 Logo used since 2021 | |
| Country | Australia |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Nationally |
| Network | SBS Television |
| Headquarters | Artarmon, New South Wales, Australia |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 1080iHDTV (downscaled to576i for theSDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Special Broadcasting Service |
| Sister channels | SBS SBS HD SBS Viceland SBS World Movies SBS Food SBS WorldWatch |
| History | |
| Launched | 13 July 2007; 17 years ago (13 July 2007) 12 December 2012; 12 years ago (12 December 2012) (nationwide free-to-air) |
| Replaced | ICTV |
| Links | |
| Website | sbs |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Freeview |
|
National Indigenous Television (NITV) is an Australianfree-to-air television channel that broadcasts programming produced and presented largely byAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It includes the six-day-a-weekNITV News Update, with programming including other news and current affairs programmes, sports coverage, entertainment for children and adults, films and documentaries covering a range of topics. Its primary audience is Indigenous Australians, but many non-Indigenous people tune in to learn more about the history of and issues affecting the country's First Nations peoples.
NITV was initially only carried by cable and satellite providers, along with some limited over-the-air transmissions in certain remote areas. NITV was re-launched in December 2012 by theSpecial Broadcasting Service (SBS) as a free-to-air channel.
Indigenous groups and individuals lobbied theAustralian Government to fund a nationwide Indigenous television service in the 1980s and 1990s, however no major political party championed this cause.[citation needed]
TheAlice Springs (Mparntwe) basedCentral Australian Aboriginal Media Association received a licence to cover the remote parts of theNorthern Territory andSouth Australia in 1988. With this it launched theNine Network affiliateImparja. This licence was later extended to include the remote parts of eastern Australia and Norfolk Island as well. For a time it carried a central Australian news program, and an Indigenous children's program.[citation needed]
In the late 1990s, Imparja launched the free-to-viewImparja Info Channel (also known asChannel 31) on the satelliteOptus Aurora service, providing largely Aboriginal programming directly to homes and via a network of BRACS transmitters to remote Aboriginal communities. In 2001, the Alice Springs-basedIndigenous Community Television (ICTV) was formed, and organised most of the Aboriginal programming on this channel. In 2004, Imparja stated a desire to run a better funded Indigenous service, at least within its license area.[1]
In the same year, a voluntary NITV Committee was formed and a summit was held inRedfern, Sydney. The summit involved a group of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander media professionals and community members committed to the establishment of a national Indigenous broadcasting service.[citation needed]
Following an Australian Government review in 2005, the Government announced $48.5 million in funding for NITV.[2]
Meanwhile, the Imparja Info Channel was replaced by a full-time ICTV channel in 2006.[citation needed]
In 2007, NITV established a head office in Alice Springs and a television arm in Sydney. On 13 July 2007 NITV launched,[3] replacing ICTV on Optus Aurora and in the remote Aboriginal communities it previously reached. It soon after also became available free-to-air on Optus D1 to Australia and easternPapua New Guinea.[citation needed]
NITV launched on 1 November 2007 onFoxtel andAustar's satellite services on channel 180, with it becoming available on their cable services soon after. It showed Australian programs and sports likeThe Marngrook Footy Show, and the annualNSW Aboriginal Rugby League Knockout.[4]
On 27 October 2008, NITV was added to Sydney'sDigital Forty Four datacasting service on channel 40.[5] On 30 April 2010, this service shut down.[6]
In 2010, the Australian government commissioned a wide-ranging review of its investment in the Indigenous broadcasting and media sector. The review was headed up by retired senior public servantNeville Stevens with the assistance of Expert Panel members Laurie Patton andKerrynne Liddle. The review recommended that NITV continue to receive government funding only on the basis that it was re-structured.[citation needed]
