ABC Canberra (TV station)
| Company type | Public broadcaster division |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television broadcasting |
| Founded | 1962 |
| Headquarters | Canberra , Australia |
| Products | Television programming, local news |
| Website | www |
ABC Television in the ACT provides both national and regional programming through the ABC television network within the Australian Capital Territory, including Canberra. The Canberra studio is responsible for producing local content, most notably the nightly 7PM News, anchored by Greg Jennett and Adrienne Francis.
The original call sign for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television station in Canberra was ABC, launched in 1962, where the "C" represented Canberra. This station was also referred to as ABC-3, which should not be confused with the later ABC Me channel.
History
ABC-3 commenced transmissions on 18 December 1962, just prior to its official inauguration by Prime Minister Robert Menzies. Early broadcasts primarily relayed Sydney's ABN-2 signal due to unfinished local studio facilities. The primary transmitter was located at Black Mountain.<ref>Local programming began on 3 June 1963 from provisional studios in Civic, with Mervyn Edie serving as the inaugural local newsreader.
In 1964, new facilities in Dickson were completed, bringing together ABC's radio and television operations under one roof. These studios were officially opened on 22 October 1964, with ABC chairman James Ralph Darling and senator John Gorton attending the ceremony.
Initial local productions included shows such as Southern Gardener, Canberra Week, Studio 11, and Canberra Camera, along with news, sports, and weather segments.
For more than twenty years, local news was limited to a brief five-minute bulletin at 6:55pm. In 1985, this was extended to a 10-minute slot synchronized with the national news program The National. Following that program’s cancellation later that year, a dedicated half-hour local news bulletin was introduced in February 1989, featuring Janet Wilson as presenter.
Budget reductions under the Hawke government in 1991 resulted in the cessation of locally produced news; the bulletin was replaced with the New South Wales edition broadcast from Sydney. The final broadcast featured presenter Claudia Emery and weather presenter Peter Leonard marking the occasion with a staff farewell.
Local news production resumed in 2001 with Virginia Haussegger as presenter. This revival coincided with Southern Cross Broadcasting discontinuing its locally produced Ten Capital News, leaving ABC and WIN Television as the only providers of locally produced Canberra news.
When WIN Television shut down its Canberra studio in 2013 and moved production to Wollongong, ABC became the exclusive source of locally produced television news for viewers in the ACT.
In 2012, Canberra was at the forefront of Australia's analogue television switch-off, completing its transition fully to digital broadcasting.
In November 2014, the longstanding current affairs show 7.30 ACT was discontinued due to funding cuts imposed by the Abbott government, with its final episode airing on 5 December.
Virginia Haussegger stepped down after a 15-year tenure in October 2016; Dan Bourchier took over as presenter starting January 2017.
In 2019, ABC Canberra incorporated an Indigenous Acknowledgement of Country into its news bulletins through collaboration with the United Ngunnawal Elders Council to honor traditional land custodians.
A new standing set was introduced in July 2022 to improve presentation versatility.
At the close of 2022, James Glenday, formerly an ABC foreign correspondent, assumed hosting duties for ABC News Canberra.
In May 2023, ABC TV announced that its Sunday morning public affairs program Insiders, hosted by David Speers, would move production to Canberra after more than twenty years based in Melbourne. The inaugural Canberra-produced episode aired on 9 July 2023.
ABC Television in the ACT currently
By 2021, ABC channels 8, 36, and 41 were transmitted through four different transmitters, one of which is situated on Black Mountain.
Residents in New South Wales towns close to the ACT boundary—such as Queanbeyan, Cooma, Goulburn, and Yass—typically access the Canberra version of the ABC 7pm news bulletin.
Local programming
ABC News Canberra airs Sunday through Thursday with Greg Jennett as presenter, while Adrienne Francis hosts on Fridays and Saturdays. The weekday evening broadcasts feature a national finance update delivered by Alan Kohler from Melbourne.
In mid-2014, the studio underwent refurbishment to match the ABC News network’s visual style, followed by another enhancement in 2022 that transformed it into a fully standing set.
The weekly current affairs show 7.30 ACT, once hosted by Chris Kimball, was discontinued in 2014 due to substantial budget reductions at ABC.