Seven Regional WA
| Company type | Television broadcaster |
|---|---|
| Industry | Broadcasting |
| Predecessor | Golden West Network (GWN) |
| Founded | March 10, 1967 |
| Headquarters | Bunbury (originally) , Australia |
Area served | Regional and remote Western Australia |
Key people | Noel Brunning (news presenter) |
| Products | Television broadcasting, regional news programming |
| Owner | Seven West Media |
| Parent | Seven West Media |
| Website | 7news |
Seven Regional WA is a television broadcaster in Australia that serves all regions of Western Australia outside the Perth metropolitan area. It began operations on 10 March 1967 as BTW-3 in Bunbury and was renamed the Golden West Network (GWN, later known as GWN7) in 1979. The network covers one of the largest television markets worldwide by land area, encompassing nearly one-third of the Australian continent.
Following the 2021 merger between Prime Media Group and Seven West Media, the standalone GWN7 brand was discontinued in 2022.
Formation
Seven Regional WA was established through the consolidation of several smaller independent stations:
- 10 March 1967: BTW–3 Bunbury
- 23 August 1968: GSW–9 Mount Barker – relay station
- 29 August 1974: GSW–10 Albany – relay station
- 18 June 1971: VEW–8 Kalgoorlie
- 29 November 1971: VEW–3 Kambalda – relay station
- 21 January 1977: GTW–11 Geraldton
Prior to these stations’ establishment, remote areas of Western Australia had no local television service and depended on relays from Perth’s ABC Television.
In 1979, Jack Bendat purchased South West Telecasters, which owned BTW and GSW, and rebranded it as Golden West Network (GWN). GWN then expanded by acquiring Mid-Western Television (VEW-8 Kalgoorlie) in December 1985 for A$7 million and Geraldton Telecasters (GTW-11) in March 1987. These acquisitions granted GWN exclusive control over commercial television broadcasting across regional Western Australia.
In 1984, GWN sought a Remote Commercial Television License to provide satellite broadcasts to Christmas and Cocos Islands, which was approved in June 1985. The satellite service commenced on 18 October 1986 under the call sign WAW.
In 1987, Bendat and Kerry Stokes combined their media holdings into BDC Investments, which Northern Star Holdings acquired for A$206 million. Due to regulatory constraints, Northern Star divested GWN back to Stokes in December 1988 for A$54 million. Stokes then invested in upgrading GWN’s infrastructure. In April 1990, the BTW and GSW call signs were consolidated into SSW. During the late 1980s, GWN operated under the brand GWN Satellite Television, primarily broadcasting content from the Nine Network alongside selected programs from Seven and Ten networks, with Perth’s STW Channel Nine News serving as its national news provider.
From the 1990s through the early 2000s
Kerry Stokes acquired control of the Seven Network in 1995 and attempted to exchange GWN for additional shares in Seven. The transaction was approved by Seven Network shareholders in April 1996 at a valuation of $72.8 million, which would have positioned Seven as the regional affiliate in Western Australia. However, this acquisition was blocked by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission due to GWN’s exclusive fifteen-year programming contract with the Nine Network, which was considered anti-competitive. Consequently, Seven abandoned the acquisition plan, and GWN terminated its exclusive agreement with Nine.
In November 1996, Prime Television purchased GWN from Stokes for $71 million. Remote Western Australia remained unaggregated because of its sparse population until 1997 when WIN Television obtained a second license, ending GWN’s monopoly on commercial television channels. By March 1999, GWN had become an exclusive affiliate of the Seven Network, while WIN WA took affiliation with both the Nine Network and Network 10.
In April 2005, GWN’s transmission operations were relocated from Bunbury to Prime Media Group’s digital broadcast facility in Canberra, with programming distribution managed via satellite. In 2006, Prime Media Group partnered with WIN Corporation to propose a joint venture for a third channel under a Section 38B license, launching Ten West, affiliated with Network 10.
2010 and subsequent developments
In June 2010, digital television coverage broadened with the installation of new transmitters in areas such as the Central Wheatbelt and Kalgoorlie. These transmitters delivered GWN, WIN WA, and Ten West in standard definition through a shared digital platform.
On 15 January 2011, Prime Media Group undertook a rebranding of GWN and Prime, renaming them GWN7 and Prime7 respectively, to emphasize their affiliation with the metropolitan Seven Network. Shortly thereafter, news programs were relaunched under the titles GWN7 News and Prime7 News.
