Southern Cross Ten

This article is about Southern Cross Ten. For other uses, see Southern Cross Television.
Southern Cross Ten

Southern Cross Ten Logo
Launched 2 June 1962
Owned by Southern Cross Austereo
Picture format 576i (SDTV)
Slogan Turn on 10
Country Australia
Language English
Broadcast area Regional Queensland,
Regional New South Wales,
Australian Capital Territory,
Regional Victoria,
Formerly called Southern Cross TV8 (1982-1989)
Southern Cross Network (1989–1992)
SCN (1992–1994)
Ten [region name] (1994–2002)
Sister channel(s) Aspire TV
Website www.southerncrossten.com.au
Availability
Terrestrial
SD Digital Channel 5
Cable
TransTV Digital Channel 5
NC Digital Channel 10

Southern Cross Ten is an Australian television channel broadcast by Southern Cross Austereo in Tasmania, Queensland, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and South Australia. The channel is owned by Southern Cross Austereo as is affiliated to Network Ten. On 5 November 2007, the network was officially purchased by the Macquarie Media Group.[1]

Prior to 2002, the network was known as "Ten <region name>" (e.g. Ten Townsville), and took generic Ten branding. At first, the new name wasn't used much, but when the Australian Broadcasting Authority instituted new regulations for local content, local programming and later on, some station graphics took on the Southern Cross Ten brand.

History

Origins

Southern Cross Ten began as a small network of three stations in regional Victoria. The Southern Cross TV8 network comprised GLV-10 Gippsland, BCV-8 Bendigo, and STV-8 Victoria.[2]

GLV was the first regional television station in the country, launched on 9 December 1961.[2] BCV-8 launched in the same year, on 23 December, while STV followed four years later, on 27 November 1965.[2] GLV-10 became GLV-8 in 1980, when Melbourne commercial station ATV-0 moved frequences to become ATV-10[2] The network began life in 1982 as Southern Cross TV8, but later changed its name in 1989 to the Southern Cross Network.[2] Soon after this, STV-8 left the network after it was bought by businessman Alan Bond, and eventually sold on to ENT Limited (owners of Vic TV and Tas TV).[2][3]

1990s

Regional Victoria was aggregated in 1992.[4] Vic Television, based in Shepparton and Ballarat affiliated with the Nine Network, while Prime Television, based in Albury-Wodonga became an affiliate of the Seven Network.[4] Southern Cross, therefore, took on an affiliation with Network Ten.[2] Soon after, it changed its name and logo to SCN, directly emulating the look of its metropolitan counterpart. Local news was axed six months later, while the name and logo changed once again to Ten Victoria along with new names Ten Capital, Ten Northern NSW & Ten Queensland as they carried and introduced the Network Ten logo into their brand.[2]

Canberra-based station Capital Television was purchased by Southern Cross' owner, Southern Cross Broadcasting, in 1994.[5] It was soon integrated into the network, taking on the name Ten Capital soon after.[5]

2000s

Play-out broadcast centre in Watson, Australian Capital Territory.
Southern Cross Ten sales office in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales

Southern Cross Broadcasting acquired Telecasters Australia in 2001.[6] As a result, Ten Queensland and Ten Northern NSW became a part of the Southern Cross Ten network, while Telecasters' other assets – Seven Darwin and Seven Central – were later integrated into the Southern Cross Television network.[5][6] Local news bulletins in Canberra and parts of Queensland were axed on 22 November 2001 – one of a number of moves taken by Southern Cross and competitor Prime Television that resulted in an investigation by the Australian Broadcasting Authority into the adequacy of regional news.[7]

The network expanded into the Spencer Gulf and Broken Hill areas on 31 December 2003 under a supplementary license granted to Southern Cross GTS/BKN by the ABA.[8] Southern Cross Ten moved away from generic Network Ten branding – in use since the early 1990s for most areas – with a new logo, similar to that of parent company Southern Cross Broadcasting.

