ABC News (Australian TV channel)
| File:ABC News 2023 logo.svg Logo used since 2023 | |
| Company type | Division |
|---|---|
| Industry | Broadcast television news |
| Founded | July 22, 2010 |
| Headquarters | Sydney , Australia |
Area served | Australia |
| Owner | Australian Broadcasting Corporation |
| Parent | Australian Broadcasting Corporation |
| Website | abc |
The ABC News channel is an Australian 24-hour news service owned and operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It took over the broadcasting slot previously held by ABC HD and commenced transmissions as ABC News 24 at 7:30pm (AEST) on 22 July 2010.
Managed by the ABC's News and Current Affairs division, the majority of programming is created at the ABC’s Sydney facility, ABN, located in Ultimo, Sydney, where visitors can watch live broadcasts from an atrium overlooking the newsroom. Prominent shows including News Breakfast, Afternoon Briefing, and The World are produced during weekdays at ABV in Southbank, Melbourne.
After the relaunch of ABC HD on 6 December 2016, the ABC News channel’s broadcast quality was reduced to standard definition.
History
In January 2010, ABC revealed its intention to introduce a 24-hour news channel. The logo for ABC News 24 was unveiled by Freeview in June, followed by the debut of an official promotional trailer on digital channel 24 in early July.
Before the launch, there were rumors of delays caused by technical difficulties at ABC’s MediaHub facility; however, reports suggested that a mid-July launch remained feasible. On 13 July 2010, ABC confirmed that the channel would begin live broadcasting on 22 July.
In November 2016, ABC announced a rebranding initiative consolidating ABC News 24 and ABC NewsRadio under a single ABC News brand, which officially launched on 10 April 2017.
On 22 July 2024, ABC introduced a refreshed visual identity across its entire News division, including the channel itself, with the relaunch scheduled for 19 August 2024.
On 19 May 2025, ABC declared that the channel would resume high-definition broadcasting via MPEG-4 technology alongside ABC Entertains, with these upgrades planned between 11 and 26 June 2025.
Reception
Since its inception, the channel has encountered varied responses, especially concerning budget constraints impacting both the ABC’s news unit and the wider broadcaster. Funding was reallocated from areas such as drama, Indigenous programming, documentaries, and children’s content to finance the channel’s launch, which proceeded without extra Government funding—unlike the children’s network ABC3 (now ABC Entertains).
During Senate Estimates hearings in February 2012, ABC acknowledged a $2.5 million deficit in its news and current affairs budget along with a mandated 1.5% reduction in newsroom funding. The broadcaster attributed these financial pressures to significant news events like the Christchurch earthquakes and floods in Queensland and Victoria but denied any connection to expenses related to the new channel. Nevertheless, Independent Senator Nick Xenophon criticized the reported $20 million annual cost of the network as a factor behind cutbacks in ABC TV’s sports coverage of the SANFL.
Despite financial challenges, the channel surpassed rival Sky News Australia, attracting over two million viewers weekly—three times Sky News’ audience size. Its peak primetime audience share reached 9.5% during coverage of the 2016 Federal election on 2 July 2016.
Programming
ABC News delivers a range of programming including live news updates, time-delayed reruns of ABC News and Current Affairs shows, live coverage of events such as Parliamentary Question Time and press briefings, as well as documentaries and factual and arts-related content. Programming is sourced both from ABC's own production teams and partner broadcasters like the BBC, SABC, TVNZ, PBS, NHK, and Al Jazeera English.
During weekdays, continuous news coverage is broadcast from studios located in Ultimo, NSW, starting at 8pm AEST/AEDT. This includes a dedicated Asian business segment followed by The World, which airs between 9:45pm and 11pm. The overnight schedule begins at 12:30am AEST/AEDT and features a mix of repeats alongside live programming from partner networks. ABC-produced live news bulletins are broadcast hourly until 4am.
On weekends, live news bulletins are presented at the top of most hours lasting 15 to 30 minutes, with the exception of the Weekend Breakfast slot. Sundays include a one-hour live news segment at 7pm. Overnight programming commences at 12:15am but does not include live news until the morning.
Prominent presenters include Gemma Veness, Melissa McKay, Dan Bourchier (host of ABC News Mornings), Ros Childs (anchoring ABC News at Noon and ABC News Day), Patricia Karvelas (Afternoon Briefing), Joe O'Brien (ABC News Tonight), Michael Tetlow (weekday ABC Late News/News Overnight), along with Dan Bourchier and Ruby Cornish on weekends, and Mariam Saab and Meridth Sheenan for weekend editions. Specialist shows comprise a daily Asia-Pacific business program and the international bulletin The World, presented by Girish Sawlani from ABC’s Melbourne studio.
News Breakfast and ABC News at Noon
Both News Breakfast and ABC News at Noon are broadcast live on the ABC News channel concurrently with ABC TV in the AEST/AEDT time zones; audiences in AWST and ACST can access these programs live on the news channel or catch delayed broadcasts on ABC TV. Moreover, The Business airs earlier on the news channel compared to its ABC TV schedule.
Capital Hill
Debuted on 30 September 2010, Capital Hill is a political analysis show initially hosted by Chris Uhlmann. It originally aired Fridays at 5:30pm AEST/AEDT, offering weekly political summaries and key interviews. Currently, it broadcasts weekdays at 1:00pm AEST/AEDT with Greg Jennett hosting Monday through Thursday and Matthew Doran on Fridays.