July 2011 saw additional digital enhancements, including the introduction of channels like 7two and 7mate in Bunbury and its surrounding districts. That same month, regional broadcasters commenced transmissions via the Viewer Access Satellite Television service.
On 12 February 2018, the master control operations for GWN7 were consolidated at Prime Media’s national playout centre located in Canberra, with Western Australian facilities linked through satellite and microwave connections. The playout function was subsequently relocated to Mediahub in Sydney’s Ingleburn before being transferred once more to a Telstra-managed facility shared with SBS Television.
2021: Seven West Media acquisition
On 1 November 2021, Seven West Media declared its purchase of all shares and subsidiaries of Prime Media Group. This acquisition represented SWM's second attempt to acquire Prime after an earlier bid in 2019 was blocked by Australian Community Media CEO Antony Catalano and WIN Corporation owner Bruce Gordon, who raised concerns about Seven's financial liabilities and audience ratings. The transaction received approval from Prime shareholders on 23 December and was finalized on 31 December. Prior to this acquisition, GWN7 along with its sister station Prime7 remained the sole commercial affiliates not fully adopting metropolitan network branding, contrasting with WIN’s WOW station which had embraced Nine Network branding since 2021. On 23 May 2022, Seven West Media announced a consolidation of on-air identities under the Seven Network banner; consequently, the GWN7 brand was retired on 25 July 2022.
Programming
Operating as a full affiliate of Seven, its programming lineup closely aligns with metropolitan counterpart TVW in Perth, including live broadcasts of Seven News Perth alongside a weeknight local news segment at 5:30pm. Historically, the network developed original regional programming such as the children’s series Doopa's Club, featuring the mascot Doopa Dog, as well as community-focused updates through GWN7 InfoNet, which spotlighted local happenings.
Seven News Regional WA
Seven News Regional WA—previously known as Golden West News, GWN News, GWN7 News, and GWN7 Local News—serves as the network’s dedicated regional news broadcast. Its principal half-hour program airs live at 5:30pm on weekdays ahead of Seven News Perth, concentrating on local news stories and current affairs. As of March 2012, it remains Western Australia’s only dedicated local news program for regional audiences following WIN’s market exit.
The bulletin is anchored from Seven’s Spencer Street newsroom in the Bunbury CBD by presenter Noel Brunning, who covers both news and sports segments. Weather reports are delivered by a rotating team based in Bunbury including Campbell Greaves, Charlotte Italiano, Josiah McMeekin, and Liz Robbins; previously weather presentations were handled by Shauna Willis until October 2022.
Correspondents and camera teams operate out of bureaus located in Albany, Kalgoorlie, Karratha, Geraldton, and Broome. Since the closure of Roberts Crescent studios in 2018, production control has been managed from Seven's regional headquarters in Watson, Canberra, with content transmission facilitated via satellite and microwave links.
In July 2022, the former GWN7 Local News brand was retired and merged into the overarching Seven News identity.
Availability
Seven Regional WA delivers programming statewide through both digital terrestrial and satellite platforms. Viewers across all digital reception zones can access the complete range of digital channels, which includes 7two, 7mate, TVSN, and Racing.com.
| LCN | Channel |
|---|---|
| 6 | Seven Regional WA |
| 62 | 7two |
| 63 | 7mate |
| 65 | TVSN |
| 68 | Racing.com |
Terrestrial
Operating under four television licences—SSW (South West), VEW (Goldfields), GTW (Mid West), and WAW (remote regions)—Seven Regional WA provides terrestrial broadcasts to regional and remote parts of Western Australia. Key population centers served by terrestrial transmission include Albany, Broome, Bunbury, Carnarvon, Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Karratha, and Merredin.
Digital terrestrial signals cover all significant towns and cities throughout regional Western Australia. The state discontinued analog terrestrial broadcasts on 25 June 2013.
Satellite
For locations where terrestrial signals are insufficient, digital satellite services are offered directly to homes via the Viewer Access Satellite Television system.
Logos
The Golden West Network unified its branding in 1986 by introducing a common logo displaying the letters GWN within a bordered oval accompanied by an orbiting ring. This design remained until 1995 when the oval border was removed. In 2001, a more streamlined yellow logo replaced the previous one, removing the orbiting ring to mirror a similar style used by Prime Television. Following the network’s rebranding in 2011, the logo incorporated the Seven Network symbol, which was updated in 2013 from a multicolored version to a monochrome format.