 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Free To Air Television Pay Television Television Production Radio broadcasting Telecommunications |
| Founded | 18 March 1962 |
| Headquarters | Wollongong,Australia |
Key people | Bruce Gordon,Deputy Chairman/Owner Andrew Gordon,Executive Chairman |
| Products | WIN Television Crawford Productions |
| Owner | Birketu Pty Ltd. |
| Website | wintv |
WIN Corporation is a privateAustralian media company that owns assets including theWIN Television network,Crawford Productions and several local radio stations. The company is based inWollongong,New South Wales.
The WIN brand began from a sole free-to-air terrestrial television station in Wollongong,WIN-4, owned by Television Wollongong Transmissions (TWT). In 1979, then-ownerRupert Murdoch sold his 76 per cent controlling interest in TWT toOberon Broadcasters,[1] a private investment group which includedParamount Television programming executiveBruce Gordon.[2] This allowed Murdoch to purchase Sydney stationTEN-10. In 1985, TWT was made public on theSydney Stock Exchange asTWT Holdings Limited with Gordon retaining a 70 per cent stake. Gordon privatised the business in 1992[3] to becomeWIN Corporation.
In the late 1980s, the Federal Government'stelevision equalisation program (known as aggregation) gave Gordon the opportunity to initiate a period of growth by acquiring television stations in regionalQueensland,Victoria, andTasmania. In the late 1990s, WIN acquired theirSouth Australian station and developed a newWestern Australian station from scratch. These stations were integrated into what is now known as theWIN Network. TheWIN Network covers large areas of regional Australia and has a total audience reach of 4.842 million people.
Through Bruce Gordon's leadership, in the late 1990s and 2000s, WIN built stakes inPBL,Network Ten, andTPG Telecom. TPG Telecom was at the time known asSP Telemedia and owned fellow Nine affiliateNBN Television.
August 2005 saw WIN purchase a controlling 50.1 per cent stake in satellite subscription television carrierSelecTV, however failure in adequately growing the subscriber base along with high debts saw the business placed in voluntary administration in February 2011.[4]
On 21 April 2007, the board ofSunraysia Television endorsed WIN's revised offer of $163 million forChannel Nine Perth,[5] which went through on 8 June 2007.[6] On 30 May 2007,Southern Cross Broadcasting announced its sale ofChannel Nine Adelaide to WIN for $105 million.[7] In June 2013, WIN offloaded the Nine-branded metropolitan Adelaide station toNine Network's parentNine Entertainment Co. for $140 million along with an option to purchase the Perth station, which was exercised in September 2013.[8] In October 2015 WIN Corporation purchased a 14 per cent stake inNine Entertainment Co. from investment fund operator Apollo.[9]
In 2008, WIN invested in a 50 per cent share of the Australian Poker League, buying from its founder Martin Martinez. However this stake was sold in 2012.[10]
On 4 June 2009, signalling their continued interest in digital assets, WIN increased to 18.4 per cent their stake in publicly listed companyQuickflix, an Australian provider of online DVD rental and subscription movie and television series downloads.[11] In the following years, WIN's share of the business dwindled down to 3.5 per cent as of 2014 as Quickflix continued to raise capital through issuing new shares. In April 2016, Quickflix entered voluntary administration.[12]
WIN held a long-term interest in a small cinema chain inTasmania through a joint venture withVillage Roadshow until 2013. The joint venture owned four cinemas which were branded as 'Village Cinemas'. This interest was originally acquired byENT Ltd. in 1988.
In early 2006, WIN Corporation bought a 25% stake in the St. George Illawarra Dragons from the Illawarra Steelers for $6.5 million. In August 2018 WIN Corporation purchased the Illawarra Steelers remaining 25% stake for a "commercially in confidence" sum, taking its stake to 50%.
It was announced on 23 May 2016 thatWIN Television had signed an affiliation agreement withNetwork Ten for a five-year period starting on 1 July 2016.[13] WIN's former affiliation partner,Nine Network, signed withSouthern Cross Austereo in April 2016 having secured a 50 per cent revenue share deal.[14][15]
WIN plays a prominent role in the local Illawarra community through investment in long-term naming rights to the Dragons' Wollongong home ground,WIN Stadium. WIN also holds naming rights to the neighbouringWIN Entertainment Centre, home to basketball'sIllawarra Hawks.
In June 2019, WIN closed several newsrooms throughout New South Wales and Queensland, including Orange, Wagga, Albury and Queensland's Hervey Bay.[16]
On 13 February 2025,Network 10 announced they would be acquiringNRN fromWIN Television.[17]
WIN Corporation owns two FM radio stations inNew South Wales: