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|---|---|
| Channels | |
| Branding | Seven |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Affiliations | Seven(O&O) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | 4 November 1956; 69 years ago (1956-11-04) |
Former channel number | Analog: 7 (VHF) (1956–2013) |
| Australian Television Network (1956–1963) | |
Call sign meaning | Herald Sun Victoria |
| Technical information | |
Licensing authority | Australian Communications & Media Authority |
| ERP | 200kW (analog) 50 kW (digital) |
| HAAT | 555 m (both)[1] |
| Transmitter coordinates | 37°50′8″S145°20′52″E / 37.83556°S 145.34778°E /-37.83556; 145.34778 (HSV) |
| Links | |
| Website | 7plus |
HSV is a television station inMelbourne, Australia. It is part of theSeven Network, one of the three main commercial television networks in Australia, its first and oldest station. It launched in time for the1956 Summer Olympic Games in Melbourne. HSV-7 is the home ofAFL coverage.
The HSV building (also known as 'Broadcast Centre Melbourne') was the network's operations hub, where the Master Control Room was located, controlling all metropolitan and regional feeds. Its headquarters was next to Etihad Stadium (nowMarvel Stadium) they now have . Programming lineup, advertisement output, feed switching, time zone monitoring and national transmission output was previously delivered there. All Seven Network owned and operated studios had their live signals relayed there: for instance,ATN's output was fed to HSV and then transmitted via satellite or fibre optics to towers around metropolitanSydney. In 2019 this function was transferred to a new centre in Sydney as part of a joint venture with Nine Network. As with other Melbourne terrestrial stations, its original transmission tower was atopMount Dandenong. In 2025, HSV moved all their operations to Melbourne Quarter Tower in Collins Street.
HSV-7 began test transmissions in July 1956, becoming the first 7 station in Australia and the first television station inMelbourne. It began broadcasting on 4 November,[2] soon after theCommonwealth Government started issuing television licences. In the opening ceremony,Eric Pearce declared :
"We dedicate this station to the full service of the community. To Australian life – the happy families in the homes – we promise to serve you faithfully and well".
HSV-7 and rival stationGTV-9 were formed in time to broadcast theMelbourne Olympics, while Sydney stationsTCN-9 andATN-7 inSydney relayed the Melbourne coverage. HSV-7 was originally owned by theHerald & Weekly Times, owners ofThe Herald andThe Sun (now merged as theHerald Sun). These two newspapers gave rise to the call signHSV (the 'V' stands forVictoria, as is the normal protocol for television call signs to have the third letter indicate the state where the station is licensed, although for publicity purposesHSV was said to stand forHerald Sun Vision just as sister station ATN became theAustralian Television Network rather than New South Wales).In March 1960, the station converted an old cinema inFitzroy into theSouthern Hemisphere's first fully remote studio, equipped with RCA TRTvideo tape recorders,camera cranes and AV mixing equipment. It featured a larger stage and backstage rooms, and audience capacity for up to 600. It was called the Channel 7 Teletheatre and connected to the station's main Dorcas Street studios inSouth Melbourne by multiple microwave links. The teletheatre opened with a major live show featuring the US entertainerBob Crosby and his band and the British comedianJimmy Edwards, among others. Many popular children's shows and variety programs (e.g.Sunnyside Up andThe Happy Show) originated there in front of live audiences.
This station commissioned many of Australian TV's earliest and longest-running courtroom and police procedural dramatic series such asCrawford'sConsider Your Verdict andHomicide.
One of the longest-serving station and general managers during the transformative years into international satellite links and color transmissions wasRon Casey. By the late 1960s, Channel 7 was demonstratingPAL color TV to crowds visiting the annualRoyal Melbourne Show.
The station began to identify asChannel Seven in the late 1960s, and in the early 1970s used the nationalSeven Network logos. It followed the network's on-air presentation and programming. In 1979,John Fairfax & Sons bought a substantial share of HSV-7 after many failed bids for the entire station.[citation needed] In December 1986, the station was purchased byNews Limited. In February 1987 HSV-7 was sold back to Fairfax, along withBrisbane stationBTQ-7. As a result of the payback, HSV's unique faces –World of Sport,Mal Walden and its Hello Melbourne campaign, Australia's contribution to Frank Gari's Hello News campaigns were all ended. By 1987 its rights toAustralian rules football telecasts were taken by ABC's state stationABV-2. Walden later moved to Ten (ATV-10) as a result of this.
In 1987, the government introduced cross-media ownership laws which forced Fairfax to choose between its print and broadcast operations. It chose print, and HSV-7 was sold toChristopher Skase'sQintex, which already owned Seven stations in Sydney,Adelaide andPerth.[citation needed] Skase pledged to revitalize the channel and its programs, and to return it to its prior success among Melbourne viewers. In 1990, Qintex was sent into damage control after Skase escaped extradition proceedings, and the Seven Network became a discrete company. EntrepreneurKerry Stokes bought the network in 1995. On 10 December 2013, HSV-7 terminated its analogue signal as part of the switchover to digital transmission. At around 8:54am local time, HSV-7's analogue signal broke away from Sunrise to air a montage of the history of its analogue broadcasts from all the way back in the 50s and 60s. The signal was then cut off after the montage.[3]
HSV's production studios and headquarters were originally located at the Dorcas Street Studios in South Melbourne. HSV remained there until 10 March 2002 when news, current affairs and sport shows were moved to new headquarters atDocklands and the Dorcas Street Studios were closed.Docklands Studios Melbourne andGlobal Television is home to HSV's studio facilities for the Seven Network's Melbourne-based entertainment, drama and reality programmes shows such asDancing with the Stars (Australian TV series) and the quiz showThe Chase Australia.
