Imparja Television
Encyclopedia
Imparja Television is an Australia
n television network servicing remote eastern and central Australia
, that began broadcasting on 2 January 1988. It is based in Alice Springs, where it has a studio and satellite uplink facility. Notably, it is controlled by Australian Aborigines
through ownership by Imparja Television Pty Ltd
, and is widely regarded as a symbol of Aboriginal Australia. Most viewers receive Imparja via free to view satellite transmission, whilst a smaller proportion receive the network via analog terrestrial transmission.
Imparja is an Arrernte word meaning footprints. The word is used to represent that Imparja Television aims to service Arrente people wherever they may live, from Mutitjulu to King's Canyon to Alice Springs to Tennant Creek and beyond. They describe their range as a footprint.
In 2008, Imparja Television was identified on-air and in print as Nine Imparja. In 2009, the station again identifies as simply "Imparja", although the Nine Network's nine dots seen in the logo still remain.
was asked by the Federal Minister for Communications in October 1984 to inquire into the allocation of commercial television license for a number of remote areas. Licenses were granted in 1985 to the Golden West Network
, which broadcast to Western Australia
, and QSTV in north-eastern Australia
.
In 1986 hearings for the allocation of the license began, and the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association
(CAAMA), which began providing Central Australian radio programs in local languages in 1980, formed Imparja Television Pty Ltd
as a company. Soon after, the Government of the Northern Territory
supported Imparja's application for a license by offering to purchase an estimated $2 million package of services from the successful applicant for the central Australia license area. The Government of South Australia
undertook a similar promise, offering loans of $1 million to Imparja if they were successful.
By 1987 the new station had begun to build transmitters, rebroadcast sites, and new studios based in Alice Springs. Imparja became the first Aboriginal member of the Federation of Australian Commercial Television Stations
and the now-defunct Regional Television Association, both dominant organisations at the time.
Imparja’s first test program, Australia versus Sri Lanka Test Cricket
, was telecast on 2 January 1988 in Alice Springs. Two weeks later, on 15 January 1988, the station was officially inaugurated at Imparja Television's head office in Alice Springs by Minister for Communications Ralph Willis
and Warren Snowdon
, the Australian federal member of parliament for the Division of Lingiari
in Northern Territory
.
Imparja TV was chaired by Freda Glynn for its first 10 years and, for a time, she was the only female chair of a television network in the world. Freda was one of the first three founders of CAAMA – the others being John Macumba and Philip Batty.
Imparja Television had an initial population reach of 62,000 people, which by 1993 had grown to 125,000. Imparja was available through retransmission sites at Ceduna, Coober Pedy, Leigh Creek and Woomera
in South Australia
, and Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Katherine and Bathurst Island
in the Northern Territory
, as well as on the Optus Aurora
satellite
platform.
Imparja initially carried programming from all three major Australian commercial television networks, but following aggregation of market area with QSTV, it affiliated with the Nine Network
and Network Ten
. Imparja Television also screened some ABC Television and SBS Television indigenous programs, all in addition to original programs commissioned by the station.
live from its Alice Springs studios. This followed the lead taken in 1989 when the station began to produce weather reports for parts of the Northern Territory
, South Australia
and New South Wales
, presented by Lavinia Hampton.
By 1993, Imparja’s viewing audience had doubled to approximately 125,000 Australia
ns. This in turn led to the increased allocation of government funding in 1994 to produce Yamba’s Playtime, which was the network's first in-house televisual production. Yamba’s Playtime features the network's official mascot, "Yamba". Also in 1994, the Imparja Board of Directors established the Imparja Business Development Sub Committee, to monitor and provide strategic recommendations for areas of growth for the company.
In 1995, Imparja Television received the Telstra
Indigenous Business Award for Business of the Year. Also in 1995, Imparja's satellite transmission moved from the Aussat A-Class satellites to the Optus B1 satellite, and the station's licence was renewed.
Two new in-house productions were launched in 1996. The first being the BRACS Program, which was almost fully produced by Aboriginal
communities, and Corroboree Rock, an Aboriginal music program.
Imparja's parent company, Imparja Pty Ltd, converted to a proprietary company
in 1997, whilst in the late 1990s, Imparja moved to digital satellite technology on the Optus Aurora
platform. This meant that Imparja's satellite transmission moved from the Optus B1 satellite to the Optus C1 satellite.
(NITV).
Imparja faced criticism by a number of community groups in 2004, following the station's decision to introduce advertising for alcohol for the first time. The network pledged to donate 30% of the total income received from alcohol advertising
towards alcohol and substance abuse programs in communities.
In 2005, Imparja National News, which primarily covered the news in Alice Springs in addition to other national and international news stories, was axed. The move was taken in anticipation of the network's license area being merged with that of Darwin
. Regulations imposed by the Australian Communications and Media Authority
relating to minimum levels of local news coverage led to 2006 reinstatement of Imparja National News. The news service began broadcasting again from the middle of February 2006, with Ryan Liddle as presenter.
In the mid 2000s, it was widely expected that the Australian Communications and Media Authority
would merge the "Darwin
" and "Remote Eastern and Central Australia" commercial television licence areas. This would have most likely seen Imparja Television become a Network Ten
affiliate in Darwin. However, this did not eventuate. Instead PBL Media
and Southern Cross Broadcasting
, the two existing Darwin Commercial licence holders were invited to bid individually or together. Their successful joint bid used a company called Darwin Digital Television.
On 3 February 2008, Imparja Television updated its logo removing the emblem, which had been present on the logo for two decades. The logo change coincided with Imparja dropping Network Ten
affiliation, becoming a sole Nine Network
affiliate, in addition to axing Imparja National News, and also adding Nine Network's dots to its new logo.
". It will have two feeds, Ten Central North and Ten Central South.
In December 2010, Imparja Television began broadcasting on terrestrial digital TV and the new VAST
satellite service. This expansion included the establishment of two feeds for these platforms, Imparja North (Qld/NT) and Imparja South (NSW/SA/Vic/Tas). As of 2010, their programming is exactly the same.
Imparja Pty Ltd also began to distribute and sell advertising for two feeds of Go!
and one feed of GEM
.
Imparja Television is a sole Nine Network
affiliate. The network previously broadcast both Nine and Ten network programming, however it ceased broadcasting Network Ten
programming on 3 February 2008. Imparja Television also screens a number of their own programs, which are produced by local Aboriginal community members. These include Bush Mechanics
and a children's television show called Yamba's Playtime
. Imparja also airs programming relating to local Australian rules football
and community sports, as well as news updates and religious thought for the day programs. Imparja Television also regularly broadcasts films created by the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association
, which is a shareholder of its parent company.
Imparja's programming schedule is currently based on the Nine Network schedule for Brisbane (based on Eastern Standard Time). Prior to February 2008, scheduling was generally based on Central Standard Time, reflecting its Alice Springs-based heritage. As a result, programs are now broadcast half an hour earlier than they previously would have been under the previous arrangement.
- a 30-minute, weeknightly program combining local and national/international news - with eight, one-minute local news updates per day, plus a 30-minute local news magazine program, Footprints, hosted by Catherine Liddle, airing at 6:30 pm (AEST) on Fridays. The news updates are hosted by Ryan Liddle, who previously hosted Imparja National News. This brings Imparja's daily news service roughly into line with its competitor in the Remote Eastern and Central Australia licence area, Southern Cross Central (QQQ)
. Footprints ceased to be broadcast by 2009.
The 6:00 pm (AEST) time slot is filled by a simulcast of Nine News from Brisbane. Imparja cites its geographic distribution, with a majority of the remote licence area's viewers now located in Queensland, as a "key factor" in selecting the Brisbane bulletin. In 2009 Imparja began airing the Darwin edition of Nine News live at 6:30 pm (AEST) on weekdays, immediately following the Brisbane edition, in place of A Current Affair - thereby restoring a Northern Territory
-based bulletin to the station.
