Digital terrestrial television in Australia

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Digital terrestrial television in Australia commenced on 1 January 2001, in the country's five most populous cities, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth using DVB-T standards. It is anticipated that between 2010 and 2013, it will replace Analogue PAL transmissions. Digital services are available in most areas, however parts of Western Australia, and Central Australia have yet to begin transmissions.[1]

The new means of broadcast has brought with it a number of enhancements, primarily higher-quality picture and sound, but also datacast and multi-view services such as video program guides, high definition, and now-and-next program information. There are a number of additional channels, datacasting, as well as high definition services, available to digital terrestrial television viewers in Australia. Digital-only content is subject to availability and differs greatly in various television markets.

Although approximately 96% of the population has access to at least one digital service,[2] by March 2007, only 28% of Australia's 7.8 million households had adopted free-to-air digital television.[3] However, by August 2009, 53% of Australian households had made the switch.[4]

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Planning

Planning for digital terrestrial television in Australia can be traced back to 1993, when a group of specialists was drawn from the then-Australian Broadcasting Authority, Department of Transport and Communications, in addition to broadcasters and manufacturers. The ABA Specialist Group was intended to bring together studies taking place in a number of Australian forums and investigate potential options and policies relating to digital television.[5]

In 1995 the group released a report, Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting in Australia, containing the preliminary conclusions of the group. It found that premature regulation of the new platform may stifle the market-driven development of the service, that it should be based upon existing standards, and should not restrict the ability of broadcasters to tailor local content.[5] It was too early at the time to make decisions relating to what standard should be used, when transmissions should commence, and whether analogue television should be phased out.

The final report, of the same name, was released in 1997.[6] It recommended that Australia should adopt a single system following detailed trials of potential systems, that it should be implemented with high definition capabilities from the outset, that each licensed commercial or public service should have access to a full 7 MHz channel for its services, and that the eventual termination of analogue PAL services should be driven by market factors and subject to regular review.[7] The year 2000 was highlighted as a potential target date for the commencement of permanent digital terrestrial broadcasting.[7]

[edit] Response

Australian LCN Allocation[1]
Primary User Allocated Numbers from 2008

(Standard Digital broadcasting,

Satellite/Cable Digital broadcasting)
Network Ten 1, 10-19, 100-149
ABC Television / ABC DiG 2, 20-29, 200-299
SBS Television / SBS Radio 3, 30-39, 300-349
Datacasting 4, 40-49, 450-499
Southern Cross Ten
and other Network Ten regional affiliates		 5, 50-59, 550-599
Prime Television, Golden West Network,
Southern Cross Television
and other Seven Network regional affiliates		 6, 60-69, 650-699
Seven Network 7, 70-79, 750-799
WIN Television, NBN Television
and other Nine Network affiliates		 8, 80-89, 850-899
Nine Network 9, 90-99, 950-999
Unallocated Channels 350-399

The Australian Broadcasting Authority's response, titled Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting, recommended that the Australian Government support the early introduction of digital broadcasting as a free-to-air service with the loan of a 7 MHz channel for each broadcaster, in order to enable high-definition television from the outset.[7] The Federation of Australian Commercial Television Stations supported this, as well as freedom for its members to launch multi-channel services. At the same time, the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association, questioned the commercial viability of HDTV, were opposed to the idea of multi-channeling, and argued for a competitive system that would allow the entry of new players.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation stated that it wished to run up to four multichannels at different times of the day or alternatively offer an HDTV service. It claimed that up to $100 million would be needed to prepare for these services, half of which would need to be government-funded.[7] Other interested parties, such as internet service provider OzEmail argued for the provision of spectrum for interactive services, while Telstra, shareholder in the subscription television provider Foxtel, supported ASTRA's argument for a competitive bidding process for digital spectrum.[7]

[edit] Legislation

On 24 March 1998, Minister for Communications, the Information Economy and the Arts, Senator Richard Alston, announced the government's decisions for the introduction of digital television. The plan allowed commercial and public broadcasters 7 MHz of spectrum free of charge for 8 years to simulcast services in both digital and analogue, after which it was to be returned to the Commonwealth.[7] Digital terrestrial television was to commence on 1 January 2001 in metropolitan areas, with expansion to regional areas to have been completed by the start of 2004.[7]

Following this, commercial broadcasters would be required to provide minimum levels of high definition content, will be required to pay fees if they chose to provide datacast services, and would be prohibited from using their spectrum for multichanneling of subscription services. In addition, the prohibition on new free-to-air broadcasters would be extended until December, 2008.[7]

Amendments were subsequently made to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 and the Radiocommunications Act 1992, which set out ownership and programming conditions for broadcasting licenses (administered by the ABA) and regulated the usage of spectrum, respectively.[7]

On 18 June 1998, the Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting Selection Panel announced the choice of the European DVB-T system for digital terrestrial television.[8] The panel was a group of representatives from the country's public, commercial and regional broadcasters, the Department of Communications, the Information Economy and the Arts, as well as the Australian Broadcasting Authority.

