 | |
 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Channels | |
| Branding | Seven, 10 |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Subchannels | SeeChannels below |
| Affiliations | MTN:Seven Network MDN:Network 10 |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | MTN: 15 December 1965; 59 years ago (1965-12-15) MDN: 13 January 2012; 13 years ago (2012-01-13) |
Former channel numbers | Analogue: MTN: 9 Digital: MTN: 6 |
| See table below | |
Call sign meaning | Murrumbidgee Television New South Wales Associated Media New South Wales Murrumbidgee District New South Wales |
| Technical information | |
Licensing authority | Australian Communications and Media Authority |
| ERP | See table below |
| HAAT | 418 m[2] |
| Transmitter coordinates | See table below |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
MTN is a television station licensed to serveGriffith and the surroundingMurrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA). The station is owned and operated byWIN Corporation as aSeven Network affiliate.
As WIN is the sole commercial television broadcaster in the area, they also supply the stationsAMN, aNine Network affiliate, and the supplementary stationMDN, aNetwork 10 affiliate. Thistwinstick operation was permitted due to the broadcasting authorities considering Griffith and the MIA too small for three television companies, but large enough for a single company running two stations. The broadcast region covers approximately 39,700 square kilometres, encompassing 20 towns which includeLeeton,Narrandera,Hay,Hillston andLake Cargelligo.[3][4] According to 2006 Census data, it is estimated the region has a population of 64,200.[4]
MTN began transmission on 15 December 1965 on channel 9.[5] At its launch, MTN was owned by Murrumbidgee Television Limited, a publicly listed company, whose shareholders at the time included local radio station2RG.[5]
The costs of operating a television station in such a small market led MTN to join withCWN–6 Dubbo and CBN–8 Orange in forming theTelevision 6–8–9 network, in 1973.[6] While the majority of the programming and identification came from the network, MTN did run its own news service as well as some programs of local interest and popularity, separate to the rest of the network.[6] In March 1981, the network was rebranded asMid State Television.[6] Rancorp, who were the existing owners of stationsRVN/AMV in Wagga Wagga and Albury, acquired Mid State Television in October 1987, and thus adding additional stations to the network.[6] In November 1988, Mid State Television rebranded asPrime Television.[6] During this time, regional areas were serviced by one commercial station and theABC, and as a result, the regional commercial network hand-picked titles from the three metropolitan commercial networks to air in their region.[7] Unfortunately, this meant that regional viewers were not able to watch all of the same shows as their metropolitan counterparts.[7] As a result, the Hawke government introduced aggregation, whereby regional stations would be grouped together and become sole-affiliates for one metropolitan station, and additional stations would launch in regional areas so that regional viewers had access to the same amount of channels as metropolitan viewers.[7] However, the government deemed Griffith and the MIA to be too small a market for aggregation, and as a result, MTN was abandoned by Prime Television in 1989 and remained independently owned.[3][6] MTN then[when?] took up an affiliation withWIN Television, who in turn was aNine Network affiliate in southern New South Wales.[8] While the majority of the programming was the same as WIN's, it retained its news service and aired someSeven Network programming, such as its coverage of theAustralian Football League, in preference to Nine'srugby league.[8]
In 1979, MTN was purchased from Murrumbidgee Television Limited by Henry Jones Limited.[9] Other owners since have includedThe Linter Group, Broadcast Operations Group, Broadcast and Communications Limited[citation needed], Lochfield Consultants,[10] MTN Television,[11][12] and Associated Media Investments.[13]
TheAustralian Broadcasting Authority relaxed the rules regarding station ownership in solus markets in the mid-1990s.[8] The changes allowed for one company to operate two stations without competition, provided the Authority did not have reason to believe another company would be interested.[14] MTN applied for a Section 38A licence in 1995, and after being refused once, challenged the Authority, and was successful on appeal – ultimately being granted the second licence on 18 July 1996.[14] The second channel launched on 5 October 1997, onUHF channel 31 using the callsignAMN (a variation of Victorian station AMV).[citation needed] It was a direct feed ofPrime Television Orange, with the exception of its local news, which AMN replaced with alternative programming.[6][8][15] Since then, AMN has changed from being a direct feed of Prime7 to being a feed ofSeven Network Sydney.[when?][citation needed]
WIN Corporation brought MTN and AMN from then-owner Associated Media Investments on 6 July 1998.[13] Following the sale of the station, minor changes occurred, including MTN changing its on-air branding fromMTN Television toWIN Television, and the news service rebranded asWIN News.[8]
In 2000, the government introduced changes to theBroadcasting Services Act 1992 which allowed for two-station markets such as the MIA to be granted a third licence to be broadcast in digital-only.[16] This change in the Act became Section 38B, and saw the region allocated a third licence on 14 June 2011.[17] This third station, using the call signMDN and broadcasting on channel 32, launched on 13 January 2012.[18][19]
On 1 July 2016, to reflect WIN's new affiliation agreement with Network Ten, AMN and MDN swapped affiliates – with AMN becoming a Ten affiliate while MDN became a Nine affiliate.[20][21][22]
On 1 July 2021, to reflect WIN's new affiliation agreement with Nine Network, AMN and MDN swapped affiliates – with AMN becoming a Nine affiliate while MDN became a 10 affiliate.