Three-minute local news updates were introduced in 2004, following recommendations put into place following the ABA's report.[7] The brief bulletins, produced out of the network's Canberra production centre, are made for the network's seventeen license areas.[7]

It was anticipated that the network would be acquired by the Macquarie Media Group, following a A$1.35 billion takeover recommendation made to shareholders by Southern Cross Broadcasting to shareholder on 3 July 2007,[9] and on 5 November 2007 this purchase took place.[1]

2010s

Southern Cross Ten launched its national-produced digital channel, Eleven on 11 January 2011.

Programming

Southern Cross Ten's programming schedule is almost identical to that of its metropolitan counterpart, Network Ten, with some differences. Notably, infomercials are shown in place of Judge Judy during the day and in place of other programs overnight. As well as this, locally produced programming such as Hook, Line and Sinker, Country Matters, Hit List TV, Landed Music, The Benchwarmers Oz Made and The Hit Rater.com are also shown on the network.

News & Current Affairs

Southern Cross News bulletins are produced by Southern Cross Television for each of the seventeen licence areas served throughout regional Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT and Victoria. The bulletins consist of local news updates that are broadcast throughout the network's daytime and primetime programming, hourly and lasting from one to three minutes. The updates are produced by, and branded as Southern Cross News.

Prior to the formation of the Southern Cross Ten network, the Canberra and north Queensland stations broadcast one-hour nightly localised news bulletins. However, both were axed in late 2001 due to cost-cutting.

Regional programming was reintroduced in March 2011 with the launch of Weeknights, a 30-minute regional news magazine program broadcast in Shepparton and the Goulburn Valley.[10]

Availability

Southern Cross Ten is available in analogue PAL and standard definition digital format. In all areas except Broken Hill and the Spencer Gulf, an additional 1080i high definition simulcast is also available. The network is available primarily through free-to-air terrestrial transmitters, with subscription cable also provided by TransACT and Neighbourhood Cable in the Australian Capital Territory and Ballarat, respectively.[11][12]

The network's owned-and-operated stations include:

Ten Tasmania and Ten Darwin, both 50% owned by the owners of this network, follow a schedule similar to that of Southern Cross Ten.

Logos

Southern Cross Ten's first networked logo produced and used across its regional stations was in 2002, featuring the word Southern Cross below Network Ten's logo.[5] This logo was used across the network until 2005, when a new logo was introduced featuring a blue and yellow star with the word Ten added beside Southern Cross. This logo has been used since, and was launched concurrently with similarly designed logos on Southern Cross Television and across Southern Cross Broadcasting's other assets.[5]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Southern Cross falls to Mac and Fairfax". The Australian. 3 June 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2007.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Brooklyn Ross-Hulands. "Southern Cross Ten: Victoria". AusTVHistory. Retrieved 10 September 2007.
  3. ↑ Bruce Arnold. "WIN, Gordon and ENT: chronology". Caslon Analytics. Retrieved 10 July 2007.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "television.au AGGREGATION". television.au. Retrieved 10 September 2007.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Brooklyn Ross-Hulands. "Southern Cross Ten: Sth NSW". AusTVHistory. Retrieved 10 September 2007.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Bruce Arnold. "Southern Cross: landmarks". Caslon Analytics. Retrieved 10 September 2007.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "ACMA: ABA – NR 10/2004". Australian Communications and Media Authority. Retrieved 10 September 2007.
  8. ↑ "ACMA: Section 38A register". Australian Communications and Media Authority. Retrieved 10 September 2007.
  9. ↑ "Southern Cross Broadcasting sold for $1.35b". abc.net.au. 3 June 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2007.
  10. ↑ SC Ten goes local in Shepparton, TalkingTelevision.au, 8 March 2011
  11. ↑ "TransTV Channel Lineup". TransACT. Retrieved 19 August 2007.
  12. ↑ "Neighbourhood Cable Channel Lineup". Neighbourhood Cable. Retrieved 19 August 2007.

External links