HSV's headquarters, known on-air as Broadcast Centre Melbourne or BCM, are located near theDocklands Stadium in Docklands. On 11 March 2002, the firstSeven News Melbourne bulletin, presented byPeter Mitchell, was first broadcast from the new HSV building. The centre consists of three studios: a theatre studio, a production studio and a news studio that opens onto the newsroom. The building is used as the transmission control centre for Seven'sowned-and-operated stations inMelbourne,Sydney,Brisbane,Adelaide,Perth and regional areas ofQueensland. Approximately 200 full-time employees work in the building with an additional 100 part-timers. In 2005, the HSV building experienced a power failure that resulted in a blackout across the Seven Network, as well as all regional affiliates.[4]
The HSV studios producesSeven News Melbourne and was the main play-out centre for sports broadcasting. While broadcasting on air, national news programs often refer to HSV as 'News Centre', while 'Sports Central' (or 'Footy Central' for AFL broadcasts) is commonly used for sports programs.
2019 saw the Seven Network move its main play-out centre to NPC Media in Sydney.[5]
After more than two decades at Docklands, HSV moved its headquarters and operations toCollins Street, Melbourne. The HSV building at Docklands closed on 11 May 2025 with HSV's staff to move into a newly constructed office tower located within the "Melbourne Quarter" development.[6]
After 24 years, theSeven News Melbourne bulletin concluded broadcast from the Broadcast Centre Melbourne on 11 May 2025 before moving to the Melbourne Quarter Tower, located onCollins Street starting from 12 May 2025.[7]
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Locally produced programs by or with HSV-7 Melbourne:
Seven Melbourne is also the official broadcaster for these major events in Melbourne.
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Seven News Melbourne is directed by Chris Salter and presented byPeter Mitchell on weeknights andMike Amor andKarina Carvalho on weekends fromMelbourne Quarter Tower, located atCollins Street, Docklands. Sport is presented byRebecca Maddern on weeknights andTheo Doropoulos on weekends. Weather is presented by certified meteorologistJane Bunn on weeknights and Tyra Stowers on weekends.
Peter Mitchell previously held the role of weekend presenter for then-titledSeven Nightly News between 1987 and 2000 when he replaced the short-lived presenting duo ofDavid Johnston andAnne Fulwood.Jennifer Keyte was appointed as main weeknight presenter in 1990, becoming Australia's first solo female primetime commercial news presenter.[citation needed] In a network reshuffle in 1996, Keyte terminated her employment after theSeven Network attempted to pair her with David Johnston, who went on to present solo for three years.[citation needed] She returned in 2003, assuming the role as weekend presenter, succeeding Jennifer Adams.
In May 2018, Network Ten announced that Keyte would leaveSeven Network to presentTen Eyewitness News Melbourne replacingStephen Quartermain.[8] In August 2018, it was announced thatMike Amor would move back to Australia after 17 years as United States Bureau Chief to replace Keyte as weekend presenter.
Following decades of trailingNine News Melbourne,10 News First Melbourne (previouslyTen Eyewitness News,Ten News at Five,Ten Evening News andTen News: First at Five) andABC News Victoria in the ratings,Seven News Melbourne won the ratings battle from February 2005. As of 2007,Seven News held the number one position.[9] This was followed by a series of advertisements and promos which toutedSeven News Melbourne as Melbourne's New #1 and Nine altering their promotions to simply sayMelbourne's Best News – a throwback to the 1980s whenNational Nine News Melbourne was beaten in the ratings byATV-10'sTen Eyewitness News. But, it was replaced in 2009 whenNine News returned to win the Melbourne news ratings battle.
Between 2018 and 2021, during the AFL season,Peter Mitchell,Tim Watson,Jane Bunn and the weeknight team would present from Sunday to Thursday andMike Amor,Jacqueline Felgate, Melina Sarris and the weekend team would present on Friday and Saturday nights.
In January 2022, it was announced thatRebecca Maddern would return to theSeven Network to present7NEWS Melbourne on weekends withMike Amor.
In November 2024,Tim Watson announced that he would be retiring after 30 years with the network from December.[10] It was announced thatRebecca Maddern will step into an expanded role withSeven News Melbourne starting January 2025, as Chief Sports Presenter.[11][12] In January 2025, it was announced thatKarina Carvalho will replace Maddern to present on weekends withMike Amor.[13]
Afternoon news updates for Melbourne are presented by Amor or Carvalho, while Mitchell presents weeknight updates. Amor presents weekend news updates.Mike Amor,Karina Carvalho, Laura Turner and Blake Johnson are the fill-in news presenters, withTheo Doropoulos and Kate Massey are the fill-in sport presenters, and Melina Sarris, Tyra Stowers and Estelle Griepink are the fill-in weather presenters.
In August 2015,Seven News Melbourne began producing a localSeven Afternoon News bulletin replacing the national bulletin. Amor and Carvalho present the bulletin on alternate days. In 2020, owing to theCOVID-19 pandemic, that bulletin temporary included news items from South Australia following the cancellation of the statewide afternoon bulletin from SAS-7 in Adelaide before the network reinstated it due to viewer opposition and the threat faced by the localNine News team on Seven's news dominance.
| Role | Bulletins | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
| News | Peter Mitchell(2000–present) | Mike Amor(2018–present) Karina Carvalho(2025–present) | |||||
| Sport | Rebecca Maddern(2025–present) | Theo Doropoulos(2025–present) | |||||
| Weather | Jane Bunn(2014–present) | Tyra Stowers(2025–present) | |||||