ABN (TV station)

ABN is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television station in Sydney. The station began broadcasting on 5 November 1956 as the second television station in New South Wales and Sydney. Its original studios were located in Gore Hill and were in use up until March 2004, when they were co-located with ABC Radio, Radio Australia, ABC-TV Set Construction and ABC Australia at the Corporation's headquarters in the inner city suburb of Ultimo.[1] Its main transmitter, however, remains at Gore Hill.[2] The station can be received throughout the state through a number of relay transmitters, as well as satellite transmission on the Optus Aurora platform.

This article is about the Australian TV station. For other TV stations and networks of this name, see ABN.

ABN
Channels
Programming
AffiliationsABC Television
Ownership
OwnerAustralian Broadcasting Corporation
History
First air date
5 November 1956 (1956-11-05)
Former channel number(s)
2 (VHF) (analog) (1956–2013)
Call sign meaning
ABC New South Wales
Technical information
Licensing authority
Australian Communications and Media Authority
ERP200 kW (analog)
50 kW (digital)
HAAT168 m (analog)
205 m (digital)[note 1]
Transmitter coordinates33°49′12″S 151°11′6″E
Links
Websitewww.abc.net.au/tv/

History

The first national public television station in Australia opened in Sydney at 7:00pm on 5 November 1956 under the call sign ABN-2. It was opened by Prime Minister of Australia Robert Menzies, with the first television broadcast presented by Michael Charlton, and James Dibble reading the first television news bulletin with full-time colour broadcasting introduced in March 1975.

For more than 40 years, Gore Hill was best known as the location of the ABC's Sydney television studios, which were fully opened in 1958 and which operated until 2002, when the site was closed and sold off. Later, the ABC moved its television operations to its broadcasting centre in Ultimo.

The station has also carried a number of programs originally produced at Channel 31 stations in other states (programs such as Aurora Community Channel and National Indigenous Television.

ABN commenced digital television transmission in January 2001, broadcasting on VHF Channel 12 while maintaining analogue transmission on VHF Channel 2.

The analogue television signal for Sydney, Gosford and surrounding areas was shut off at 9.00am on 3 December 2013.[3][4]

Programming

Local programming

ABN's schedule is similar to the national ABC schedule, with the exception of some news, current affairs, sport and occasionally, election programming.

ABC News New South Wales is presented by Jeremy Fernandez (Sunday–Thursday) and Nakari Thorpe or Lydia Feng (Friday–Saturday). The weeknight bulletins also incorporate NSW weather forecasts presented by Tom Saunders as well as a national finance segment presented by Alan Kohler in Melbourne.

Digital multiplex
LCN Service SD/HD
2 & 21 ABC TV SD
20 ABC TV HD HD
22 ABC Kids/TV Plus SD
23 ABC Me SD
24 ABC News SD

Relay stations

The following stations relay ABN throughout New South Wales:

Call Region served City Channels
(Analog/
digital)		 First air date 3rd letter's
meaning		 ERP
(Analog/
digital)		 HAAT
(Analog/
digital)[note 1]		 Transmitter coordinates Transmitter location
ABCN Central Tablelands Orange 1 (VHF)[note 2]
36 (UHF)		 31 March 1964 Central Tablelands 160 kW
570 kW		 655 m
677 m		 33°20′32″S 148°59′1″E Mount Canobolas
ABDN Grafton/Kempsey Coffs Harbour 2 (VHF)[note 3]
36 (UHF)		 28 June 1965 Dorrigo 160 kW
250 kW		 661 m
730 m		 30°19′2″S 152°51′35″E Mount Moombil
ABGN Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area Griffith 7 (VHF)[note 2]
11 (VHF)		 25 July 1966 Griffith 200 kW
50 kW		 416 m
412 m		 34°7′17″S 146°14′7″E Mount Bingar
ABHN Newcastle/Hunter Valley Newcastle 5A (VHF)[note 4][note 3]
37 (UHF)		 5 June 1963 Hunter River 200 kW
250 kW		 405 m
440 m		 32°53′30″S 151°32′18″E (analog)
32°53′24″S 151°32′20″E (digital)		 Mount Sugarloaf
ABLN Broken Hill Broken Hill 2 (VHF)[note 5]
10 (VHF)		 14 December 1965 Unknown 5 kW
4 kW		 95 m
104 m		 31°57′5″S 141°26′26″E Rocky Hill
ABMN South West Slopes and Eastern Riverina Wagga Wagga 0 (VHF)[note 2]
46 (UHF)		 30 April 1965 Unknown 200 kW
600 kW		 466 m
543 m		 34°49′13″S 147°54′5″E Mount Ulandra
ABMIN Mungindi Mungindi 10 (VHF)
NA		 1 January 1974 MungindI 0.1 kW 59 m 28°59′37″S 149°1′0″E Mungindi
ABQN Central Western Slopes Dubbo 11 (VHF)[note 6][note 2]
12 (VHF)		 12 September 1966 Unknown 400 kW
100 kW		 638 m
638 m		 31°20′34″S 149°1′23″E Mount Cenn Cruaich
ABRN Richmond and Tweed Lismore 6 (VHF)[note 3]
29 (UHF)		 20 April 1964 Richmond and Tweed 200 kW
200 kW		 621 m
645 m		 28°32′44″S 153°17′15″E Mount Nardi
ABSN Bega/Cooma Bega 8 (VHF)[note 2]
NA		 29 June 1966 South East 200 kW 428 m 36°35′53″S 149°22′58″E Brown Mountain
ABTN Manning River Taree 6 (VHF)[note 7][note 3]
7 (VHF)		 29 April 1966 Taree 315 kW
80 kW		 599 m
599 m		 31°42′7″S 152°40′43″E Middle Brother
ABUN Upper Namoi Tamworth 7 (VHF)[note 3]
8 (VHF)		 27 September 1965 Upper Namoi 72 kW
22.5 kW		 859 m
849 m		 30°17′4″S 150°10′2″E Mount Dowe
ABWN Illawarra Wollongong 56 (UHF)[note 8][note 2]
51 (UHF)		 28 October 1963 Wollongong 960 kW
250 kW		 618 m
618 m		 34°37′23″S 150°41′39″E (analog)
34°37′24″S 150°41′40″E (digital)		 Knights Hill

Notes
  1. HAAT estimated from http://www.itu.int/SRTM3/ using EHAAT.
  2. Analogue transmission ceased as of 5 June 2012 as part of the national shutdown of analogue television
  3. Analogue transmission ceased as of 27 November 2012 as part of the national shutdown of analogue television.
  4. ABHN also broadcasts on analog UHF channel 48 with 1200 kW ERP at 441 m HAAT. ABHN was on VHF channel 5 from its 1963 sign-on until the late 1970s, moving to its current channel in order to accommodate FM radio.
  5. Analogue transmission ceased as of 15 December 2010 as part of the national shutdown of analogue television.
  6. ABQN was on VHF channel 5 from its 1966 sign-on until 1988, moving to its current channel in order to accommodate FM radio.
  7. ABTN was on VHF channel 1 from its 1966 sign-on until 1990.
  8. ABWN was on VHF channel 5A from its 1963 sign-on until 1988.

References
  1. "Inside the ABC - Issue 7 - Building on the Future". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 15 November 2004. Retrieved 27 July 2007.
  2. "Communications - Television - Sydney national television station ABN2 transmitting masts at Gore Hill, Sydney New South Wales [photographic image] / photographer, John Tanner. 1 photographic negative: b&w, acetate". National Archives of Australia. 1959. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  3. Kidman, Angus (25 June 2012). "Analogue TV gets an official switch-off date". Lifehacker Australia. Archived from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  4. Knox, David (3 December 2013). "Sydney switches off analogue TV". TV Tonight. Archived from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
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