, cricket
, golf
and tennis
. The station also broadcast motorsport
and Australian rules football
coverage until 2008.
, New South Wales
, South Australia
, Victoria, Tasmania
and Norfolk Island
. It is generally available by satellite on the VAST
or Optus Aurora
platforms, though in some locations it is broadcast terrestrially. Imparja Television has the largest geographic range of any commercial television network in Australia. Imparja is also received on the Spirit of Tasmania Bass Strait Ferries.
Imparja Television was previously available in New Zealand
until March 2008 when the New Zealand government pressured the Australian government to remove the service from the satellite footprint that includes New Zealand.
The total population serviced by Imparja Television is approximately 450,000 people.
Imaparja is also available in Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea though the HiTRON subscription television service.
artist and traditional owner. The logo symbolised the MacDonnell Ranges
, the Todd River
and the Yeperenye Caterpillar. This logo was used until 30 January 2006, when the network relaunched its logo. The new logo designed by Bruce Dunlop Associates saw addition of a blue sphere added to behind the emblem, marking that Imparja is a Network Ten
affiliate. On 3 February 2008, Imparja Television updated its logo removing the emblem, which had been present on the logo for two decades. The logo change coincided with Imparja dropping Network Ten
affiliation, becoming a sole Nine Network
affiliate. The new logo was produced with Nine Network's nine dots being added beside the word Imparja. The dots indicate that Imparja is now a Nine Network
affiliate.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n television network servicing remote eastern and central Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, that began broadcasting on 2 January 1988. It is based in Alice Springs, where it has a studio and satellite uplink facility. Notably, it is controlled by Australian Aborigines
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
through ownership by Imparja Television Pty Ltd
Imparja Television Pty Ltd
Imparja Television Pty Ltd is a commercial television company servicing remote eastern and central Australia that began broadcasting on 2 January 1988. It is based in Alice Springs, where it has a studio and satellite uplink facility...
, and is widely regarded as a symbol of Aboriginal Australia. Most viewers receive Imparja via free to view satellite transmission, whilst a smaller proportion receive the network via analog terrestrial transmission.
Imparja is an Arrernte word meaning footprints. The word is used to represent that Imparja Television aims to service Arrente people wherever they may live, from Mutitjulu to King's Canyon to Alice Springs to Tennant Creek and beyond. They describe their range as a footprint.
In 2008, Imparja Television was identified on-air and in print as Nine Imparja. In 2009, the station again identifies as simply "Imparja", although the Nine Network's nine dots seen in the logo still remain.
Origins
The then Australian Broadcasting TribunalAustralian Broadcasting Authority
The Australian Broadcasting Authority was an Australian government agency whose main roles were to regulate broadcasting, radiocommunications and telecommunications....
was asked by the Federal Minister for Communications in October 1984 to inquire into the allocation of commercial television license for a number of remote areas. Licenses were granted in 1985 to the Golden West Network
Golden West Network
GWN7 is an Australian television network owned by the Prime Media Group that is based in Bunbury, Western Australia. The Golden West Network launched on 10 March 1967 as BTW-3 in Bunbury, and has since expanded to cover regional and remote Western Australia, servicing all areas except metropolitan...
, which broadcast to Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
, and QSTV in north-eastern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
In 1986 hearings for the allocation of the license began, and the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association
The Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association is an organisation founded in 1980 by Freda Glynn, Phillip Batty and John Macumba in order to expose Aboriginal music and culture to the rest of Australia from its Alice Springs media centre through the film-making industry, commencing broadcast...