[edit] Launch

When digital television launched on 1 January 2001, the majority of households did not know of or were unable to buy a set top box in order to receive the signal.[9] Digital Broadcasting Australia was established in late 2000 to help make the transition to digital television as seamless for consumers as possible. It includes representatives from free-to-air broadcasters, manufacturers, suppliers, and retailers and was intended to provide information about commencement dates, coverage, and the functionality and availability of equipment.[10]

[edit] Content

[edit] Additional channels

ABC Television's second, digital-only, channel, ABC2, launched 7 March 2005.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in August, 2001 the ABC Kids Channel and Fly TV. The two multichannels, available only through digital means, showed a range of programming targeted at younger and teenage viewers.[11] Similarly, the Special Broadcasting Service launched the SBS World News Channel in 2002, a digital-only service offering a number of foreign-language news programmes seen in its morning WorldWatch timeslot.

Funding issues meant that in May, 2003 the Australian Broadcasting Corporation closed ABC Kids and Fly TV.[12] In the same year, Tasmanian Digital Television became the first digital-only commercial station to be launched in the country, under Section 38A of the Broadcasting Services Act. The new station was a joint venture between existing commercial networks Southern Cross Broadcasting and WIN Television.[13] Tasmanian Digital Television, affiliated to Network Ten, was initially available only in Hobart, before expanding to Launceston and, by early 2009,[14] the remainder of the state. The introduction of this fifth channel resulted in significantly higher digital television takeup in Tasmania than other parts of the country.[15]

ABC2, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's second attempt at a digital-only channel launched on 7 March 2005.[16] The service showed a range of repeated news, current affairs, children's and educational programs originally shown on ABC1 as well as a number of original programs launched later on, such as Australia Wide, Short and Curly and Late Night Legends.

Mildura Digital Television, a joint venture digital-only Network Ten affiliate similar to Tasmanian Digital Television commenced in January, 2006. The station is owned by WIN Television and Prime Television.[17] A similar channel in Darwin Has been launched on 28 April 2008, by Southern Cross Broadcasting and PBL Media in early 2008.[18] In addition to Darwin Digital Television, the Australian Communications and Media Authority set a designated time for a third digital-only commercial television service in remote and regional Western Australia, on 24 August 2007. Both the WIN Corporation and Prime Television Limited, owner of the Golden West Network, will have until 21 November 2007 to apply for a sole or jointly owned licence.[19]

During September 2007, the three commercial networks announced the introduction of high-definition only channels later that year, becoming the first new commercial television channels to launch in metropolitan areas of Australia since 1988. The Seven Network's Seven HD was the first to launch on 15 October and became available through Prime Television on 29 October. This was followed by the launch of Ten HD on 16 December. The majority of the programming on the high-definition channels is simulcast from the parent channel. On March 26 2009 TenHD was replaced with a 24/7 sports channel called ONE which will be shown in high definition on digital channel 1 and standard definition on digital channels 11 and 12.

On 23 September the Howard government announced plans, if re-elected after the 2007 Australian federal election, to launch ABC3 - a digital-only children's television service, to be run by the ABC alongside existing multichannel ABC2. In the 2009-10 Commonwealth Budget the ABC was given funding to launch ABC3 and it is now expected to be launched in late 2009[20]

From 2009, commercial broadcasters were allowed to transmit an alternate standard definition channel. On March 26, 2009, Channel Ten launched ONE, its SD multichannel as a 24 hour sports channel. ONE is also broadcast on Ten's HD channel, replacing TEN HD.[21] Nine later launched GO!, as a general entertainment channel skewed towards younger viewers in August 2009.[22] Seven introduced 7TWO on 1st November 2009.[23]