Subsequently, Communications MinisterSenatorStephen Conroy invited NITV to enter in negotiations with theSpecial Broadcasting Service to access one of that network's unused digital terrestrial channels. On 8 May 2012, the SBS received $15 million per-year in government funding dedicated to a new free-to-air Indigenous Australian channel which would replace the existing NITV in July 2012, with 90% of staff transferring to this new channel.[7][8][9]
SBS took over the management and operation of NITV on 1 July 2012, and NITV was re-launched on 12 December 2012 by SBS as a free-to-air channel onFreeview channel 34. The channel launched with a livespecial fromUluru,From the Heart of Our Nation, followed by a special episode ofLiving Black focusing on Indigenous broadcasting and media in Australia. Aprime timeCelebration Concert was also aired on NITV andSBS One, featuring performances from Uluru by Indigenous musicians.[10]
Tanya Denning-Orman, aBirri Gubba andGuugu Yimidhirr woman was appointed to lead NITV, a position she retains into 2021.[11]
On 29 February 2016, SBS unveiled a refreshed brand and revamped schedule for NITV with an increased focus on its central charter, Indigenous news and current affairs.[12]
Denning-Orman was appointed SBS's first Director of Indigenous Content in early 2012. In December 2020, changes were made to NITV's senior content editorial leadership team: Kyas Hepworth (née Sherriff) was appointed Head of Commissioning and Programming; Rhanna Collins to Head of Indigenous News and Current Affairs;Karla Grant, while remaining host ofLiving Black andKarla Grant Presents, expanded her role, becoming Executive Producer, Living Black & Special Projects.[11]
On 12 December 2021, NITV unveiled an updated logo and branding by indigenous design agency Gilimbaa, which combines SBS'smercator logo with traditionalclapsticks, and colors reflecting different terrains of the country. It was accompanied by revisions to its primetime schedule, as well as the new image campaign "Reimagine Australia".[13] The following year, NITV marked its tenth anniversary as a free-to-air channel.[14]
NITV announced in May 2023 that it would be abandoning its official Twitter account, citing the "racism and hate" that the network encounters daily on the platform.[15]
On 31 October 2023, as part of SBS' 2024upfronts, it was announced that NITV would become a high-definition channel in December 2023, using channel 34. A standard-definition simulcast was also made available on channel 36.[16] The following week, NITV marked its eleventh anniversary as a free-to-air channel.[citation needed]
NITV's line-up focuses on programming of interest to and showcasing Indigenous Australians, including documentaries, current affairs programs, sports, drama, adult animation, and a block of domestic and international children's programming focusing on Indigenous and Aboriginal culture (under the nameJarjums), and films.[10] It also broadcasts programs relating to First Nations culture worldwide.
News and current affairs on NITV are covered byNITV News Update,Nula,The Point andLiving Black. In December 2020, Rhanna Collins was promoted to Head of Indigenous News and Current Affairs.[11]
NITV News Update is the network's national ten minute news program, broadcast nightly and covering stories relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers. It is the only nightly television news service that covers entirely Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islander stories from across the country. Started in February 2008, the program began with 5 minutes of news, followed by 15 minutes before extending to a half-hour bulletin.[citation needed] This was later reduced to 10 minutes.
Natalie Ahmat is thenews anchor.[17]
NITV is Australia's second biggest free-to-air broadcaster ofrugby league after theNine Network. The station has broadcast theKoori Knockout since 2012, and has often shown the annualNRL All Stars match on delay. The network also has a weekly flagship rugby league show,Over the Black Dot.[18] Starting in 2024, the network gained the rights to broadcast one game a week of the EuropeanSuper League, and the annualWorld Club Challenge.[19]
In March 2020, a newAustralian rules panel show,Yokayi Footy, aimed at a young audience, replaced theMarngrook Footy Show, which ended on the network in late 2019.Yokayi Footy is co-hosted byTony Armstrong,Bianca Hunt andDarryl White.[20]
Volumz is a music show hosted byAlec Doomadgee, highlighting the best of the Australian Indigenous music scene. It was produced from 2011 to 2012.[21]
Programs in 2018–2019 included:[22]
| International | |
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| People | |
