4ME
| Company type | Joint venture |
|---|---|
| Industry | Digital broadcasting, Datacasting |
| Founded | September 18, 2011 |
| Founder | Prime Media Group and Brand New Media |
| Defunct | May 19, 2016 |
| Fate | Discontinued following Brand New Media's administration and non-renewal by Prime Media Group |
Area served | Australia (Prime7/GWN7 regions and Seven Network areas) |
| Products | Digital advertorial datacasting channel |
4ME was a digital advertorial datacasting platform introduced on 18 September 2011 through a collaboration between Prime Media Group and Brand New Media. It was available to viewers in the Prime7/GWN7 regions on channel 64, and in areas controlled by the Seven on channel 74. Markets with overlapping coverage, such as the Sunshine Coast, could access the service on both channels. The service discontinued transmissions at midnight on 30 April 2016 in Prime regional markets following Brand New Media's entry into administration, with broadcasts in Seven-owned territories ending subsequently on 19 May 2016.
Operating as a licensed datacasting channel, 4ME primarily broadcast Australian-produced informational content and infomercials. Regulations prevented the inclusion of infotainment or lifestyle segments longer than ten minutes, thereby limiting its entertainment offerings.
History
Initially launched in regional locations as Television 4 on 18 September 2011, the channel later broadened its reach to metropolitan zones and Regional Queensland through the Seven Network on 7 November 2011. Seven commenced trial transmissions starting 1 December 2011, coinciding with the rebranding to TV4ME. The channel adopted the name 4ME in 2013. Among its programming, Psychic TV stood out, returning in January 2016 after a contentious promotional campaign in late 2015.
On 29 April 2016, Brand New Media—joint proprietor of 4ME alongside Prime Media Group—entered administration due to various operational difficulties. Subsequently, Prime Media declared it would not extend its agreement; as a result, on 30 April 2016, LCN 64 on Prime-owned stations was converted to provide an additional stream of their datacasting channel ishop TV. The channel terminated transmissions on Seven-owned stations by 19 May 2016 and was removed from the Seven multiplex network on 26 May 2016.