[edit] Channel A and B

Ambox outdated serious.svg
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In 2006, the Australian Communications and Media Authority announced that it would allocate additional, digital-only datacasting licenses to promote the uptake of digital terrestrial television.[24][25] The first of the two, named Channel A was expected to be allocated in August-September, 2007,[25] intended to be available for free-to-air, datacasting, and community television as in intention announced by Communications Minister Stephen Conroy on November 4, 2009 [26] to be received on a standard terrestrial television receiver. Channel B, was expected to be allocated in October-November, 2007[25] and was intended for other uses, such as mobile television.[24]

A discussion paper inviting comments on the potential use of these channels was released in March, 2006. The invitation ended on 5 February 2007, and submissions were received from a wide range of interest groups including the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association, FreeTV Australia, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia, as well as National Indigenous Television and Fairfax Media, amongst others.[27]

Community television stations, and the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia, have lobbied for the mandatory inclusion of community television stations on the new Channel A service at no cost,[28] a proposal recommended earlier this year by a Government Standing Committee report on digital community television.

[edit] Datacasting

The Digital Forty Four video program guide available to digital viewers in Sydney.

A number of broadcasters, primarily commercial networks, have provided a number of digital-only datacast or multivew services on separate channels - in particular during major sporting events. The Seven Network, for instance, provided two additional channels as part of its coverage of the 2003 Rugby World Cup - one providing alternate commentary, the other with statistics and game information.[29] Seven also ran a similar service during its coverage ot the 2004 Summer Olympics showing news headlines, a medal tally, and event results.[30] Similarly in 2005 for the Melbourne Cup, Australian Open, Australian Open Golf, and the One Day International series from the United Kingdom, the Seven Network provided a multi-view datacast service.[31] As well as this, the Nine Network and NBN Television both provided a multi-view service with additional text information during Pompeii: The Last Day.

Digital Forty Four, a trial datacasting service, began in Sydney in 2003. The service included at launch an electronic program guide, ABC News, Sport and Weather datacast service, the Australian Christian Channel, shopping channel Expo and a number of federal parliament audio streams. The service, licensed by the Australian Communications and Media Authority for three years, is currently under review.[32]

Three metropolitan networks once provided video program guide datacast channels in addition to their standard and high definition channels. During ABC2 and ABC HD's downtime, the ABC shows program information and weather, with music from ABC DiG radio.

[edit] High-definition

At a minimum, all digital television broadcasters in Australia provide a 576i standard-definition service, in addition to high definition. The 576p50 format is also considered a HDTV format, as it has higher vertical resolution through the use of progressive scanning. When Australia started DVB-T in 2001 several networks broadcast high-definition in a 576p format as this could give better quality on 50 Hz scanning CRT TVs and was not as demanding on MPEG-2 bit-rate. Now that flat-screens are predominating and these have an interlace to progressive scan conversion there is little difference in picture quality. Also MPEG-2 encoders have improved so the more conventional 720p and 1080i formats are now used. Technically, the 1080i576p format is internationally defined as enhanced-definition television and many DVD players can provide a 576p signal usually on HDMI outputs.

WIN Television in South Australia and Griffith are the only stations that broadcast in digital but do not provide a high-definition service. However this is due to two services, WIN Television and WIN Ten in SA or WIN Television and Prime in Griffith; using the same digital frequency.

All other commercial stations have 1080i high definition services, in most cases a high definition multichannel providing some differing programming from the main SD channel. ABC Television has a 720p high definition service, which mostly simulcasts ABC1's Sydney schedule. SBS Television currently broadcast a 576p enhanced definition simulcast of their main SBS channel, the only broadcaster to remain using the 576p format in Australia.

Quotas on high definition content - a minimum of 1040 hours per year - were imposed by the Australian government in July, 2003 on broadcasters in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. The same requirement was extended in April, 2005 to stations in Darwin, regional New South Wales and regional Queensland, and in January, 2006 in Mildura.[33] As of 13 July 2007 commercial television networks in Australia were permitted to provide a separate standard definition and high definition channel.[34] As of January 2009, they were permitted 2 standard definition channels in addition to the high definition channel - the networks planned to launch these via Freeview (Australia).

[edit] Channels

Not all channels are available in all areas, duplicate channels omitted.

