MTN-9
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| MTN-9 / AMN-31 | |
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| Griffith, New South Wales | |
| Branding | WIN Television |
| Slogan | "Still The One" |
| Channels | MTN: 9 VHF AMN: 31 UHF analog, MTN/AMN: 6 VHF AMN: 30 UHF (assigned) digital |
| Affiliations | MTN: Nine Network / Ten Network AMN: Seven Network / Ten Network |
| Owner | WIN Television |
| Founded | 1965 |
| Call letters meaning | MTN: Murrumbidgee Television, New South Wales AMN: derivation of Victoria's AMV |
| Former affiliations | Independent 1965-1973 Midstate Television 1973-1989 |
| Website | WINTV.com.au |
MTN-9 and AMN-31 are television stations that are licensed to, and serves Griffith and the surrounding Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area. MTN-9 is a primary Nine Network affiliate, and AMN-31 is a primary Seven Network affiliate. Both are owned by WIN Television.
The stations are effectively a twinstick operation, with the broadcasting authorities considering Griffith too small for three aggreated television stations, however, it is considered big enough for two television stations.
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[edit] History
MTN-9 began transmission on December 15, 1965, owned by Murrumbidgee Television Limited.
Due to the costs of operating a television station far outpacing advertising revenue, MTN joined up with CBN-8/CWN-6 to form the Television 6-8-9 network in 1973. While the majority of the programming and identification came from the network, MTN did run its own news service, and did air programs of local interest and popularity separate to the rest of the network.
In the early 1980s, the network was rebranded as Midstate Television 6-8-9.
In the late 1980s, Midstate and RVN/AMV joined forces to become The Prime Network. When aggreation occurred in 1989, it was determined that Griffith was too small to accommodate three television stations, and thus split apart from the network, having always been independently owned through the Television 6-8-9/Midstate days.
It took up an affiliation with the Nine Network through its affiliated station in southern New South Wales, WIN Television. While the majority of the programming was the same as WIN's, it had its own news service, and aired the Seven Network's coverage of the Australian Football League in preference to Nine's coverage of rugby league.
The station was mainly identifited as WIN Television, although a MTN-9 logo (in the same style as the WIN and Nine logos) was used, along with station IDs featuring local scenes zooming out onto the then-Nine ID. This got limited airtime, used only for local programming, and when non-Nine programs were aired.
The Australian Broadcasting Authority relaxed the rules regarding station ownership in solus markets, allowing for one company to operate two stations in the market, provided no opposition was faced to the application for one. MTN then applied for a section 38A license in 1995, and after being refused once, challenged the Authority, and was successful on appeal.
MTN was launched its second channel on October 5, 1997, on UHF channel 31, with callsign AMN, a variation of Victorian station AMV. The station was a feed from Prime Television, with the exception of its local news - Network Ten programs such as The Simpsons and Seinfeld are aired at 6pm, before rejoining the network at 6.30pm for Seven News.
WIN Television purchased MTN-9 and AMN-31 in 1998. Because the station was carrying some WIN indentification, very little changed - the station's name was officially changed to WIN, and the news service was renamed WIN News.
Rumours were circulating that WIN was about to move parts of MTN's operations either to Canberra or Wollongong, as it would prove to be unfeasible to upgrade the existing equipment in Griffith, which appear to be old and outdated by today's standards. Unfortunatly the rumours proved to be true, and in late september 2006, WIN News for Griffith was axed, and a merged Riveria bulletin began broadcasting from WIN's Wollongong studios. The Griffith City Council is lobbying Prime TV to produce a local news bulletin.
[edit] Programming
Today, MTN is a Nine Network affiliate, similar to the other WIN stations, with the exception of major Ten Network sports and events, such as the V8 Supercars (some rounds) and the Bathurst 1000, and Ten's AFL coverage. AMN is still a feed from Prime Television, and is largely unchanged, except for Prime's local news, which is replaced by a popular Ten Network program.
[edit] Relay and digital transmitters
MTN and AMN's signals can also be seen in Hay, on UHF channel 57 (MTN - was VHF 5A and 6) and UHF channel 36 (AMN).
MTN and AMN's digital channels are aired as SDTV channels on VHF channel 6. AMN has been assigned UHF channel 30 if it is decided to transmit Prime's digital signal separately.
[edit] Ownership
At its launch, MTN-9 was owned by Murrumbidgee Television Limited, a publicly listed company. Shareholders at the time included 2RG. It was delisted in 1979 when Henry Jones Investments (Henry Jones IXL) purchased the station.
Other owners included The Linter Group, Broadcast Operations Group, Broadcast and Communications Limited, and Associated Media Investments Pty Limited (later part of DMG Radio Australia). The last owner, Ray Gamble sold the station to WIN in 1998, and stayed on as a day-to-day consultant for a year before his retirement in 2002.
It was also co-owned with local station 2RG at one stage, and both stations (along with Star FM) are still operated out of the same building along Remembrance Driveway on Griffith's Scenic Hill, an arrangement started in 1966.
