October 25th, 2009 11:44 pm

Australia’s evolving television landscape

With the upcoming launches of 7TWO and ABC3, how does the Australian television landscape shape us as we head into 2010?

Where we are in 2009

Thanks to the launch of multi-channelling in Australia, the options for free-to-air television watchers has increased dramatically. There’s never been more news, entertainment and sports to quench audiences appetites.

So with 16 channels (from December), there’s something for everyone, right? That’s what the networks and Freeview consortium want us to think. But is it really true?

While 16 channels sounds like a lot, when you really think about it, it’s actually only 11 unique channels and 5 simulcasts. And when you factor in the amount of time-shifted and repeated content, it’s probably more like 9.

That’s not to say Australian television hasn’t made huge strides as of late. Shows that previously disappeared into the television void following cancellation, now have a new home in primetime on these secondary channels. Great news for those watching smaller, cult status programs that just don’t rate.

Australia’s digital television history

2001

01 January – Australia’s free-to-air television goes digital
01 August – ABC Kids Channel launches
21 August – Nine Guide launches
01 November – Fly TV launches

2002

12 June – SBS World News Channel launches
06 September – Seven Guide launches
14 October – SBS Essential launches

2003

30 June – ABC Kids Channel closes / Fly TV closes

2004

01 July – Ten Guide launches
04 July – Seven Guide closes

2005

07 March - ABC2 launches
25 January – SBS Essential closes

2007

15 October – Free-to-air television goes high definition / Seven HD launches
20 November – Ten Guide closes
15 December – Ten HD launches

2008

02 February – ABC rebranded ABC1
17 March – Nine HD launches
13 November – Nine Guide closes

2009

25 March – Ten HD closes
26 March – One Digital and One HD launch
26 April – Freeview’s first advertising roadblock
01 June – SBS World News Channel closes / SBS TWO launches
09 August – GO! launches
01 November – 7TWO scheduled to launch
04 December – ABC3 scheduled to launch

2013

31 December – Deadline for analogue transmission switch off

Where we can improve

For starters, Network Ten “seriously” need to scrap either One or One HD. 1 channel is more than enough for sports fanatics to get their fix. Together, they’re taking up valuable airtime for the remainder of Ten’s much larger content library and it’s generally just a waste of broadcasting bandwidth.

In order for Ten to compete in the ratings arena, they need to admit to defeat and realise that sport is just too much of a niche category to pull in consistent ratings. Particularly when GO! has proved itself to become such a formidable ratings force — edging Nine’s overall figures into the number 1 position, on more than one occasion.

Ten have an equally large back catalogue of programs like Nine, which would be nice to see on the air once again — including ‘Smallville’, ‘Friday Night Lights’, ‘90210′, ‘Psych’, ‘Monk’ and ‘Battlestar Galactica’.

While it’s too early to tell, Seven will really need to make huge strides to establish 7TWO as a completely unique channel. Having branded themselves as Seven “TWO”, viewers will still associate the channel with Seven and therefore have preconceived notions as to what’s on offer. This is likely part of the reason why GO! has become so successful. It was branded and marketed as an independent channel from launch.

The same goes for the public broadcasters, ABC2 and SBS TWO. It’s still pretty unclear, at least from a branding and marketing perspective, as to what each channel is about; what they offer; and why they are unique.

A quick look at the Freeview offerings in the UK, you will see that quite a few of the more successful channels have branded themselves independently from their original channel, including Channel 4’s “Film4” and “E4” and UKTV’s “Dave”. Even their names give you an insight into their content.

Film4 – obviously focuses on feature films and genre programs. E4 (short for Entertainment 4) – focuses on younger viewers in the 15 – 35 age group, with shows like ‘Skins’, ‘One Tree Hill’ and ‘Scrubs’. Dave – targeting a male audience, with shows like ‘Top Gear, ‘Red Dwarf’ and ‘Little Britain’.

On top of our Australian networks developing more unique and clear distinctions between each channel, I think the biggest improvement that could be made (for Australian television as a whole) would be the shift online.

All channels have made some effort to embrace the web — some taking greater steps than others. But the lack of one unified place online makes things incredibly complicated for audiences.

Unlike a television, it’s not quite as simple as flipping to another channel. Instead, you’re forced to scour through all the networks various websites and online portals to find their respective catch-up television services.

A place like the iTunes should be a one stop shop for audiences to purchase television content. But no, only a few of the networks have embraced the online store as an distributor. Why haven’t Seven and SBS signed on yet? Why is Nine so incompetent when it comes to keeping episodes up to date?

As great as all these new free-to-air digital channels are, there really needs to be more of a focus online and to the future of broadcasting. Conventional methods of viewing content won’t be around forever. Online and on-demand is the future and it’s about time we started to become more familiar with it.

Where we should be in 2010

As we move forward into 2010, we should hope to see even more movement in the Australian television arena. By the end of next year, there should be even more channels from the ABC, SBS and the commercial broadcasters; a single online catch-up portal from Freeview; and a range of internet connected devices, for enjoying online content from the comfort of our couch. Bring on 2010.

The 16 Australian free-to-air digital channels (from December 2009)

Your opinion

So, do you think Australian television networks are doing enough to keep up the changing landscape of television?

Where else do you think we can improve?

What other new channels would you like to see on free-to-air television?

Should we just skip digital TV all together and focus solely on the web?