HSV (TV station)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

HSV
kW (analog)
50 kW (digital)
HAAT555 m (both)[1]
Transmitter coordinates37°50′8″S 145°20′52″E / 37.83556°S 145.34778°E / -37.83556; 145.34778 (HSV)
Links
Website7plus.com.au/seven-news-melbourne

HSV is a television station in

1956 Summer Olympic Games in Melbourne. HSV-7 is the home of AFL
coverage.

The HSV building (also known as 'Broadcast Centre Melbourne') was the network's operations hub, where the Master Control Room was located, controlling all metropolitan and regional feeds. Programming lineup, advertisement output, feed switching, time zone monitoring and national transmission output was previously delivered there. All Seven Network owned and operated studios had their live signals relayed there: for instance, ATN's output was fed to HSV and then transmitted via satellite or fibre optics to towers around metropolitan Sydney. In 2019 this function was transferred to a new centre in Sydney as part of a joint venture with Nine Network. As with other Melbourne terrestrial stations, its original transmission tower was atop Mount Dandenong.

History

HSV-7 began test transmissions in July 1956, becoming the first 7 station in Australia and the first television station in

Commonwealth Government started issuing television licences. In the opening ceremony, Eric Pearce
declared :

"We dedicate this station to the full service of the community. To Australian life – the happy families in the homes – we promise to serve you faithfully and well".

HSV-7 and rival station

Victoria
, as is the normal protocol for television call signs to have the third letter indicate the state where the station is licensed, although for publicity purposes HSV was said to stand for Herald Sun Vision just as sister station ATN became the Australian Television Network rather than New South Wales).

The station's "Melbourne's Alive" promo, which ran in 1999.

In March 1960, the station converted an old cinema in

southern hemisphere's first fully remote studio, equipped with RCA TRT video tape recorders, camera cranes and AV mixing equipment. It featured a larger stage and backstage rooms, and audience capacity for up to 600. It was called the Channel 7 Teletheatre and connected to the station's main Dorcas Street studios in South Melbourne by multiple microwave links. The teletheatre opened with a major live show featuring the US entertainer Bob Crosby and his band and the British comedian Jimmy Edwards, among others. Many popular children's shows and variety programs (e.g. Sunnyside Up
and The Happy Show) originated there in front of live audiences.

This station commissioned many of Australian TV's earliest and longest-running courtroom and police procedural dramatic series such as Crawford's Consider Your Verdict and Homicide.

One of the longest-serving station and general managers during the transformative years into international satellite links and color transmissions was

Royal Melbourne Show
.

The station began to identify as Channel Seven in the late 1960s, and in the early 1970s used the national

ATV
-10) as a result of this.

In late 1987, the government introduced cross-media ownership laws which forced Fairfax to choose between its print and broadcast operations. It chose print, and HSV-7 was sold to Christopher Skase's Qintex, which already owned Seven stations in Sydney, Adelaide and Perth.[citation needed] Skase pledged to revitalize the channel and its programs, and to return it to its prior success among Melbourne viewers. In 1990, Qintex was sent into damage control after Skase escaped extradition proceedings, and the Seven Network became a discrete company. Entrepreneur Kerry Stokes bought the network in 1995. On 10 December 2013, HSV-7 terminated its analogue signal as part of the switchover to digital transmission. At around 8:54am local time, HSV-7's analogue signal broke away from Sunrise to air a montage of the history of its analogue broadcasts from all the way back in the 50s and 60s. The signal was then cut off after the montage.[3]

Headquarters

Broadcast Centre Melbourne, was the centre of programming operations for the entire Seven Network up until 2019 and currently the headquarters for HSV

HSV's production studios and headquarters were originally located at the Dorcas Street Studios in South Melbourne. HSV remained there until March 2002 when news, current affairs and sport shows were moved to new headquarters at Docklands and the Dorcas Street Studios were closed. Docklands Studios Melbourne and Global Television is home to HSV's studio facilities for the Seven Network's Melbourne-based entertainment, drama and reality programmes shows such as Dancing with the Stars (Australian TV series) and the quiz show The Chase Australia.

HSV's headquarters, known on-air as Broadcast Centre Melbourne or BCM, are located near the

owned-and-operated stations in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and regional areas of Queensland. Approximately 200 full-time employees work in the building with an additional 100 part-timers. In 2005, the HSV building experienced a power failure that resulted in a blackout across the Seven Network, as well as all regional affiliates.[4]

The HSV studios produces

Seven News Melbourne
and was the main play-out centre for sports broadcasting. While broadcasting on air, national news programs often refer to HSV as 'News Centre', while 'Sports Central' (or 'Footy Central' for AFL broadcasts) is commonly used for sports programs.

2019 saw the Seven Network move its main play-out centre to NPC Media in Sydney. [5]

After more than two decades the Seven Network announced in 2024 that HSV7 would be moving its operations to Collins Street, Melbourne. The BCM facility at docklands is expected to close in early 2025 with Seven Melbourne staff to move into a newly built office tower located within the Melbourne Quarter development. [6]

Programming

Locally produced programs by or with HSV-7 Melbourne:

HSV Studios

Location

Seven Melbourne is also the official broadcaster for these major events in Melbourne.

Past programming

News and current affairs

Entertainment

Drama

Sport

Seven News

wrap livery outside Melbourne Town Hall
.
Wideshot of Melbourne's news studio, with Peter Mitchell presenting.

