High-definition television in Australia
| Industry | Broadcasting, Television |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2001 |
Area served | Australia |
High-definition television in Australia can be received through cable, IPTV, satellite, and terrestrial broadcast methods. The initial high-definition transmissions commenced in 2001, with pay-TV provider Foxtel currently delivering up to 27 HD channels.
ABC
On 1 January 2002, the ABC began simulcasting its Sydney station ABN during prime time, upconverted to 1080i high definition without any watermark. By 1 January 2005, the broadcast quality was adjusted to 576p to facilitate the introduction of additional channels such as ABC Family (later ABC2, ABC Comedy, and ABC TV Plus), which gradually extended their broadcasting hours.
Starting 1 January 2008, the simulcast was rebranded as ABC HD, transforming into a high-definition multichannel with unique branding and upgraded to 720p resolution for native HD content. ABC HD continued to simulcast ABN Sydney, resulting in viewers outside New South Wales receiving news and local programming centered on Sydney. This arrangement enabled ABC to fulfill HD production requirements using either native or upscaled footage.
Notable exceptions included specific sports broadcasts during the 2008 Summer Paralympics and exclusive live coverage such as the 2009 VFL Grand Final. Until the discontinuation of ABC HD branding, a national "7:30 Select" highlights program aired in place of Sydney's Stateline.
On 10 June 2010, ABC HD dropped its distinct branding and reverted to an ABN Sydney simulcast. From July 2010 onwards, the HD simulcast was discontinued across all states and replaced by promotional loops for ABC News 24 (now ABC News) on channel 24. This made ABC the second Australian broadcaster to permanently end its main channel's HD simulcast after 10 HD ceased operations in 2009.
Richard Finlayson, ABC's Director of Television, announced plans to reinstate HD simulcasting in June 2016; however, technical difficulties delayed the launch until 6 December 2016. Unlike its previous iteration, the revived ABC HD offered region-specific simulcasts and utilized MPEG-4 encoding rather than the older MPEG-2 format. As a result, the ABC News channel reverted to standard definition.
Since 6 December 2016, ABC HD has transmitted in 1080i via Freeview and Optus D1 satellites, while ABC News continues broadcasting in standard definition on channel 24.
Beginning June 2025, ABC will resume high-definition broadcasts of both the ABC NEWS Channel and ABC Entertains exclusively through Freeview; these channels will no longer be accessible in standard definition.
Seven Network
Following Australia's rollout of digital terrestrial television in 2004, the Seven Network introduced a part-time high-definition simulcast on digital channel 70 named 7 HD Digital, which featured native HD content alongside standard-definition programming. In instances where native HD material was unavailable, a promotional loop showcasing program highlights was aired.
On 15 September 2007, Seven West Media officially announced 7HD as a high-definition multichannel initially slated for launch in December that year. The channel premiered earlier than expected on 15 October 2007, marking it as the first free-to-air commercial channel launched in metropolitan regions since 1988; its debut program was 25th Hour.
Replacing the prior part-time simulcast service, 7HD expanded its schedule on 10 December 2007 to include daytime shows. However, breakaway programming ended on 4 October 2009 ahead of the launch of 7two on 1 November. Subsequently, 7HD resumed a full HD simulcast of Seven before being supplanted by 7mate on 25 September 2010.
On 10 May 2016, 7HD was relaunched as an HD simulcast on channel 70. Melbourne and Adelaide viewers received it as a simulcast of Seven’s main channel, whereas Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth audiences saw it as a simulcast of 7mate to facilitate HD broadcasts of AFL games across all markets.
To provide nationwide HD coverage of the 2016 Summer Olympics, from 5 August to 22 August 2016, 7HD temporarily simulcast Seven’s primary channel in Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth before reverting to its previous configuration.
Starting on 16 December 2016 for the 2017 Australian Open, 7HD began simulcasting Seven’s main channel across all metropolitan areas—a permanent change. To broadcast AFL matches aired on 7mate in high definition, breakaway programming was employed while maintaining the primary channel simulcast on 7HD.
From 16 January 2020 onward, metropolitan regions and regional Queensland gained access to 7mate in HD following its replacement of the food-centric 7food network on channel 74. After this transition, 7HD continued as an HD simulcast of Seven’s main metropolitan channel.
On 15 January 2023, 7Bravo launched as a new high-definition free-to-air channel, broadening Seven Network’s multichannel portfolio.
Nine Network
When digital television launched on 1 January 2001, the Nine Network initially provided its high-definition service by upscaling its standard-definition programming to HD. True native HD broadcasts commenced in 2002 with the drama Judging Amy, and by July 2003, the network was delivering at least 1,040 hours of native HD content annually, including substantial HD output from The Today Show.
The part-time multichannel 9HD was officially unveiled on 27 September 2007 following the Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Digital Television) Act 2006, which permitted networks to introduce digital multichannels exclusively in HD. Although Nine anticipated launching Australia's first commercial HD multichannel, Seven HD beat them by debuting on 15 October 2007. Consequently, Nine launched 9HD on 17 March 2008 across PBL Media’s metropolitan owned-and-operated stations and WIN Corporation’s affiliates, with Nine News as the initial program.
On 2 August 2009, 9HD discontinued breakaway broadcasts to prepare for the launch of 9Go! on 9 August, reverting to a full simulcast of Nine’s primary channel. Later, on 26 September 2010, the 9Gem multichannel replaced 9HD as a dedicated full-time breakaway channel. This change eliminated the HD simulcast to accommodate a third channel on Nine’s DVB-T multiplex due to technical and regulatory constraints. The focus of HD content consequently shifted from youth-oriented, news, and comedy programming to female-targeted, crime, and lifestyle genres.