In 2000, the government introduced changes to theBroadcasting Services Act 1992 which sought for all broadcasters to transmit indigital by 1 January 2004.[16] To assist solus markets such as the MIA, the government allowed networks to multichannel the digital broadcasts, whereby the two stations are transmitted on the one channel or frequency.[16] Digital television transmission began in the region in 2003,[specify] with both WIN and Prime broadcasting on the one channel (channel 6).[4]
On 1 December 2010,Network Ten began broadcast into the area for the first time.[23]
In May 2011, WIN announced that it would broadcast the multichannels of the Nine, Seven and Ten networks, including high-definition channels, by December 2011.[24] However, WIN did not meet the deadline, despite the Minister for Communications setting a deadline of 4 December 2011 for the full suite of channels.[25] WIN commented in December 2011 thatGo!,Eleven,One andGem would launch by the third week of January 2012.[25]9Go!, 9Gem, Eleven and One[citation needed] began broadcasting on 13 January 2012.[19][better source needed]
At first, interference from the analogue signals caused issues with some channels, mainly Network Ten channels, which meant a duplicate service of Ten and WIN was provided (on LCN 51 and 81 respectively) and ceased on the day of the switch over.[26] Ultimately, the duplicate channels were replaced by the Seven Network's multi-channels7TWO and7mate. 7mate launched on 20 April 2012, replacing WIN's duplication on LCN 81; and 7TWO launched on 5 June 2012, the day of the analogue switchoff,replacing the TEN duplication on LCN 51[citation needed].[27]
Gold, adatacasting channel, began broadcasting in the region on 8 May 2012.[citation needed]
As part ofAustralia's digital transition, MTN and AMN ceased broadcasting in analogue on 5 June 2012.[28] As part of the transition, MTN changed from broadcasting on channel 6 to channel 29.[18]
On 13 July 2013, WIN launched datacasting channel Gold 2 – a five-hour timeshift of existing datacasting channelGold – on channel 82.[29]
On 2 March 2016 (one day later than planned), WIN began broadcastingWIN HD and9Life in the region. However, unlike existing digital channels, these two channels are broadcast inMPEG-4 as opposed toMPEG-2.[30][31][32]
On 21 January 2016, WIN replaced datacasting channelGold 2 with the Nine Network owned datacasting channelExtra.[citation needed]
As a result of the 2016 affiliate changes, WIN – in addition to its high definition simulcast – swapped its stations from airing Nine Network programming to Network Ten programming. WIN remained in the 8/80's channel range, but as the new Ten affiliate. Meanwhile, WIN's former affiliate, Nine, had its primary channel, 9Go!, and 9Gem moved to the 5/50's channel range. But as a consequence, 9Life ceased to be available in the region, and Extra was replaced with Network Ten datacasting channelTVSN.[22][33]
On 30 June 2024, WIN ended their advertising agreement with theSeven Network, ending the ability for local advertisers to book advertising on Seven through WIN.[34] Since 1 July 2024, the station has been a full-timedirty feed ofATN-7 Sydney complete with Sydney commercials. AMN (Nine) and MDN (10) continue to insert local commercials into their ad breaks.
On 15 June 2025, WIN Television was unable to reach an agreement with the Seven Network to continue providing Seven channels in the Griffith and Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area regions.[35] On 16 June 2025, WIN Television announced they will cease broadcasting Seven Network programming into Griffith and the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area beginning 1 July 2025.[36][37] The Seven Network was back on air on 3 July 2025 after a new broadcast deal with WIN Television.[38]
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AMN carries programming fromNine Network, which includes theNine News Sydney bulletin as well as the amalgamated Wagga Wagga and MIAWIN News bulletin. The station also carries the Sydney feeds of9Gem,9Go! and9Life.MTN carries programming fromSeven Network, which includes theSeven News Sydney bulletin. The station also carries the Sydney feeds of7two and7mate.MDN carries programming fromNetwork 10, which includes the10 News First Sydney bulletin. The station also carries the Sydney feeds of10 Drama and10 Comedy.
The following transmitter details are correct as of January 2016.[39]
| Call sign | First air date | Current affiliate | Former affiliate(s) | Channel | ERP | Transmitter Coordinates | Transmitter Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MTN | 15 December 1965 (1965-12-15) | Seven Network | Prime Television (1973–1989) Nine Network (1989–2012)[when?] | 29 (UHF) | 200kW | 34°7′23″S146°14′1″E / 34.12306°S 146.23361°E /-34.12306; 146.23361 | Mount Bingar |
| AMN | 5 October 1997 (1997-10-05) | Nine Network | Seven Network (1997–2012)[when?] Nine Network (2012–2016, 2021–present)[when?] Network 10 (2016–2021) | 30 (UHF) | 200 kW | ||
| MDN | 13 January 2012 (2012-01-13) | Network 10 | Network 10 (2012–2016, 2021–present) Nine Network (2016–2021) | 32 (UHF) | 200 kW |
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The following is a list ofchannels broadcast on MTN and MDN respectively.
MTN–29:
| AMN–30:
| MDN–32:
|
...all commercial digital television services from the Hay and Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area transmitters are currently broadcast by WIN on a single multi-channel...
Prime also broadcasts in Griffith NSW, under licence to another operator.
WIN Television Griffith commenced broadcasting under this licence on 13 January 2012.
