The Daily Advertiser.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Klinger, Peter (2007-06-21). "Poor state of Perth 9 shocks new owner". The West Australian.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Sharples, Ben (2007-04-21). "WIN wins Perth station". Herald Sun.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "WIN buys Channel 9 Adelaide". AAP. theage.com.au. 2007-06-08. Retrieved 2007-06-08.
- ^ Lower, Gavin (2006-01-05). "Jobs on the line as WIN axes local news". The Mercury.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "WIN Television to produce new regional daytime program 'Susie'". WIN Television. ebroadcast.com.au. 2005-05-17. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
- ^ About WIN Television WIN Corporation, accessed 27 May 2007