(CAAMA), which began providing Central Australian radio programs in local languages in 1980, formed Imparja Television Pty Ltd
Imparja Television Pty Ltd
Imparja Television Pty Ltd is a commercial television company servicing remote eastern and central Australia that began broadcasting on 2 January 1988. It is based in Alice Springs, where it has a studio and satellite uplink facility...
as a company. Soon after, the Government of the Northern Territory
Government of the Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is governed according to the principles of the Westminster system, a form of parliamentary government based on the model of the United Kingdom...
supported Imparja's application for a license by offering to purchase an estimated $2 million package of services from the successful applicant for the central Australia license area. The Government of South Australia
Government of South Australia
The form of the Government of South Australia is prescribed in its constitution, which dates from 1856, although it has been amended many times since then...
undertook a similar promise, offering loans of $1 million to Imparja if they were successful.
By 1987 the new station had begun to build transmitters, rebroadcast sites, and new studios based in Alice Springs. Imparja became the first Aboriginal member of the Federation of Australian Commercial Television Stations
FreeTV Australia
FreeTV is the industry body that represents the Free-to-Air Australian TV networks. It is unique in that it is an industry body that has all the companies in the industry as members....
and the now-defunct Regional Television Association, both dominant organisations at the time.
Imparja’s first test program, Australia versus Sri Lanka Test Cricket
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
, was telecast on 2 January 1988 in Alice Springs. Two weeks later, on 15 January 1988, the station was officially inaugurated at Imparja Television's head office in Alice Springs by Minister for Communications Ralph Willis
Ralph Willis
Ralph Willis AO , Australian politician, was Treasurer for the final years of the Keating Labor Government.-Career:Willis was born in Melbourne to Stan and Doris Willis and educated at Footscray Central School, University High School and Melbourne University, gaining a Bachelor of Commerce degree...
and Warren Snowdon
Warren Snowdon
Warren Edward Snowdon is an Australian politician. He is an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives. He represented the Division of Northern Territory from July 1987 to March 1996, and from October 1998 to November 2001.Since November 2001 he has represented the...
, the Australian federal member of parliament for the Division of Lingiari
Division of Lingiari
The Division of Lingiari is an Australian Electoral Division in the Northern Territory. It was created in 2000, out of the former Division of Northern Territory. It covers almost the entire Territory , an area of , making it the second largest electorate in terms of area in Australia...
in Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
.
Imparja TV was chaired by Freda Glynn for its first 10 years and, for a time, she was the only female chair of a television network in the world. Freda was one of the first three founders of CAAMA – the others being John Macumba and Philip Batty.
Imparja Television had an initial population reach of 62,000 people, which by 1993 had grown to 125,000. Imparja was available through retransmission sites at Ceduna, Coober Pedy, Leigh Creek and Woomera
Woomera, South Australia
The town, or village, of Woomera is located in the south east corner of the Woomera Prohibited Area ; colloquially known as the Woomera Rocket Range...
in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, and Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Katherine and Bathurst Island
Bathurst Island
A member of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Bathurst Island is one of the Queen Elizabeth Islands in Nunavut Territory, Canada. The area of the island is estimated at , making it the 54th largest island in the world and Canada's 13th largest island. It is uninhabited.The island is low-lying with...
in the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
, as well as on the Optus Aurora
Optus Aurora
Optus Aurora is a free-to-view satellite television platform in Australia, aimed at providing television and radio services to remote and black spot areas using the Optus C1 and B3 satellites...
satellite
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
platform.
Imparja initially carried programming from all three major Australian commercial television networks, but following aggregation of market area with QSTV, it affiliated with the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
and Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
. Imparja Television also screened some ABC Television and SBS Television indigenous programs, all in addition to original programs commissioned by the station.
1990s
In 1990, Imparja Local News was launched as a fifteen-minute insert of local news into the national bulletin. The station also covered the Northern Territory general electionNorthern Territory general election, 1990
A general election was held in the Northern Territory on Saturday 27 October 1990, and was won by the incumbent Country Liberal Party under Chief Minister Marshall Perron....
live from its Alice Springs studios. This followed the lead taken in 1989 when the station began to produce weather reports for parts of the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
and New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, presented by Lavinia Hampton.