Seven News Melbourne is directed by Shaun Menegola and presented by

Broadcast Centre Melbourne, located at Docklands. Sport is presented by Tim Watson on weeknights and Abbey Gelmi on weekends. Weather is presented by Jane Bunn
on weeknights and Sonia Marinelli on weekends.

Peter Mitchell previously held the role of weekend presenter for then-titled Seven Nightly News between 1987 and 2000 when he replaced the short-lived presenting duo of David Johnston and Anne Fulwood. Jennifer Keyte was appointed as main weeknight presenter in 1990, becoming Australia's first solo female primetime commercial news presenter.[citation needed] In a network reshuffle in 1996, Keyte terminated her employment after the Seven Network attempted to pair her with David Johnston, who went on to present solo for three years.[citation needed] She returned in 2003, assuming the role as weekend presenter, succeeding Jennifer Adams.

In May 2018, Network Ten announced that Keyte would leave Seven Network to present Ten Eyewitness News Melbourne replacing Stephen Quartermain.[7] In August 2018, it was announced that Mike Amor would move back to Australia after 17 years as United States Bureau Chief to replace Keyte as weekend presenter.

Following decades of trailing

Ten Eyewitness News. But, it was replaced in 2009 when Nine News
returned to win the Melbourne news ratings battle.

In January 2022, it was announced that Rebecca Maddern would return to the Seven Network to present 7NEWS Melbourne on weekends with Mike Amor.

Until 2022, during the AFL season, Peter Mitchell and the weeknight team would present from Sunday to Thursday and Mike Amor, Rebecca Maddern and the weekend team would present on Friday and Saturday nights.

Afternoon news updates for Melbourne are presented by Amor or Maddern, while Mitchell presents weeknight updates. Amor presents weekend news updates. Blake Johnson and Jayde Vincent is a fill-in news presenter with Andrew McCormack and Laura Spurway as the fill-in sport presenters and Estelle Griepink as fill-in weather presenters.

In August 2015, Seven News Melbourne began producing a local Seven Afternoon News bulletin replacing the national bulletin. Amor and Maddern present the bulletin on alternate days. In 2020, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, that bulletin temporary included news items from South Australia following the cancellation of the statewide afternoon bulletin from SAS-7 in Adelaide before the network reinstated it due to viewer opposition and the threat faced by the local Nine News team on Seven's news dominance.

Presenters

Current presenters
Role Bulletins
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
News Peter Mitchell (2000–present) Mike Amor (2018–present)
Rebecca Maddern (2022–present)
Sport Tim Watson (2013–present) Abbey Gelmi (2022–present)
Weather Jane Bunn (2014–present) Sonia Marinelli (2022–present)

Reporters

  • Blake Johnson (Senior Reporter/Fill-in News Presenter)
  • Cameron Baud (Police Crime Reporter)
  • Sharnelle Vella (State Political Reporter)
  • Nick McCallum (Senior Reporter)
  • Paul Dowsley (Senior Reporter)
  • Jackie Quist (Senior Reporter)
  • Christie Cooper (Senior Reporter)
  • Kristy Mayr (Senior Reporter)
  • Hope Wilson (Senior Reporter)
  • Rochelle Brown (Senior Reporter)
  • Kathleen O’Connor (Senior Reporter)
  • Melina Sarris (Senior Reporter and Weather Presenter)
  • Estelle Griepink (Senior Reporter)
  • Sonia Marinelli (Senior Reporter and Weather Presenter)
  • Jordy Wright (Senior Reporter)
  • Sara Jones (Senior Reporter)
  • Bethan Yeoman (Senior Reporter)
  • Ainsley Koch (Senior Reporter)
  • Tyra Stowers (Senior Reporter)

Sport Reporters

  • Mitch Cleary (Chief AFL Reporter)
  • Theo Doropoulos (Senior AFL Reporter)
  • Andrew McCormack (Sport Reporter)
  • Laura Spurway (Sport Reporter)

Sunrise & The Morning Show Correspondent

  • Teegan Dolling (Sunrise Correspondent)

Canberra Bureau

  • Mark Riley (Canberra Political Bureau Chief)
  • Rob Scott (Canberra Political Reporter)

Overseas Bureaus

  • David Woiwod (US Bureau Chief)
  • Tim Lester (Los Angeles Correspondent)
  • Mylee Hogan (Los Angeles Correspondent)
  • Hugh Whitfeld (Europe Bureau Chief)
  • Ashlee Mullany (Europe Correspondent)

Past Presenters

Past Reporters

  • Greg Shackleton (mid 1970s)
  • Dean Felton
  • Heath O'Loughlin (2000–2006)
  • Dylan Howard (2005–2008)
  • Leith Mulligan (2008–2012)
  • Amy Parks (2009–2013)
  • Michael Felgate (2004–2012; 2014–2019)
  • Brendan Donohoe (1990–2020)
  • Jade Robran
  • Karen O'Sullivan (2004–2018)
  • Michael Scanlan (2012–2018)
  • Peter Beaton (1987–1995)
  • Laurel Irving (2008–2021)
  • Nathan Templeton (2012–2022)
  • Mark Stevens (2013–2021)
  • Alan Murrell
  • Tom Browne

See also

References

External links