Paramount has urged the Federal Government to come to the rescue of regional TV after Mildura Digital Television – a joint-venture between Seven West Media and WIN Corporation that broadcasts Network 10 channels to the region – revealed it will soon shut down.
Lead image: Mildura, located on the Murray River and near the Outback, will soon switch off Network 10 on broadcast TV.
From July, residents in the remote north-western town of Mildura and surrounding regions will no longer be able to watch MasterChef, Gogglebox and The Project on broadcast TV.
The signal blackout includes Channel Ten, 10 Peach and 10 Bold, potentially impacting around 60,000 people who live in the region. Viewers can still stream Network Ten content through the BVOD 10 Play.
Mildura Digital Television’s chairman and WIN’s chief financial officer Chris Halios-Lewis said that a declining regional advertising market and broadcasting taxes had made it unviable to subsidise the broadcast of Network 10 channels, which have been loss making for some time.
A spokesperson said Network 10 was “bitterly disappointed” that regional TV operators are being placed in a position to take such drastic action.
“It’s the people of Mildura and the surrounding region that will be hurt by this decision and it’s unacceptable that tens of thousands of Australians will see some of their favourite free-to-air broadcast channels go to black,” the spokesperson said.
“The Federal Government must act urgently to ensure the Network 10 affiliated channels can continue to be available via broadcast transmission. We urge the Prime Minister to urgently intervene and save these regional TV broadcasts.”
Communications minister Michelle Rowland described the decision to shut down as “disappointing” and highlights the structural challenges facing regional media.