By 1993, Imparja’s viewing audience had doubled to approximately 125,000 Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
ns. This in turn led to the increased allocation of government funding in 1994 to produce Yamba’s Playtime, which was the network's first in-house televisual production. Yamba’s Playtime features the network's official mascot, "Yamba". Also in 1994, the Imparja Board of Directors established the Imparja Business Development Sub Committee, to monitor and provide strategic recommendations for areas of growth for the company.
In 1995, Imparja Television received the Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
Indigenous Business Award for Business of the Year. Also in 1995, Imparja's satellite transmission moved from the Aussat A-Class satellites to the Optus B1 satellite, and the station's licence was renewed.
Two new in-house productions were launched in 1996. The first being the BRACS Program, which was almost fully produced by Aboriginal
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
communities, and Corroboree Rock, an Aboriginal music program.
Imparja's parent company, Imparja Pty Ltd, converted to a proprietary company
Proprietary company
A proprietary company is a form of corporation in Australia and South Africa that is either limited or unlimited. However, unlike a public company there are, depending on jurisdiction, restrictions on what they can and cannot do....
in 1997, whilst in the late 1990s, Imparja moved to digital satellite technology on the Optus Aurora
Optus Aurora
Optus Aurora is a free-to-view satellite television platform in Australia, aimed at providing television and radio services to remote and black spot areas using the Optus C1 and B3 satellites...
platform. This meant that Imparja's satellite transmission moved from the Optus B1 satellite to the Optus C1 satellite.
2000s
By 2001 the station's coverage area had grown to include over 430,000 people. Around this time 'Imparja Info Channel' ('Channel 31') was launched, providing additional programming, news, and community information to remote Aboriginal communities. The Aboriginal programming on this channel later became known as Indigenous Community Television (ICTV). In 2007, the whole channel was replaced by National Indigenous TelevisionNational Indigenous Television
National Indigenous Television, commonly referred to as NITV, is an Australian television network broadcasting throughout Australia via satellite.-History:...
(NITV).
Imparja faced criticism by a number of community groups in 2004, following the station's decision to introduce advertising for alcohol for the first time. The network pledged to donate 30% of the total income received from alcohol advertising
Alcohol advertising
Alcohol advertising is the promotion of alcoholic beverages by alcohol producers through a variety of media. Along with tobacco advertising, it is one of the most highly-regulated forms of marketing...
towards alcohol and substance abuse programs in communities.
In 2005, Imparja National News, which primarily covered the news in Alice Springs in addition to other national and international news stories, was axed. The move was taken in anticipation of the network's license area being merged with that of Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
. Regulations imposed by the Australian Communications and Media Authority
Australian Communications and Media Authority
The Australian Communications and Media Authority is an Australian government statutory authority within the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy portfolio...
relating to minimum levels of local news coverage led to 2006 reinstatement of Imparja National News. The news service began broadcasting again from the middle of February 2006, with Ryan Liddle as presenter.
In the mid 2000s, it was widely expected that the Australian Communications and Media Authority
Australian Communications and Media Authority
The Australian Communications and Media Authority is an Australian government statutory authority within the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy portfolio...
would merge the "Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
" and "Remote Eastern and Central Australia" commercial television licence areas. This would have most likely seen Imparja Television become a Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
affiliate in Darwin. However, this did not eventuate. Instead PBL Media
PBL Media
Nine Entertainment Co. is a media company owned by CVC Asia Pacific.Originally a 50/50 joint venture with Consolidated Media Holdings, in June 2007 PBL announced that it would sell a further 25% to CVC for A$ 515 million...
and Southern Cross Broadcasting
Southern Cross Broadcasting
Southern Cross Broadcasting Limited was a diversified Australian media company, that owned and operated a variety of media businesses, primarily radio and television.-History:...
