Imparja Television
Country | Australia |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Remote Central and Eastern |
Affiliates | Nine Network |
Headquarters | Alice Springs, Northern Territory |
Programming | |
Language(s) | English |
Picture format | 576i SDTV |
Ownership | |
Owner | Imparja Television Pty Ltd |
Sister channels | 9Go! 9Gem |
History | |
Launched | 2 January 1988 |
Links | |
Website | imparja.com |
Availability | |
Terrestrial | |
Freeview Imparja owned (virtual) | 9 |
Imparja Television (IMP) is an independent Australian
Imparja is the
Broadcasting began on 2 January 1988.
History
Origins
The then
In 1986 hearings for the allocation of the licence began, and the
By October 1987 the new station had begun to build rebroadcast sites and new studios and a main transmitter based in
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.[4]
Imparja was chaired by
Imparja had an initial population reach of 62,000 people, which by 1993 had grown to 125,000.[6] 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
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 election 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.[4]
By 1993, Imparja's viewing audience had doubled to approximately 125,000 Australians. This in turn led to the increased allocation of government funding in 1994 to produce Yamba's Playtime, which was the station's first in-house televisual production. Yamba's Playtime features the station'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 received the
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,
In 1999, saw Imparja adopt a joint Nine and Ten network schedule, via the aggregation of Imparja’s coverage area with the Remote Eastern Australia market.
2000s
By 2001 the station's coverage area had grown to include over 430,000 people.[4] 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 Television (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 Remote Eastern & Central Australia TV1 licence 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
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
2010s
On 19 May 2010, the ACMA (Australian Communications and Media Authority) approved a licence for a new remote area digital-only TV channel, a joint venture by Imparja Pty Ltd and Southern Cross Central.
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). Programming on "north" and "south" feeds are identical, however permits correct transmission of non-live programs (for program classification purposes) during daylight saving time, which the states and territories on the "south" feed observe but the "north" states do not - effectively creating a 1-hour timeshift.
Imparja Pty Ltd also began to launch digital channels 9Go! and 9Gem. Imparja provides one feed for 9Gem, while 9Go! has separate "north" and "south" feeds. There are currently no plans at this stage for Imparja to launch an HD simulcast or introduce 9Life and 9Rush to its viewers.
2020s
On 16 November 2022, the station dropped its independent branding and switched to a dirty feed from the Nine Network. As of March 2023, Imparja still covers up watermarks during sport.
On 24 March 2023, the station was broken into by youth, along with other crimes around Alice Springs, with walls and technical equipment damaged.[11]
Programming
Imparja Television is a sole
Imparja's programming schedule is currently based on the Nine Network schedule for Brisbane (based on
News and current affairs
Imparja does not currently produce its own evening regional news bulletin. In 2008, Imparja replaced Imparja National News – a 30-minute, weeknight program combining local and national/international news – with local news updates, plus a 30-minute local news magazine program, Footprints (which later ceased production in 2009). The news updates were presented by Emma Groves from 2014 until July 2016. 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).
The 6:00 pm (
Sport
Imparja airs most sports coverage from the Nine Network under the Wide World of Sports branding, including football, rugby league, cricket, netball, golf and tennis. The station previously broadcast some motorsport and Australian rules coverage until 2008.
Availability
Imparja is a
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.[citation needed]
Imparja was available in Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea through the HiTRON subscription television service as of 2008.[13]
Logos
Imparja Television's first logo was developed from a painting produced by an
References
- ^ a b c d e "Imparja Television". Imparja Television. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- ^ "Sticker produced by Imparja Television, 1999". Powerhouse Museum. 2000. Retrieved 29 June 2007.
- ^ "New Current Affairs Program" (Press release). Imparja Television. 27 March 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g "About Imparja Television". Imparja Television. imparja.com. 2001. Archived from the original on 28 August 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2007.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-86465-097-6.
- ^ a b c "Imparja's History". Imparja Television. imparja.com. 29 June 2007. Archived from the original on 7 July 2007. Retrieved 29 June 2007.
- ^ "New digital commercial television service for Darwin" (Press release). ACMA. 18 May 2007.
- ^ "Footy grand final telecast in doubt". Centralian Advocate. 1 February 2008. Archived from the original on 14 February 2008. Retrieved 3 February 2008.
- ^ a b "Imparja Television Aims For More Local Content". Imparja Television. imparja.com. 2008. Archived from the original on 19 January 2008. Retrieved 3 February 2008.
- ^ "ACMA - ACMA media release 61/2010 – 19 May". Archived from the original on 19 October 2010. Retrieved 18 November 2009..
- ^ Pearson, Nick (25 March 2023). "'We're all scared. We've all had enough': Alice Springs local's desperate plea to PM". Nine News.
- ^ "Imparja TV to Boost News and Current Affairs". Imparja Television. imparja.com. 2007. Archived from the original on 19 January 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2008.
- ^ HiTRON Limited – Papua New Guinea :: MMDS TV Archived 15 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "About Imparja Television". Imparja Television. 2001. Archived from the original on 11 December 2007. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
- ^ "Mission incredible". The Age. 29 November 2007. Retrieved 29 November 2007.