NRN

NRN

Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Television broadcasting
Founded	May 12, 1962 (1962-05-12) (RTN-8 Lismore), January 23, 1965 (1965-01-23) (NRN-11 Coffs Harbour)
Headquarters	Coffs Harbour , Australia
Area served	Northern New South Wales, Gold Coast
Owner	Network 10 (since 1 May 2025)
Parent	Network 10

NRN is a television station located in Coffs Harbour, Australia, operating under the ownership of Network 10 and catering to the northern New South Wales viewing area. It was established through the collaboration of NRN-11 Coffs Harbour, which began broadcasting on 23 January 1965, and RTN-8 Lismore, which started on 12 May 1962.

Origins

Initially, NRN11 Coffs Harbour joined forces with ECN8 Taree to create Northern Rivers Television, but this partnership dissolved in 1969. Around 1971, RTN8 Lismore and NRN11 reunited, forming Northern Rivers Television (NRTV), initially promoted on-air as 11–8 Television. These stations served audiences in the Mid North Coast and Northern Rivers districts. During the mid-1970s, the station briefly adopted the name Great Eastland Television, collaborating in programming and advertising with NEN-9 Tamworth and DDQ-10 Toowoomba/SDQ-4 Warwick, before reverting to the NRTV identity.

In 1983, following community advocacy, NRTV extended its reach into the Gold Coast, despite viewers already having access to Brisbane metropolitan channels. The station set up studios on Southport Nerang Road in Ashmore; these facilities did not maintain a newsroom but instead broadcast news relayed from Coffs Harbour. Major news events on the Gold Coast were covered by reporting teams based in Lismore.

NRTV generated a significant amount of local programming, including regional news broadcasts; three hours weekly of live women's variety show Round About; five half-hour episodes of children's variety series Get Set; along with other productions such as Birthdays, Razzamataz hosted by Rhonda Logan, holiday specials titled Summerthon, and a daily fitness program called Jazzacize. Sports coverage featured events like the Grafton Cup Racing Carnival and the Grafton to Inverell Cycling Classic. Most live broadcasts originated from studios in Coffs Harbour, with additional recordings produced at Lismore and Gold Coast locations.

Prominent figures involved were:

• Ron Lawrence – played a pivotal role in developing local productions; advanced from booth announcer to General Manager before retiring during the 1990s.
• Wayne Magee – hosted children's shows and special programs; acted as Executive Producer managing local content across three studios prior to his transition into ministry leadership.
• Chris Wordsworth – served as host for children's programs and as newsreader; later held senior journalism positions at Channel Seven Sydney, ABC, and WIN Network.
• Greg Hughes – took over as newsreader after Wordsworth; subsequently worked in radio and television weather presenting before moving into public relations for the Army.
• Rhonda Logan – presented children’s programming and weather forecasts; actively participated in commercial/community radio and print media.

In December 1987, Northern Star sold NRN and RTN for $75 million to Darling Downs Television, owned by David Haynes, who also controlled Brisbane's TVQ Ten station.

1990s

A proposed merger in 1990 between NRTV and Queensland's Vision TV to establish a larger regional network was ultimately abandoned. On 31 December 1991, aggregation occurred in northern New South Wales, resulting in NRTV affiliating with Network 10 through Northern Star Holdings, owned by Westfield Group chairman Frank Lowy. Although WIN Television briefly attempted to acquire NRTV with plans to affiliate it with the Nine Network, this acquisition did not materialize.

In 1993, Telecasters Australia purchased NRTV along with its Queensland Network 10 affiliate. The station adopted the name Ten Northern NSW in 1994 to align with Network 10 branding. However, due to low viewership ratings, local news production was discontinued in May 1995, ending regional bulletins for markets such as Coffs Harbour, Lismore, and Gold Coast.

2000s

In 2001, Southern Cross Broadcasting acquired Ten Northern NSW (NRN) along with Telecasters. By 2002, NRN had been rebranded as Southern Cross Ten. On 14 August 2005, both the station and the Southern Cross Ten network introduced a refreshed star-themed logo.

Southern Cross broadened its digital portfolio by launching the secondary channel One HD on NRN on 2 July 2009, accessible via LCN 50.

2010s

Starting 11 January 2011, Southern Cross began transmitting Network Ten's secondary channel, Eleven, through NRN on LCN 55, replacing the previous simulcast of the main channel.

On 1 July 2016, NRN discontinued its distinct Southern Cross Ten branding in favor of adopting Ten’s primary branding as Ten. This change followed Southern Cross’s transition of all SC10 stations—except NRN—to Southern Cross Nine under a new content agreement with the Nine Network. Subsequently, on 13 September 2016, Southern Cross announced that 10 HD would launch on LCN 52 from 21 September 2016, with 10 Bold being downgraded to standard definition to accommodate this adjustment.