, the two existing Darwin Commercial licence holders were invited to bid individually or together. Their successful joint bid used a company called Darwin Digital Television.
On 3 February 2008, Imparja Television updated its logo removing the emblem, which had been present on the logo for two decades. The logo change coincided with Imparja dropping Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
affiliation, becoming a sole Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
affiliate, in addition to axing Imparja National News, and also adding Nine Network's dots to its new logo.
2010s
On 19 May 2010, the ACMA (Australian Communications and Media Authority) approved a license for a new remote area digital-only TV channel, a joint venture by Imparja Pty Ltd and Southern Cross Central. It will be launched in 2011 as "Ten CentralCentral Digital Television
Central Digital Television is a digital television station broadcasting in remote central and eastern Australia. It is jointly owned by the Southern Cross Media Group and Imparja Television Pty Ltd and is an affiliate of Network Ten and Southern Cross Ten. It is similar to services already...
". It will have two feeds, Ten Central North and Ten Central South.
In December 2010, Imparja Television began broadcasting on terrestrial digital TV and the new VAST
Viewer Access Satellite Television
The Viewer Access Satellite Television service, or VAST, is a satellite television platform in Australia, providing digital television and radio services to remote and black spot areas using the Optus C1 satellite. It is partly funded by the Australian Government and managed through a joint-venture...
satellite service. This expansion included the establishment of two feeds for these platforms, Imparja North (Qld/NT) and Imparja South (NSW/SA/Vic/Tas). As of 2010, their programming is exactly the same.
Imparja Pty Ltd also began to distribute and sell advertising for two feeds of Go!
Go! (Australian TV channel)
GO! is an Australian free-to-air standard definition digital television channel launched by the Nine Network on Sunday 9 August 2009.-Origins:...
and one feed of GEM
GEM (Australian TV channel)
GEM is an Australian free-to-air high definition digital television channel, launched by the Nine Network on Sunday 26 September 2010 at 6am...
.
Programming
Further information: List of programs broadcast by Imparja TelevisionImparja Television is a sole Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
affiliate. The network previously broadcast both Nine and Ten network programming, however it ceased broadcasting Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
programming on 3 February 2008. Imparja Television also screens a number of their own programs, which are produced by local Aboriginal community members. These include Bush Mechanics
Bush Mechanics
Bush Mechanics is a 2001 television documentary series directed by David Batty and produced by the Warlpiri Media Association, featuring an Indigenous Australian take on motor mechanics....
and a children's television show called Yamba's Playtime
Yamba's Playtime
Yamba's Playtime is Australian children's television program, was broadcast on Imparja Television, Yamba the Honey Ant is much-loved pre-school show from the Alice Springs.The program is currently screens on Friday afternoons...
. Imparja also airs programming relating to local Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
and community sports, as well as news updates and religious thought for the day programs. Imparja Television also regularly broadcasts films created by the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association
The Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association is an organisation founded in 1980 by Freda Glynn, Phillip Batty and John Macumba in order to expose Aboriginal music and culture to the rest of Australia from its Alice Springs media centre through the film-making industry, commencing broadcast...
, which is a shareholder of its parent company.
Imparja's programming schedule is currently based on the Nine Network schedule for Brisbane (based on Eastern Standard Time). Prior to February 2008, scheduling was generally based on Central Standard Time, reflecting its Alice Springs-based heritage. As a result, programs are now broadcast half an hour earlier than they previously would have been under the previous arrangement.
News and current affairs
Imparja Television does not currently produce their own evening regional news bulletin (as of 2009). In 2008, Imparja replaced Imparja National NewsImparja National News
Imparja National News was an Australian regional television news program broadcast on Imparja Television.Imparja introduced a local news service into its nightly simulcast of National Nine News in 1990. Subsequently, the bulletin expanded into a full half-hour program incorporating local, national...
