 | |
| Country | Australia |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Asia,Pacific Islands[1] |
| Network | ABC Television |
| Headquarters | Sydney Melbourne |
| Programming | |
| Languages | English (primary),Chinese,Indonesian,Tok Pisin |
| Picture format | 1080iHDTV (downscaled to16:9576i/480i for theSDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Government of Australia |
| Parent | Australian Broadcasting Corporation |
| History | |
| Launched | 17 February 1993; 32 years ago (1993-02-17) asAustralia Television International |
| Former names | Australia Television International (1993–2001) ABC Asia Pacific (2002–2006) Australia Network (2006–2014) Australia Plus (2014–2018) |
| Links | |
| Website | ABC Asia (Asia–Pacific) ABC Pacific (Pacific) |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Sky Pacific | |
| Streaming media | |
| MalaysiaAstro | Astro GO |
| MalaysiaUnifi TV | play@unifi |
| IndonesiaVidio | Watch live |
| IndiaJio TV | [1] |
| ABC iview Australia app (only available outside Australia) | |
ABC Australia, formerlyAustralia Television International (or justAustralia Television),ABC Asia Pacific,Australia Network andAustralia Plus, is an Australianpay television channel, launched in 1993 and operated by theAustralian Broadcasting Corporation as part ofthe ABC television network of services. The channel broadcasts a mix of programming, including lifestyle, drama, sports, English-language learning programs, children's programming and news and current affairs to viewers acrossEast Asia,Central Asia,South Asia,Southeast Asia andPacific Islands.
It is partially funded by Australia'sDepartment of Foreign Affairs & Trade, as well as some advertising (unlike the ABC'sdomestic television services).
Radio Australia had been operating as part of the ABC since 1939 while the passing of theAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983 allowed the corporation to operate an additional international television service. The channel was originally proposed by directors Mark Armstrong andDavid Hill, who felt that a television channel would further heighten Australia's presence in the Asia-Pacific region and demonstrate the ABC's technical abilities.[2]
Prime MinisterPaul Keating launched Australia Television International on 17 February 1993, televised live to 50 countries in the south-east Asian region, from the ABC's television studios inGore Hill,Sydney. The actual broadcast was from theDarwin uplink where Dominic Stone,[3] the service's Program Director andDavid Hill, managing director of the ABC commissioned the first transmission.[4] The establishment of the new channel was funded by a special government grant ofA$5.4 million.[5] It was originally a part of the so-called "Gang of Five", which was a consortium that was set up to compete againstStar TV in the region. (The others in the group wereCNN International,HBO,ESPN International [withits Asian operations] andTVB [withTVB Superchannel]) The consortium's channels were initially transmitted viaPalapa satellite, but were later also added toApstar satellite.[citation needed]
The operation of the new channel was funded by a combination of government subsidies and commercial sponsorship. The presence of commercials, not previously seen or heard on the ABC, resulted in the creation of an updated edition of theABC Editorial and Programme Practices, stipulating that the "Australia Television service will retain editorial control and independence in all programming".[2]
Funding cuts made in the 1997–1998 federal budget, and recommendations made in the Mansfield Report, meant that control of Australia Television was handed over to theSeven Network in 1998. Under Seven's direction the channel continued to receive federal funding, and carry someABC News.[6][5]
Despite efforts made by Seven to expand into Asia using the service, it continued to lose money. In 2001, the government announced a five-year,A$50-million tender for the service – at the time watched primarily by Australian expatriates for its news programmes, football coverage, and children's programming.[6] Seven chose not to bid, whileImparja Television's application was unsuccessful. The ABC won the contract and Australia Television was rebranded as ABC Asia Pacific on 1 January 2002 (31 December 2001 by some sources[5]), with content from theSeven Network,Nine Network,Network Ten, and the ABC's own original content, as well as news bulletins produced bySky News Australia.[7][8]
The tender was renewed in 2005; the ABC was re-awarded control of the service until 8 August 2011, over other applicants includingSky News Australia.[9][10][5] Soon afterwards, the network stopped showing content from Sky News Australia, replaced with bulletins produced by the ABC's own news and current affairs division from itsSouthbank studios in Melbourne.[citation needed]
ABC Asia Pacific changed its name to Australia Network on 7 August 2006,[11] at the same time introducing a number of new programs, as well as the expansion of its existing news programs and English-language learning programs.[11] Following a restructure of the ABC in early 2007, Australia Network became a part of the corporation's International, Corporate Strategy and Governance division.[12]
The channel was not available in Australia or New Zealand, owing to rights restrictions, althoughABC News for Australia Network bulletins were carried overnight onABC News 24 andAl Jazeera English in Australia and onFace TV in New Zealand. Several Australia Network programmes are also available online in Australia on theABC's iview platform. Australia Network became available inMalaysia onAstro (Channel 514) in December 2008.
