Channel NSW
| Company type | Government-owned |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television broadcasting |
| Founded | December 2003 |
| Defunct | 30 April 2010 |
| Fate | Discontinued broadcasts |
| Headquarters | Sydney , Australia |
Area served | Sydney region, New South Wales |
| Products | Digital television channel (community information) |
| Owner | Government of New South Wales |
Channel NSW (CNSW) was a digital television channel dedicated to community information, managed by the Government of New South Wales. It was broadcast throughout the Sydney region on Channel 45 via Digital 44, utilizing the DVB-T transmission standard.
Each month, CNSW reached an audience exceeding 250,000 households in Sydney, with expectations to surpass one million viewers by 2009. The NSW Government planned to expand terrestrial broadcasting to communities with populations above 2,000 residents. The channel discontinued its broadcasts on 30 April 2010.
Content
The channel’s programming lineup featured:
- ecoNSW – environmental topics
- PictureJockey (PJs) – photographic content
- Good Health NSW Health
- PeakHour – updates on traffic and weather conditions
- Seniors TV
- School Kid TV
- NSW Life – lifestyle programming
- Allballs – lottery result announcements
- Arts Magazine
- Late Night Languages
- Careers Show
- uTVstar – community access programming
- Parliament of New South Wales – live broadcasts from Parliament
- Job Show – employment opportunities from the NSW Government
Contributing NSW Government departments and agencies included:
- Roads & Traffic Authority
- NSW Health
- Department of Education & Training
- Emergency services: State Emergency Service, Rural Fire, and Fire Brigade
- Office of Industrial Relations and NSW Government Jobs Service
- NSW Lotteries
- Tourism and cultural organizations: Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, The Rocks, Tourism NSW, Art Gallery of NSW, State Records, and Powerhouse Museum
- Department of Environment and Conservation
- Sydney Water
History
Significant developments included:
- Trial license granted by Commonwealth authorities (December 2003)
- Official launch by the Minister for Commerce (March 2004)
- Introduction of remote playout capabilities (July 2004)
- Testing of audiovisual functions (August 2004)
- Implementation of block scheduling format (February 2005)
- Initial field audience research conducted (October 2005)
- Laboratory testing for interactive TV services (MHP) initiated (March 2006)
Future
Operating as a trial service, Channel NSW had plans for future enhancements, such as:
- Live broadcasts of events including Parliament question time;
- An automated system for government-wide announcements; and
- Resource Show, a multimedia program addressing environmental concerns.