LCN Channel Genre/Type Resolution Current use
1 One HD (metropolitan) Sport 1080i HD Active channel
2 ABC1 General entertainment 576i SD Active channel
3 SBS One General entertainment 576i SD Active channel
4 DTV Guide On-Screen TV Guide Sydney Only
5 Southern Cross Ten/Ten Digital (Tas, Mildura, Darwin) General entertainment 576i SD Active channel (Regional Network Ten Affiliate). Localised for each area.
6 Prime/Southern Cross General entertainment 576i SD Active channel. Localised for each area.
7 Seven Digital General entertainment 576i SD Active channel (Metropolitan and regional QLD)
8 WIN/NBN General entertainment 576i SD Active channel (Regional Nine Network Affiliate). Localised for each area.
9 Nine Digital General entertainment 576i SD Active channel (Metropolitan only)
10 Ten Digital General entertainment 576i SD Active channel (Metropolitan only)
12 One Sport (Simulcast One HD) 576i SD Active channel (Metropolitan only)
20 ABC HD No announced changes 720p HD Currently simulcasts ABC1 NSW with rare breakaway programming
22 ABC2 General Entertainment 576i SD Active channel
23 ABC3 Children's Programming 576i SD Active channel
30 SBS HD No announced changes 720p HD Currently simulcasts SBS One
32 SBS Two General entertainment 576i SD Active channel
38 SBS Radio 1 Radio TV Channel N/A Audio Only
39 SBS Radio 2 Radio TV Channel N/A Audio Only
40 NITV Indigenous/Cultural Entertainment Sydney/Foxtel/Austar/Satellite
41 Digital 44 ABC News/Sport/Weather Text-Only News Channel Sydney Only
44 Digital 44 Text-Only Info Sydney Only
45 Channel NSW State Info Sydney Only (discontinued)
46 Australian Christian Channel Religious Channel Sydney/Foxtel/Austar/Satellite
47 Teachers' TV Australia /
Australian Federal Parliament -
Australian House of Representatives		 Information for Teachers /
Parliament/Politics		 Sydney Only
Teachers TV screens when Parliament is not in session
48 Australian Federal Parliament -
Australian Senate		 Parliament/Politics Sydney Only
Teachers TV screens when Parliament is not in session
49 Expo Channel Television Shopping Sydney/Foxtel/Austar/Satellite
50 One HD (regional)* Sport 1080i HD Active channel
60 Prime/Southern Cross HD No announced changes 1080i HD Currently simulcast of Prime/Southern Cross
6x 7Two (regional) General entertainment 576i SD Coming December 1st (Tasmania and Darwin)
70 Seven HD No announced changes 1080i HD Currently simulcast of Seven Digital (Metropolitan and regional QLD only)
72 7Two (metropolitan) General entertainment 576i SD Active channel
80 WIN/NBN HD No announced changes 1080i HD Simulcast of WIN/NBN. Selected markets carry Nine HD. Localised for each area.
88 GO! (regional) General entertainment 576i SD Active channel
90 Nine HD No announced changes 1080i HD Currently simulcast of Nine Digital (Metropolitan only)
99 GO! (metropolitan) General entertainment 576i SD Active channel
200 ABC DiG Radio Radio TV Channel N/A Audio Only
201 ABC DiG Jazz Radio TV Channel N/A Audio Only

* ONE SD is not being broadcast into regional areas. [35]

[edit] Defunct channels

LCN / Channel Name / Notes

[edit] Changes/future channels

LCN / Channel Name / Notes

  • 1x - TBA - Network Ten SD multichannel, coming 2010[citation needed]
  • 24 - ABC4 - Announced
  • 33 - SBS 3 - Announced
  • 34 - SBS 4 - Announced
  • Unknown - West Television (Community TV) - Coming March 2010 WESTERN AUSTRALIA ONLY[36]
  • 19 - Channel 31 - All CTV stations coming in 2010[37]

[edit] Radio

SBS and ABC provide digital radio services as part of their DTV broadcast: SBS provides SBS Radio 1 and SBS Radio 2, and ABC provides ABC DiG Music and ABC Jazz.