On 25 July 2016, Southern Cross revealed plans to broadcast the New Zealand-based shopping channel Yesshop via NRN on LCN 54 starting from 1 August. Nevertheless, Yesshop ceased operations on 29 September 2016 after incurring losses near $20 million, resulting in immediate staff layoffs and channel removal.

In January 2017, Southern Cross entered discussions with WIN Corporation to sell NRN in exchange for WIN’s Wollongong radio station i98FM. This arrangement aimed to enhance WIN’s regional television footprint while granting Southern Cross radio presence in Wollongong. Although talks were initially abandoned in February, Southern Cross later concluded a $55 million sale of NRN to WIN effective 31 May 2017. Until transmission and playout shifted to WIN’s MediaHub in Ingleburn on 1 September 2017, NRN operated under the name Ten Northern NSW. At that point, the station adopted WIN branding. Channel numbering was adjusted to align with WIN’s other stations; however, NRN retained its five-number digital channels due to NBN Television’s control over eight-numbered channels in northern NSW.

In September 2018, NRN introduced Sky News on WIN (later renamed Sky News Regional) targeting viewers in Northern NSW and the Gold Coast areas.

By October 2018, WIN rebranded its versions of Ten’s multichannels One and Eleven as WIN Boss (subsequently WIN Bold) and WIN Peach respectively, coinciding with a refreshed logo consistent with Network Ten’s updated corporate identity.

2020s

On 23 June 2021, WIN extended its programming and supply agreement with Paramount Global, which became Network Ten’s owner in 2020, specifically for NRN. However, as WIN’s primary stations underwent rebranding from 1 July under a new PSA with the Nine Network, the Northern NSW outlet dropped the WIN brand outside of local news broadcasts and adopted Network 10 branding consistent with metropolitan markets.

As of 2023, unlike other affiliates of Ten, NRN does not carry Paramount-owned channel 10 Shake or its successor Nickelodeon Australia.

On 13 February 2025, Network 10 announced plans to purchase NRN from WIN Television following its acquisition of Southern Cross Austereo’s stations affiliated with Ten. The transaction was finalized on 1 May 2025.

Programming

10 Northern NSW (previously known as WIN Television Northern NSW) delivers content from Network 10, featuring regional broadcasts of 10, 10 Drama, 10 Comedy, Sky News Regional, and WIN Gold. The NRN station retransmits the 10 Sydney feed with tailored advertising for Northern NSW, as well as the 10 Brisbane feed with localized advertisements targeting the Gold Coast.

News

Between 2004 and 2017, Southern Cross produced brief local news segments under various titles such as Southern Cross Ten News, Southern Cross News, and later Ten Local News Updates. These updates were created in Canberra, utilizing material sourced from Southern Cross Austereo’s regional radio stations, occasionally incorporating sports and weather reports. The segments aired alongside Ten Eyewitness News and were overseen by a single journalist.

Although WIN completed the acquisition of NRN on 31 May 2017, Southern Cross maintained control of playout until 1 September, continuing to provide local news updates during this period. Starting from September 2017, production of short local news bulletins (ranging from 30 seconds to two minutes) was assumed by WIN News.

NRN also broadcast WIN’s All Australian News, a composite bulletin featuring regional stories but excluding coverage from Northern NSW and the Gold Coast. This program concluded on 30 June 2021 following the return of Nine Network content to WIN-owned stations outside Northern NSW.

The last WIN News updates were broadcast on 27 June 2025. Subsequently, by 30 June, production of two-minute updates throughout the day transitioned to 10 News.

Main transmitters

Area Covered	City	Channels (Analog/ Digital)	Launch Date	ERP (Analog/ Digital)	HAAT (Analog/ Digital)1	Transmitter Coordinates	Transmitter Site
Grafton/Kempsey	Coffs Harbour	11 (VHF)3 4 38 (UHF)	23 January 1965	250 kW 250 kW	706 m 730 m		Mount Moombil
Manning River	Taree	65 (UHF)3 11 (VHF)	31 December 1991	600 kW 80 kW	633 m 633 m		Middle Brother
Hunter and Central Coast	Newcastle	57 (UHF)3 39 (UHF)	31 December 1991	1200 kW 250 kW	439 m 439 m		Mount Sugarloaf
Northern Rivers and Gold Coast	Lismore	8 (VHF)3 32 (UHF)	12 May 1962	200 kW 170 kW	612 m 648 m	(analog) (digital)	Mount Nardi
Upper Namoi River	Tamworth, New South Wales	34 (ultra high frequency)3 32 (ultra high frequency)	31 December 1991	600 kW 150 kW	844 m 874 m		Mount Dowe

• 1. HAAT values are approximated using ITU data via EHAAT.
• 2. The Richmond and Tweed station operated independently under RTN until aggregation in 1991.
• 3. Analog broadcasts ceased nationwide on 27 November 2012 during the digital switchover.
• 4. In August 1965, NRN shifted from VHF channel 10 to channel 11 due to interference problems.

See also

• Regional television across Australia
• Network Ten