World news
The overnight lineup incorporates satellite feeds primarily from BBC World News, which includes BBC News bulletins, Deutsche Welle current affairs programs, as well as shows such as Impact with Yalda Hakim, Outside Source hosted by Ros Atkins, and Global with Matthew Amroliwala. The ABC News channel receives live BBC broadcasts nationally. Approximately two Al Jazeera English Newshours are also featured. Since 2018, overnight content has increasingly consisted of rebroadcasts of daytime live programs like The Drum and The World, supplemented by ABC’s own live updates.
Repeated from ABC TV
Criticism
Similar to other continuous news broadcasters, ABC News has been criticized for prolonging live coverage of breaking stories without providing significant new updates, frequently recycling the same limited footage. On the other hand, the network has also been faulted for delayed transitions to continuous coverage during critical incidents, such as the asylum-seeker crisis on Christmas Island.
ABC News online
ABC News is available for live streaming on the ABC website and through YouTube. The YouTube broadcast can be accessed worldwide, whereas the iView stream is geo-restricted to viewers within Australia. Unlike other iView programs, ABC News does not benefit from unmetered data access by any internet service provider. The channel’s stream on iView is offered in both medium and high-quality bandwidth options.
News
- News Breakfast hosted by James Glenday and Bridget Brennan
- ABC News Mornings presented by Gemma Veness (Monday to Wednesday) and Dan Bourchier (Thursday to Friday)
- ABC News at Noon with Ros Childs (Tuesday to Friday) and Kathryn Robinson (Monday)
- ABC News Day anchored by Ros Childs
- Afternoon Briefing with Patricia Karvelas
- The Business hosted by Kirsten Aiken (Monday to Wednesday) and Alicia Barry (Thursday)
- ABC News presented by Joe O'Brien
- 7.30 with Sarah Ferguson
- The World hosted by Girish Sawlani
- ABC Late News with Michael Tetlow
- Weekend Breakfast presented by Johanna Nicholson and Fauziah Ibrahim
- Insiders hosted by David Speers
- ABC Regional News with Amy Culpitt
- ABC News NSW anchored by Jeremy Fernandez (Sunday to Thursday) and Nakari Thorpe (Friday to Saturday)
- ABC News QLD presented by Jessica Van Vonderen (Sunday to Thursday) and Lexy Hamilton-Smith (Friday to Saturday)
- ABC News ACT with Greg Jennett (Sunday to Thursday) and Adrienne Francis (Friday to Saturday)
- ABC News TAS hosted by Guy Stayner (Monday to Friday) and Lucy Shannon, Alison Costelloe, Selina Bryan, Jano Gibson on weekends
- ABC News VIC anchored by Tamara Oudyn (Sunday to Thursday) and Iskhandar Razak (Friday to Saturday)
- ABC News SA with Jessica Harmsen (Sunday to Thursday) and Richard Davies, Candice Prosser, Isabel Dayman, Bethanie Alderson on weekends
- ABC News WA presented by Pamela Medlen (Monday to Thursday) and Charlotte Hamlyn (Friday to Sunday)
- ABC News NT with Kyle Dowling (Sunday to Thursday) and Isabella Tolhurst, Olivana Lathouris, Mitchell Abram on weekends
Other
- Dr. Norman Swan – host of Tonic
- Barrie Cassidy – presenter of One Plus One
- Yalda Hakim, Ros Atkins, and Adnan Nawaz – correspondents for BBC World News
- Peter Dobbie – reporter for Al-Jazeera English, formerly with BBC News
Former presenters
- Ali Moore – host of Afternoon Live, 2010
- Chris Uhlmann – Political editor and presenter of Capital Hill, 2010
- Juanita Phillips – anchor of ABC Evening News, 2010–2014
- Lyndal Curtis – Political editor and host of Capital Hill, 2011–2014
- Scott Bevan – presenter of Afternoon Live, 2010–2015
- Ticky Fullerton – host of The Business, 2010–2016
- Stan Grant – presenter of Matter of Fact, 2018
- Jane Hutcheon – host of One Plus One, 2010–2019
- Karina Carvalho – anchor for ABC Evening News & ABC News Mornings, 2018–2023
- Beverley O'Connor – presenter of The World, 2018–2024
Current
By October 2020, ABC operated news offices in several major international cities to enhance its global reporting capabilities:
- Bangkok
- Beijing
- Beirut
- Jakarta
- London
- New Delhi
- Jerusalem
- Port Moresby
- Seoul (launched in late 2020)
- Tokyo
- Washington, DC
Former
Due to strategic realignments and financial constraints, a number of bureaus were discontinued, including:
- Amman
- Auckland
- Brussels
- Hong Kong
- Honiara (shut down mid-20th century)
- Johannesburg
- Hanoi (active during the 1990s; briefly reopened in 2019 for coverage of the US–North Korea summit)
- Kabul
- Kuala Lumpur (1960s)
- Moscow (functioned for 23 years before closure due to budget reductions)
- Nairobi
- New York
- Singapore
- Toronto
Overseas correspondents
Prominent correspondents delivering international news include:
- Barbara Miller – Washington DC (North America correspondent)
- Syan Vallance – London (Europe correspondent)
- Jade MacMillan – United States correspondent
- Bill Birtles – Jakarta (Indonesia correspondent)
- Matthew Doran – Jerusalem (Middle East correspondent)
- Mazoe Ford – London (Europe Bureau Chief)
- James Oaten – Tokyo (North Asia correspondent)
- Carrington Clarke – Washington DC (North America correspondent)
- Kathryn Diss – London (Europe correspondent)
See also
External links
- Articles with short description
- Pages with broken file links
- Australian Broadcasting Corporation television
- Commercial-free television networks in Australia
- English-language television stations in Australia
- 24-hour television news channels in Australia
- Television channels and stations established in 2010
- 2010 establishments in Australia
- Legislature broadcasters in Australia