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ATV (Australian TV station)

From Alfawiki
ATV
Company typeTelevision station
IndustryBroadcasting
Founded1 August 1964
FounderReginald Ansett (Austarama Television)
Headquarters
Melbourne
,
Australia
Area served
Melbourne, Australia
OwnerParamount Networks UK & Australia
ParentNetwork 10

ATV is a television station based in Melbourne, Australia, operating as part of Network 10, which is among the three principal Australian free-to-air commercial TV networks. The station is under the ownership of Paramount Networks UK & Australia.

History

In April 1963, Austarama Television, owned by transport entrepreneur Reginald Ansett, was granted the licence to establish Melbourne's third commercial television channel. The station, originally known as ATV-0 (pronounced "O"), commenced broadcasting on 1 August 1964 from a state-of-the-art studio facility located in Nunawading (currently Forest Hill). Its inaugural broadcast featured a preview show hosted by Barry McQueen and Nancy Cato, followed by the variety program This Is It!. Despite its launch, ATV-0 struggled with reception difficulties, which contributed to it ranking third in Melbourne’s television audience share.

Under Ansett's leadership, ATV-0 launched Australia's first purpose-built commercial TV studios in Nunawading in 1964—later designated as a heritage site for being the location of the nation’s initial colour television broadcast. The station was a pioneer in colour transmissions beginning in 1967, including conducting Australia’s first outside colour broadcast at the Pakenham races. Full-time colour broadcasting was introduced in March 1975.

In 1979, Rupert Murdoch acquired a controlling stake in Sydney’s TEN-10 and also gained influence over Ansett Transport Industries, the proprietor of Austarama Television (the licensee of ATV-0). This consolidation triggered a government investigation into media ownership due to concerns about concentration within major metropolitan markets.

Due to ongoing reception challenges and diminishing viewer ratings, ATV-0 changed its frequency and call-sign to ATV-10 in 1980 after coordinating with Gippsland's GLV-10 station. On 20 January 1980, ATV-10 officially relaunched featuring a promotional jingle campaign titled "You're on Top With Ten," an introduction by Graham Kennedy, and a live outside broadcast from Torquay Beach. The evening’s programming included previews and the pilot episode of the drama series Arcade.

The news program Eyewitness News was revamped on 11 February 1980 with David Johnston and Jana Wendt as lead anchors. By May of that year, it reverted to a one-hour format and claimed "First in Melbourne" status due to its innovative approach. Jana Wendt left in 1981 and was replaced by Charles Slade, followed by Jo Pearson who remained until 1988; alongside presenters Mal Walden and later Tracey Curro. By the end of 1981, Murdoch had secured approval for control of ATV-10.

The transfer of the soap opera Neighbours to Network Ten in 1986 proved successful; production took advantage of suburban Melbourne locations as well as ATV-10’s Nunawading studios.

On 7 September 1992, operations moved from Nunawading to the Como Centre in South Yarra. The original Nunawading studios are now managed by Fremantle Media. The Como Centre currently accommodates productions such as The Project, along with news, current affairs, entertainment, and sports programming.

In 2004, Network 10 achieved second place nationally and also ranked second within Melbourne, trailing behind the leading Nine Network.

At precisely 9:00:01am on 10 December 2013, ATV-10 became one of the final Australian stations to discontinue its analog broadcast—the last within Network 10 and fourth last across the country to complete the transition to digital-only transmission. This switch was overseen by Bob Rosenthal, an engineer who had also managed the original changeover from ATV-0 to ATV-10 thirty-three years earlier. A few months later, the channel marked its fiftieth anniversary celebration.

Morning television

During the late 1960s, local mid-morning shows featured titles such as Morning Magazine, Roundabout, The Roy Hampson Show, and In Melbourne Today. Later, from 1979 to 1980, Everyday aired, followed by Good Morning Melbourne from 1981 until 1988. This was eventually succeeded by the Sydney-produced Til Ten between 1989 and 1991. In 1992, ATV-10 introduced The Morning Show on Network Ten with Bert Newton as host, which was renamed in 1993 to Good Morning Australia (GMA). The program continued until December 2005, after which it was replaced by 9am with David & Kim, hosted by Kim Watkins and David Reyne. This show ran for four years before being succeeded in 2010 by The Circle, featuring presenters Gorgi Coghlan, Yumi Stynes, Chrissie Swan, and Denise Drysdale.