- a 30-minute, weeknightly program combining local and national/international news - with eight, one-minute local news updates per day, plus a 30-minute local news magazine program, Footprints, hosted by Catherine Liddle, airing at 6:30 pm (AEST) on Fridays. The news updates are hosted by Ryan Liddle, who previously hosted Imparja National News. This brings Imparja's daily news service roughly into line with its competitor in the Remote Eastern and Central Australia licence area, Southern Cross Central (QQQ)
QQQ
QQQ is an Australian television station broadcasting in remote eastern, southern and central areas of Australia.QQQ may also refer to:* QQQ , a fictional character in the F-Zero video game series...
. Footprints ceased to be broadcast by 2009.
The 6:00 pm (AEST) time slot is filled by a simulcast of Nine News from Brisbane. Imparja cites its geographic distribution, with a majority of the remote licence area's viewers now located in Queensland, as a "key factor" in selecting the Brisbane bulletin. In 2009 Imparja began airing the Darwin edition of Nine News live at 6:30 pm (AEST) on weekdays, immediately following the Brisbane edition, in place of A Current Affair - thereby restoring a Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
-based bulletin to the station.
Sport
Imparja airs most sports coverage from the Nine Network, including rugby leagueRugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
, cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
and tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
. The station also broadcast motorsport
Motorsport
Motorsport or motorsports is the group of sports which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles, whether for racing or non-racing competition...
and Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
coverage until 2008.
Availability
Imparja Television broadcasts throughout most of the Northern Territory, and also to some remote parts of QueenslandQueensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, Victoria, Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
and Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. The island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia, but it enjoys a large degree of self-governance...
. It is generally available by satellite on the VAST
Viewer Access Satellite Television
The Viewer Access Satellite Television service, or VAST, is a satellite television platform in Australia, providing digital television and radio services to remote and black spot areas using the Optus C1 satellite. It is partly funded by the Australian Government and managed through a joint-venture...
or Optus Aurora
Optus Aurora
Optus Aurora is a free-to-view satellite television platform in Australia, aimed at providing television and radio services to remote and black spot areas using the Optus C1 and B3 satellites...
platforms, though in some locations it is broadcast terrestrially. Imparja Television has the largest geographic range of any commercial television network in Australia. Imparja is also received on the Spirit of Tasmania Bass Strait Ferries.
Imparja Television was previously available in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
until March 2008 when the New Zealand government pressured the Australian government to remove the service from the satellite footprint that includes New Zealand.
The total population serviced by Imparja Television is approximately 450,000 people.
Imaparja is also available in Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea though the HiTRON subscription television service.
Logos
Imparja Television's first logo was developed from a painting produced by an ArrernteArrernte people
The Arrernte people , known in English as the Aranda or Arunta, are those Indigenous Australians who are the original custodians of Arrernte lands in the central area of Australia around Mparntwe or Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. The Arrernte tribe has lived there for more than 20,000 years...
artist and traditional owner. The logo symbolised the MacDonnell Ranges
MacDonnell Ranges
The MacDonnell Ranges of the Northern Territory, are a long series of mountain ranges located in the centre of Australia , and consist of parallel ridges running to the east and west of Alice Springs...
, the Todd River
Todd River
The Todd River is an ephemeral river in the southern Northern Territory, central Australia. The origins of the Todd River begin in the MacDonnell Ranges, where it flows past the Telegraph Station, almost through the center of Alice Springs, through Heavitree Gap at the southern end of Alice Springs...
and the Yeperenye Caterpillar. This logo was used until 30 January 2006, when the network relaunched its logo. The new logo designed by Bruce Dunlop Associates saw addition of a blue sphere added to behind the emblem, marking that Imparja is a Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
affiliate. On 3 February 2008, Imparja Television updated its logo removing the emblem, which had been present on the logo for two decades. The logo change coincided with Imparja dropping Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
affiliation, becoming a sole Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
affiliate. The new logo was produced with Nine Network's nine dots being added beside the word Imparja. The dots indicate that Imparja is now a Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
affiliate.