In 2010 theRudd government invited media organisations to submit tenders to deliver the Australia Network for 10 years. In November 2011, the Government closed the tender, "due to significant leaks of confidential information to the media", and asked theAustralian Federal Police to investigate. In the meantime, the ABC's contract was extended until August 2012 to allow time for a decision to be made on its future. On 5 December 2011, the Government announced that the Australia Network would no longer be open to tender and that the ABC would take over its operations permanently.[5] Concerns were raised about the process, and theAustralian National Audit Office noted that the tender process "presented the Australian Government in a poor light and cost the two tenderers... time and money". The government was obliged to pay millions in compensation to Sky News.[13]
In the 2014–2015 Australian federal budget by theAbbott government,[5] all funding to the Australia Network was cut and its closure was announced, days before it was about to sign a contract with Shanghai Media Holdings to begin broadcasting in China (making it only the third foreign broadcaster with access to the country).[14] 80 jobs, mostly in Melbourne, were lost and the government was forced to compensate the ABCA$10.6 million for breaking its contract,[15][16] which had been promisedA$196.8 million in funding for ten years of operation by the previous Labor government.[5]
Following the closure of Australia Network, Australia Plus, a new multi-platform international service was launched on 29 September 2014 as a replacement. The channel continued to broadcast entertainment, sports, education and English learning shows fromABC through Asia and Pacific partners. Big events from Australia, such as Melbourne Cup, Sydney's New Year's Eve Fireworks and the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race were also featured on the channel.[17]
In 2015, the New Zealand government establishedPasifika TV, a service providing Pacific island broadcasters with a 24/7 feed of sport, news and other content.[18] Most of it is from New Zealand.
In August 2016, three commercial partners, theGovernment of Victoria, vitamin and supplement companySwisse andMonash University signed contracts with Australia Plus. Under theAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983 theABC International Division is allowed to operate as a commercial operation, in a way similar toBBC Worldwide.[19]
Australia Plus was rebranded as ABC Australia on 1 July 2018.[20] ABC Head of International Strategy David Hua said, “The rebranding of the international television service makes sense to our audiences overseas, who want distinctive Australian content from a highly-respected media organisation.” The rebranding came just weeks after the lifting of thegeo-blocking of theABC News live stream on the ABC website and YouTube channels.[citation needed]
In 2020, the Australian Government establishedPacificAus TV, which offers 1000 hours of free Australian commercial TV each year to Pacific island broadcasters.[21]
In October 2023, the channel established separate schedules for Asia and the Pacific.[22]
The channel broadcasts a mix of programming, including lifestyle, drama, sports, English-language learning programs, children's programming and news and current affairs.[23] The service is available via subscription to viewers across East Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Pacific Islands, including India, Japan, Vietnam, Afghanistan, the Philippines,Papua New Guinea andVanuatu.[24]
In addition to those listed below, the now rebadged ABC Australia shows a range of programming targeted at audiences within the region,[25] including evening news bulletins at two-hour intervals targeted at different parts of the region, and a number of English-language educational programs produced by the Network includingStudy English,Living English,English Bites andThe Business of English.[26] Drama series shown includeHome and Away,Offspring,Packed to the Rafters,Rake,The Doctor Blake Mysteries,The Time of Our Lives, factual entertainment programsBondi Vet,One Plus One (TV program), andCosmo Times, lifestyle programsBig Break,Food Safari andPoh's Kitchen, music programRage, light entertainment programsGruen Planet,Good Game andGood Game SP, the children's showsPlay School,Blue Water High,Totally Wild,A gURLs wURLd, andScope.[27]
The news programming of the channel is produced and broadcast from the news studios in Sydney, the headquarters of theABC News channel and the network news service.[citation needed]
Update of 2025
ABC Australia is partially funded by Australia'sDepartment of Foreign Affairs & Trade, as well as some advertising (unlike the ABC'sdomestic television services).[29][30]
Along with the rest of the ABC, the channel has suffered from successive funding cuts, particularly underLiberal governments since the 1996Howard government,[31][5] with particularly deep cuts in 2014 under theAbbott government[32] and an ongoingindexation freeze as of 2021[update].[33][34]
In 2019, the ABC's budget for all international operations wasA$11 million, at the same level as it was in the 1980s. This compares with theA$3 billion allocated toChina Central Television (CCTV) service, andA$500 million for theBBC's international services.[35]
ABC Radio Australia was launched in 1939, and continues to broadcast in the Asia-Pacific region although no longer onshort-wave transmission, so does not reach all of the remote islands.[35]
The ABC has increased itsInternet presence for international audiences; the iviewstreaming service is available via an app, andABC News Online includesChinese-language andTok Pisin articles.[35]
ABC Pacific is the ABC's new digital home for the best Pacific Islands content from across the ABC website since 2022.[35]