In 2012, following approximately forty years of morning programming, Network Ten discontinued The Circle to redirect resources toward its underperforming Sydney-based morning show, Breakfast, hosted by Paul Henry. However, this program was cancelled by the end of that year. Subsequently, November 2013 marked the debut of Wake Up, broadcast live from studios in Sydney and Melbourne with hosts Natarsha Belling and James Mathison, while news segments were delivered by Nuala Hafner from Federation Square in Melbourne. Despite these efforts, the show was terminated in May 2014 as part of cost reduction measures.

Digital multiplex

LCN Service SD/HD
1 10 HD HD
10 10 SD
11 10 Comedy SD
12 10 Drama HD
13 Nickelodeon SD
15 10 HD HD
16 You.tv SD
17 Gecko TV SD

Programming

Shows produced locally at or in collaboration with ATV-10 Melbourne.

Current productions at ATV Studios, South Yarra

Past productions at ATV Studios

2020s

2010s

2000s

  • The original run of The Project from 2009 through to 2025
  • AFL-related content including shows such as The Game Plan (AFL) and coverage via One channel between 2009 and 2012
  • Coverage of ANZ Championship Netball alongside other sports programming
  • Morning show 9am with David and Kim from 2006 to 2009
  • Airing of Before the Game between 2003 and 2013
  • AFL broadcast rights held from 2002 until 2011
  • Intermittent broadcasts of 10 News: Adelaide spanning from 2000 to 2023

1990s

  • Production of the panel show The Panel from 1998 to 2004
  • Early morning programs including those hosted during Bert Newton's era on GMA

1980s and earlier

  • A variety of entertainment and news formats including game shows, children’s programming, and local news dating back to the early years since the 1960s

Previous productions filmed throughout Melbourne

News and current affairs

The program 10 News Melbourne is produced at ATV-10's Como Centre studios located in South Yarra. The bulletin is presented by Jennifer Keyte, with sports coverage delivered by Stephen Quartermain Monday through Thursday, Caty Price on Fridays, and weather forecasts provided by Jayde Cotic.

Brian Wright, serving as news director, was ATV-0's first news presenter, followed by Barry McQueen. At its inception, the station aired a 45-minute weeknight news segment starting at 6:15 pm to rival competing 30-minute bulletins. This evolved into a one-hour format during the early 1970s and adopted the Eyewitness News branding in 1972, initially anchored by Geoff Raymond.

The primary weeknight bulletin saw David Johnston as anchor before Mal Walden took over in 1996. Co-anchor Jennifer Hansen, part of one of Australia's longest-standing news partnerships, was later replaced by Helen Kapalos in 2006. Walden continued as sole presenter from December 2012 after Kapalos' contract was not renewed.

In February 2018, Brad McEwan announced his departure from Network 10, officially leaving on 27 April. Both McEwan and George Donikian have served as fill-in presenters previously.

Local weekend bulletins from Melbourne were phased out in the early 1990s in favor of a national Sydney-based edition but were brought back during the AFL season with George Donikian hosting. Permanent weekend bulletins resumed in January 2011 alongside a brief weeknight 6:30 pm edition; however, both were discontinued within ten months.

Between September 2020 and February 2023, ATV-10 oversaw studio production for the Adelaide version of 10 News, with both editions anchored by Jennifer Keyte. This arrangement combined local news, sports, and weather content while sharing resources across Victoria and South Australia.

Anchors and Correspondents

News anchor

Sports anchor

Weather anchor

  • Jayde Cotic (2023–current)


Substitute anchors


Correspondents

  • Candice Wyatt
  • Jessica Maggio
  • Patrick Murrell (State political correspondent)
  • Jack Pirie
  • Samantha Butler
  • Ashleigh Paholek
  • Brendan Crew
  • Sophie Jacobsen
  • Steph Baumgartel
  • Rob Waters (Sports)
  • Caty Price (Sports)
  • Nick Butler (Sports)
  • Adrian Franklin (Sports)
  • Sam Mills (News and Sports)


Past anchors

News


Sports


Weather


See also

References

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