[edit] Analogue switchoff

In October 2008, the Digital Switchover Taskforce announced the formalized dates for analogue-switchoff,[38] which will begin on June 30, 2010 in Mildura, with the final switchoff in 2013 when Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and remote areas switch.[39]

Date of shutdown Areas affected
June 30, 2010 Mildura
Second half of 2010 Rural South Australia
Broken Hill
First half of 2011 Rural Victoria
Second half of 2011 Rural Queensland
First half of 2012 Southern New South Wales
The ACT
Second half of 2012 Northern New South Wales
First half of 2013 Tasmania
Perth
Brisbane
Second half of 2013 Sydney
Melbourne
Adelaide
Darwin
Rural Western Australia
Central and Eastern Australia

[edit] Freeview

Main article: Freeview (Australia)

In November 2008, the Freeview brand was launched with the service commencing in 2009. Freeview brings all free-to-air broadcasters (both metropolitan and regional) together in a consistent marketing push.

[edit] Controversy

Perth community station Access 31's closure was partially blamed on viewers and revenue lost to increasing digital television viewership. The analogue-only station had been campaigning with other Channel 31 stations for support from the Federal Government that allowed them access to the digital broadcast spectrum.[40]. On November 4, 2009 Communications Minister Stephen Conroy approved a Digital TV only license which allows them to broadcast with other community television stations to simulcast their services until the switch to digital-only television in capital cities by 2014 [41]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "List of markets with free to view digital television coverage". Digital Broadcasting Australia. May 2007. http://www.dba.org.au/newsletter/IB-MayJun07-full.asp#RECEPTION1. Retrieved 2007-08-24. 
  2. ^ "Australia Now: Broadcasting and online content". Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. http://www.dfat.gov.au/facts/broadcasting.html. Retrieved 2007-08-19. 
  3. ^ "Australian household adoption of free to view digital television continues to rise". Digital Broadcasting Australia. May 2007. http://www.dba.org.au/newsletter/IB-MayJun07-full.asp#PRODUCT1. Retrieved 2007-08-21. 
  4. ^ "53 per cent of Aussie households on digital TV". news.com.au. August 2009. http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,28348,25993778-5014239,00.html. Retrieved 2009-08-30. 
  5. ^ a b "Digital - THE BIGGEST advance in TV since color in the 1970's?". Australian Broadcasting Authority. http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_90479. Retrieved 2007-08-19. 
  6. ^ "ABA to release report on digital terrestrial television broadcasting". Australian Broadcasting Authority. http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_90714. Retrieved 2007-08-19. 
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Bills Digest No. 178 1997-98: Television Broadcasting Services (Digital Conversion) Bill 1998". Australian Parliamentary Library. http://www.aph.gov.au/library/Pubs/bd/1997-98/98bd178.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-19. 
  8. ^ Federation of Australian Commercial Television Stations (1998-06-18). "Digital Television System Recommendation". Press release. http://happy.emu.id.au/lab/news/news/rmb114.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-18. 
  9. ^ "The 7.30 Report: Does anyone care about digital television?". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2001. http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/stories/s229316.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-19. 
  10. ^ "Digital TV to commence on 1 January 2001". Australian Broadcasting Authority. http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_91112. Retrieved 2007-08-19. 
  11. ^ Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts (2001-08-17). "ABC Kids Channel". Press release. http://www.dcita.gov.au/Article/0,,0_4-2_4008-4_15900,00.html. Retrieved 2007-08-19. 
  12. ^ Lindsay Tanner MP, Shadow Minister for Communications (2003-05-26). "Government digital disaster as ABC cuts ABC Kids and Fly TV". Press release. http://www.dcita.gov.au/Article/0,,0_4-2_4008-4_15900,00.html. Retrieved 2007-08-19. 
  13. ^ Australian Broadcasting Authority. "New digital commercial television service for Tasmania". Press release. http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_91270. Retrieved 2007-08-19. 
  14. ^ Smith, Linda (2007-08-22). "TV war hostility". The Mercury. http://www.news.com.au/mercury/story/0,22884,22287589-921,00.html. Retrieved 2007-08-22. 
  15. ^ Stedman, Michael (2004-06-10). "Northern homes brace for digital TV revolution". The Examiner. p. 13. http://northerntasmania.yourguide.com.au/home.asp?ix=2&mast_id=134. Retrieved 2007-08-22. 
  16. ^ "ABC2 launched at Parliament House". ABC New Media & Digital Services. dba.org.au. 2005-03-11. http://www.dba.org.au/index.asp?sectionID=74&newsID=641&display=news. Retrieved 2007-03-31. 