For sports coverage such as cricket, Wide World of Sports occasionally aired in HD on 9Gem during off-peak hours, while major sporting events remained broadcast on the main Nine Network.
On 26 November 2015, Nine reinstated HD simulcasting on channel 90; simultaneously, 9Gem moved to channel 92 broadcasting in standard definition. By June 2019, metropolitan audiences gained access to an HD version of 9Gem on channel 95 following the closure of the Your Money channel.
This reintroduction featured H.264/MPEG-4 AVC encoding at full resolution (1920x1080i50) with a lower bitrate than in the original 2007 launch, enabling concurrent operation of multiple multichannels such as 9Go! in high definition.
On 8 May 2024, 9Go! HD replaced the standard-definition 9Go! channel on channel 99 as the network's new HD offering.
Network 10
Ten HD (currently branded as 10 HD) was announced officially on 14 September 2007 to succeed Network Ten’s existing high-definition simulcast. This was enabled by the Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Digital Television) Act 2006, which authorized commercial broadcasters to launch digital multichannels exclusively in high definition.
Although it was anticipated that Ten HD would be Australia’s first free-to-air commercial HD channel in metropolitan markets since 1988, Seven Media Group’s launch of 7HD on 15 October 2007 preceded it. PBL Media’s introduction of 9HD followed in March of the next year.
Ten Network Holdings Limited—an OzTAM shareholder—pursued inclusion of digital multichannels like Ten HD in audience ratings starting September 2007. At the same time, weekend editions of Ten News were timeshifted onto Ten HD at 5:30 pm to directly compete with rival news programs.
Ahead of its debut, Ten adjusted its digital terrestrial lineup on 19 November 2007 by redirecting LCN1 to its high-definition simulcast. Ten HD officially launched at 5:00 pm on 16 December 2007 with Totally Wild, broadcasting from five metropolitan owned-and-operated stations. This marked the first occasion since 1992 that Ten News and Sports Tonight aired simultaneously against Seven and Nine News but at staggered timeslots.
The launch evening included screenings of Black Hawk Down, followed by Bon Jovi’s Lost Highway Tour and various music specials. Programming comprised up to eleven hours of timeshifted shows plus fifty hours weekly of exclusive content spanning live sports, entertainment, motion pictures, documentaries, and news.
In addition to high-definition broadcasts on channel 1, a standard-definition simulcast named Ten SD2 was offered on channel 11.
Starting in 2009, commercial broadcasters were permitted to air standard-definition subchannels. Ten transitioned Ten HD into a dedicated sports channel called One HD (now known as 10 Drama), while its standard-definition simulcast became One SD. Breakaway programming ceased on Ten HD from January that year; Ten HD ceased operations on 25 March 2009 with One HD launching immediately afterward.
Following Nine Network’s relaunch of 9HD in November 2015, Ten announced intentions to restore Ten HD but cited technical and rights-related challenges without specifying a timeline. Early signals appeared intermittently on smart TVs by February 2016.
Ten recommenced high-definition simulcasting on channel 13 from 2 March 2016 coinciding with the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship season kickoff. Consequently, One (now referred to as 10 Drama) shifted back to standard definition across channels 1 and 12. The network employs MPEG-4 technology for its high-definition transmissions.
On 16 September 2020, the network moved its primary high-definition channel (10 HD) from channel 13 back to channel 1 and added channel 15 for its third multichannel Nickelodeon (previously known as 10 Shake), which took over channel 13. On 27 September 2021, 10 Drama (then branded as 10 Bold) upgraded to full high definition (1080i), discontinuing its standard-definition simulcast.
SBS
The SBS HD multichannel commenced broadcasting on 14 December 2006 on LCN 30, delivering the same content as SBS but in 1080i high definition via Freeview and Optus D1. On 8 April 2017, SBS Viceland upgraded to HD on LCN 31, coinciding with SBS HD's transition to MPEG-4 format. On 1 July 2019, Channel 32 was rebranded as SBS World Movies broadcasting in 1080i HD. More recently, on 5 December 2023, the NITV channel 34 transitioned to HD, while an SD simulcast was introduced on channel 36.
Freeview
Introduced in November 2008, the Freeview initiative aimed to provide 15 channels by the following year. The initial Freeview channel launched on 26 March 2009 with Network Ten's One HD (currently known as 10 Bold). Devices certified for Freeview became available starting May 2009, followed by the release of "Freeview EPG" compatible receivers in June 2010, which supported an interactive electronic program guide utilizing MHEG-5 technology. This EPG service was discontinued on 24 November 2017.
Foxtel
Since its introduction in 2008, Foxtel has featured HD channels and by 2016 offered more than 20 HD options spanning basic packages, premium subscriptions, free-to-air, and free-to-view services. Access to HD content is provided through Foxtel IQ3 or Foxtel HD+ set-top boxes, with additional high-definition push-video on demand accessible via Foxtel Anytime on HD+ compatible devices.
Free-to-air
High-definition channels such as ABC HD, SBS HD, SBS Viceland HD, SBS World Movies, NITV, along with 7HD (70), Seven Network (7, 71), 7two, 7mate HD, and 7Bravo, as well as 9HD, 9Go!, and 9Gem HD, plus 10 HD and 10 Drama are available unencrypted on digital satellite platforms. Regional broadcasters including WIN HD, NBN's 9HD, and Seven West Media's regional variants of 7HD and 10 HD also broadcast in high definition. These channels can be received by anyone equipped with suitable satellite dishes and compatible HD receivers.
See also
- Digital television in Australia
- Internet television in Australia
- Subscription television in Australia