Television - Communications - Travel Victoria: accommodation & visitor guide

Television networks and digital services

There are three commercial free-to-air television networks broadcasting to Melbourne and Geelong - the Seven Network, Nine Network and Network Ten.

Outside of Melbourne and Geelong there are three independently-owned free-to-air networks which are affiliated to the Melbourne networks. They are Prime (affiliate of Seven Network), Southern Cross Austereo (affiliate of Nine Network) and WIN (affiliate of Network Ten). These regional networks mainly broadcast the content of their Melbourne affiliates, but also include some individual content, typically in the form of local news bulletins and advertisements which are targeted to their specific broadcast area.

There are two public broadcasters owned by the government that transmit throughout Victoria - the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) and the multicultural and multilingual SBS (Special Broadcasting Service).

C31, a non-profit community television service, broadcasts to Melbourne and Geelong.

Digital TV broadcasts are either in standard definition (SD) or high definition (HD).

TV stations available throughout Victoria

Additional TV stations in Melbourne and Geelong

Additional TV stations in regional Victoria

Mildura television stations

In the regional area around Mildura, Southern Cross stations are replaced by offerings from Mildura Digital Television. MDV is available on channel 5, while the Nine Network's 9 Gem is available on channel 50 and 9 Go on channel 55.

History of television

Official mainstream analogue television broadcasts began in Australia during 1956, spurred on by the Olympic Games being held in Melbourne later that year. By the time the Olympic Games opened in November, three television stations in Melbourne were operational and broadcasting.

Television broadcasts began to regional areas of Victoria in 1961.

TV broadcasts were originally in black and white, switching to colour in 1975.

Digital TV transmissions commenced in 2001, offering superior video and audio quality compared to analogue. Between 2010 and 2013, analogue TV transmissions were progressively phased out across Australia.

Subscription television services

Also known as "pay TV", subscription television services are delivered by cable or satellite, offering a much wider range of content than free-to-air services, but at a cost. The major provider of subscription TV services in Victoria is Foxtel.