  17. ^ "Sunraysia to access digital TV channel". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2005-02-01. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2005/02/01/1293350.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-18. 
  18. ^ Australian Communications and Media Authority (2007-05-18). "New digital commercial television service for Darwin". Press release. http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/1001/pc=PC_310217. Retrieved 2007-08-18. 
  19. ^ Australian Communications and Media Authority (2007-08-24). "Designated time for a third digital-only commercial television service". Press release. http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_310592. Retrieved 2007-08-24. 
  20. ^ "ABC Funding Boost 2009-2012". ABC. 2009-05-12. http://www.abc.net.au/corp/pubs/media/s2568522.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-06. 
  21. ^ "Ten first with new digital sport service". The Australian. 2008-10-29. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,28124,24567854-7582,00.html. Retrieved 2008-10-30. 
  22. ^ "Nine announces new TV channel". ninemsn. 15 July 2009. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/entertainment/837881/nine-announces-new-tv-channel. Retrieved 24 July 2009. 
  23. ^ "David Gyngell confirms plans for digital". The Australian. 2009-03-23. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,28124,25225781-7582,00.html. Retrieved 2009-03-23. 
  24. ^ a b Australian Communications and Media Authority (2006-12-12). "MR 156/2006". Press release. http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_100984. Retrieved 2007-08-21. 
  25. ^ a b c "ACMA - Digital television". Australian Communications and Media Authority. 2007. http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_91870#5. Retrieved 2007-08-21. 
  26. ^ "March start for community TV". Rachel Watts, Southern Gazette. 2009-11-07. http://inmycommunity.com.au/news-and-views/local-news/West-TV-given-green-light/7540516/. Retrieved 2009-11-07. 
  27. ^ "IFC 2006 - Submissions for allocation of spectrum for new digital TV services". Australian Communications and Media Authority. 2007. http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_310031. Retrieved 2007-08-21. 
  28. ^ "Digital conversion of community television (CTV)". Australian Communications and Media Authority. 07-05-29. http://www.cbonline.org.au/index.cfm?pageId=14,40,3,1069. Retrieved 2007-08-21. 
  29. ^ "FTA digital TV becoming clear". bandt.com.au. 2003-11-13. http://www.bandt.com.au/news/54/0c01ac54.asp. Retrieved 2007-08-21. 
  30. ^ "Seven creates digital television and multiple-platform coverage for the Olympic Games" (PDF). Seven Network. 2004-07-06. http://www.sevencorporate.com.au/_uploads/Files/06-07-2004-Seven%20creates%20digital%20television%20and%20multiple-platform%20coverage%20for%20the%20Olympic%20Games.pdf. Retrieved 2007-08-21. 
  31. ^ "Seven commits to digital television coverage for cricket" (PDF). Seven Network. 2005-06-06. http://sevencorporate.com.au/_uploads/Files/1118021938156_0.7315820245822941.pdf. Retrieved 2007-08-23. 
  32. ^ Australian Communications and Media Authority. "ACMA seeks comment on extending datacasting trial in Sydney". Press release. http://internet.aca.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD//pc=PC_101031. Retrieved 2007-08-19. 
  33. ^ "Digital TV: free to view - High Definition". Digital Broadcasting Australia. http://www.dba.org.au/index.asp?sectionID=15. Retrieved 2007-08-19. 
  34. ^ Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts (2006-07-13). "New Media Framework for Australia". Press release. http://www.minister.dcita.gov.au/media/media_releases/new_media_framework_for_australia. Retrieved 2007-08-22. 
  35. ^ http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2009/06/southern-cross-adds-one-hd-from-july-2.html ONE HD to be broadcast 2 July in regional areas - TV Tonight
  36. ^ http://inmycommunity.com.au/news-and-views/local-news/West-TV-given-green-light/7540516/
  37. ^ http://www.minister.dbcde.gov.au/media/media_releases/2009/digital_pathway_for_community_tv
  38. ^ "Digital TV Timetable by Region". Press release. http://www.digitalready.gov.au/pdf/Timetable-press-release-20081017.pdf. Retrieved 2009-03-03. 
  39. ^ "Bush first in line for analog TV switch-off". The Australian. 2008-10-20. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,24521288-5013404,00.html. Retrieved 2008-10-30. 
  40. ^ Access 31 looking to a digital future for survival
  41. ^ "March start for community TV". Rachel Watts, Southern Gazette. 2009-11-07. http://inmycommunity.com.au/news-and-views/local-news/West-TV-given-green-light/7540516/. Retrieved 2009-11-07. 

[edit] External links

Television in Australia portal
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_terrestrial_television_in_Australia"