TNQ
| Company type | Television station |
|---|---|
| Industry | Broadcasting |
| Founded | November 1, 1962 (TNQ-7 Townsville) |
| Headquarters | Queensland , Australia |
Area served | Regional Queensland |
| Parent | Network 10 (owned and operated affiliate) |
TNQ operates as an Australian television station licensed to serve the regional areas of Queensland. It functions as an owned and operated affiliate of Network 10.
History
Network 10's foothold in Regional Queensland commenced in 1978 under the banner of North Queensland Television, a collaboration between two established regional broadcasters:
- TNQ-7 Townsville (which began transmission on 1 November 1962)
- FNQ-10 Cairns (which launched on 7 September 1966)
In 1984, NQTV embraced a localized adaptation of NBC's Just Watch Us Now theme and slogan, previously utilized by metropolitan Seven Network affiliates. The station adopted the slogan The Place to Be from the mid-1980s up until 1993.
As the late 1980s approached and aggregation loomed, NQTV intended to align with the Nine Network for regional Queensland. Following a viewer-driven naming contest, the brand QTV was selected, featuring a Nine-inspired logo incorporating the iconic nine dots. Due to unfavorable audience reactions, this logo was replaced within a few months. Prior to aggregation, QTV employed a Nine-style identification package.
However, just before aggregation occurred, WIN Television acquired Star Television in Toowoomba and Rockhampton and shifted its affiliation from Ten to Nine. This development compelled QTV to swiftly realign with Ten and modify its branding accordingly. At aggregation’s onset, QTV aired a one-hour news bulletin across its licence area but later discontinued this outside North Queensland.
The station’s owners, Telecasters North Queensland (later known as Telecasters Australia), joined the Ten Group Consortium during 1992–1993, leading to a rebranding from QTV to Ten Queensland accompanied by standard Ten network branding.
In 2001, Southern Cross purchased Telecasters. That same year saw the cancellation of Ten Local News in North Queensland, which was replaced by Ten News Brisbane, sparking an Australian Broadcasting Authority local news investigation. By 2002, Southern Cross had rebranded its Ten affiliates under the name Southern Cross Ten.
On 1 July 2016, Southern Cross transitioned its primary network affiliation from Network Ten back to the Nine Network—TNQ’s originally intended partner—retiring the Southern Cross Ten identity in favor of generic Nine branding.
Five years later, on 1 July 2021, Southern Cross reverted its affiliation from Nine Network to Network 10, substituting Nine branding for that of 10.
On 17 December 2024, Southern Cross Austereo declared the sale of its regional television licences covering Regional Queensland, Southern NSW/ACT, and Regional Victoria to affiliate Network 10. The deal was finalized on 1 March 2025.
News & Current Affairs
From the 1970s through to the late 1990s, TNQ delivered regional news programming via a half-hour bulletin at 5:30pm that later expanded to a one-hour slot at 6pm. Beginning in the late 1970s, it produced weekly current affairs shows such as Newsweek and focus, which was North Queensland’s first live televised debate format. Both programs were created and produced by NQTV News Director Rick Anderton based in Townsville. Newsweek aired for over a decade, becoming one of Australia's longest-running current affairs series and securing more than sixteen national journalism awards sponsored by Thorn EMI.
Prior to aggregation, as NQTV prepared to affiliate with Nine Network and rebranded as QTV, its news programming adopted the National Nine News style and was renamed QTV News in 1990. However, after WIN Television acquired a competing station securing Nine affiliation rights, QTV switched allegiance to Network Ten. Consequently, the news adopted branding consistent with Ten Eyewitness News, becoming known as QTV Eyewitness News.
Initially broadcasting a licence-wide one-hour bulletin, QTV later reduced coverage exclusively to North Queensland due to low audience figures. In 1993, following rebranding as Ten Queensland, the news service was titled Ten North Queensland News.
Responding to viewer demand for increased local content in January 2000, Ten Queensland shortened its evening bulletin to a focused thirty-minute segment dedicated solely to regional news under the name Ten Local News. This coincided with the launch of Ten News Brisbane within North Queensland.
In November 2001, following Southern Cross Broadcasting’s acquisition of Telecasters, Ten Local News in North Queensland was discontinued alongside similar cuts such as Ten Capital News in Canberra due to budget reductions.
Under the Southern Cross Ten banner, TNQ produced the public affairs program State Focus, which concentrated on issues affecting the entire state.
Local news content returned in 2004 through brief three-minute updates broadcast throughout the day. These were produced by Southern Cross News and carried the branding Southern Cross Ten Local News. After switching affiliation to Nine in July 2016, these updates were rebranded as "Local News Headlines".
TNQ carried editions of Nine News from both Sydney and Brisbane (covering national and state coverage), along with programs such as A Current Affair and 60 Minutes. As part of SC9 branding, it operated as Queensland’s regional broadcaster for Nine News, sourcing state news from QTQ-9 Brisbane. Between 2017 and 2020, TNQ co-produced weekday editions of Nine News Darwin based in Brisbane for Northern Territory audiences until production responsibilities reverted back to NTD.
The inaugural new edition of Nine News targeting Sunshine Coast viewers launched from Brisbane on 21 August 2017.
Main Transmitters
| Coverage Area | City | Channels (Analog/ Digital) |
Launch Date | ERP (Analog/ Digital) |
HAAT (Analog/ Digital)1 |
Transmitter Coordinates | Transmitter Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns, Innisfail, Mourilyan and adjacent regions 2 | Cairns | 10 (VHF)3 6 (VHF) |
7 September 1966 | 200 kW 50 kW |
1177 m 1190 m |
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. | Mount Bellenden Ker |
| Darling Downs | Toowoomba | 41 (UHF)3 40 (UHF) |
31 December 1990 | 1300 kW 500 kW |
515 m 520 m |
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. (analog) Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. (digital) |
Mount Mowbullan |
| Mackay | Mackay | 33 (UHF)3 32 (UHF) |
31 December 1990 | 1300 kW 360 kW |
612 m 630 m |
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. | Mount Blackwood |
| Rockhampton | Rockhampton | 34 (UHF)3 36 (UHF) |
31 December 1990 | 2000 kW 500 kW |
523 m 523 m |
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. | Mount Hopeful |
| Southern Downs | Warwick | 39 (UHF)3 52 (UHF) |
31 December 1990 | 600 kW 500 kW |
301 m 301 m |
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. | Passchendaele |
| Townsville | Townsville | 7 (VHF)3 36 (UHF) |
1 November 1962 | 200 kW 200 kW |
612 m 655 m |
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. (analog) Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. (digital) |
Mount Stuart |
| Wide Bay | Maryborough | 33 (ultra high frequency UHF)3 9 (very high frequency VHF) |
31 December 1990
|
1000 kW |
Notes:
- 1. HAAT values derived from https://www.itu.int/SRTM3/ using EHAAT calculations.
- 2. The Cairns station functioned independently as FNQ from its inception in 1966 until the aggregation process in 1990.
- 3. Analog broadcasts ceased nationwide on 6 December 2011 as part of the analog signal phase-out.