ABC News (Australian TV channel)

ABC News (formerly ABC News 24; also referred to as the ABC News channel) is an Australian 24-hour news channel launched and owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.[3][4][5] The channel replaced the former ABC HD channel (which simulcast ABC TV in high definition) and commenced broadcasting as ABC News 24 at 7:30 pm (AEST) on Thursday, 22 July 2010.[6][7]

For the Australian news department which provides contents to this channel, see ABC News (Australia).
"ABC 24" redirects here. For other uses, see ABC 24 (disambiguation).

ABC News
Launched22 July 2010 (22 July 2010)
NetworkABC Television
Owned byAustralian Broadcasting Corporation
Picture format576i (SDTV) 16:9
Audience share1.9% nationally (2016 ratings year, [1])
SloganKnow the story
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Broadcast areaNationally and Worldwide
HeadquartersUltimo, New South Wales
Formerly calledABC News 24 (2010–17)
ReplacedABC HD (HD channel space; 2008–10, relaunched on 6 Dec 2016)
Sister channel(s)ABC
ABC HD
ABC Comedy
ABC Kids
ABC Me
Websiteabc.net.au/news/newschannel
Availability
Terrestrial
ABN Sydney (DVB-T)544 @ 12 (226.5 MHz)[2]
ABV Melbourne (DVB-T)560 @ 12 (226.5 MHz)
ABQ Brisbane (DVB-T)576 @ 12 (226.5 MHz)
ABS Adelaide (DVB-T)592 @ 12 (226.5 MHz)
ABW Perth/Mandurah (DVB-T)736 @ 12 (226.5 MHz)
ABT Hobart (DVB-T)624 @ 8 (191.5 MHz)
ABD Darwin (DVB-T)640 @ 30 (543.5 MHz)
Freeview ABC (virtual)24
Satellite
Foxtel (virtual)642
VAST (virtual)24
Cable
Foxtel/Optus (virtual)642
Streaming media
ABC iviewABC iview live stream
abc.net.auABC News live stream (Australia Only)
YouTubeWatch Live

The majority of the channel's content is produced from the station ABN, in Ultimo, Sydney which the public can view being presented from an atrium looking into the news presentation studio. ABC's breakfast television programme, News Breakfast and the evening programme The World is produced at ABV Southbank, Melbourne (weekdays).

Due to the relaunch of ABC HD on 6 December 2016, the picture quality of ABC News channel was reduced to standard definition.[8]

History

The ABC announced in January 2010 that it planned to launch a 24-hour news channel.[3] The logo of ABC News 24 was revealed by Freeview in their new promotion on Tuesday 22 June.[9] The official promotional reel for the channel was launched on digital channel 24 between 6 and 8 July.[10]

Speculation about a launch date for the channel took place in the weeks prior to the official announcement. The Daily Telegraph claimed in early July that the channel would be delayed due to technical issues at the ABC's new playout facility, MediaHub, in south west Sydney while other outlets reported that the channel was on track to begin in mid-July.[11]

The ABC announced on 13 July 2010 that the channel would have its first live broadcast on 22 July.[6][7]

In November 2016, the ABC announced that ABC News 24 and ABC NewsRadio would be rebranded under a unified ABC News brand.[12] The relaunch occurred on 10 April 2017.[13][14]

Reception

Since the commencement of regular broadcasting, the reaction to the new news channel has been mixed. A particular concern has been the pressure placed upon the budget and operations of both the news division of the ABC, as well as the broadcaster as a whole, owing to the decision to launch the channel without additional Government funding, as was the case with the recent launch of the children's channel ABC3 (now named ABC ME).

In Senate Estimates hearings in February 2012 the broadcaster confirmed a $2.5 million shortfall in the budget for its news and current affairs division and imposed a 1.5% cut in newsroom budgets, though denies the link to the channel, instead pointing to recent major news events in the past year such as the Christchurch earthquakes and flooding in Queensland and Victoria.[15] However, Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has blamed the reported $20 million annual cost of the network for cutbacks in ABC TV sports coverage of the SANFL.[16]

However, the network has seen success with high viewership compared to competitor Sky News Australia, with reach exceeding 2 million viewers weekly, tripling that of Sky News.[17]

The channel's highest primetime viewership share was 9.5% during the 2016 Federal election coverage on 2 July 2016.[18]

Programming
ABC News presented by Juanita Phillips

ABC News programming consists of a mix of live news bulletins, timeshifted repeats of existing ABC News and Current Affairs output, live broadcasts from events (such as Parliament Question Time and selected press conferences), documentaries and factual and arts programming.[19] These draw upon the ABC's own resources and those of its partner broadcasters, the BBC, SABC, TVNZ, PBS, NHK, and Al Jazeera English.

On weekdays, throughout most of the day, straight news programming is presented from one of the studios in Ultimo. At 7pm (AEST/AEDT), the channel features the topical debate programme The Drum, which is also the weekdays' sole non-hard news show. General rolling news continues from 8pm AEST/AEDT (only interrupted from 9:45pm to 11pm by a specialist Asian-focused business bulletin and The World) before ABC News switches to the overnight format at 12:30am AEST/AEDT which features a mix of repeats of the day's programs and (usually live) news content from the partner broadcasters. Live ABC-produced news bulletins air once per hour until 4am AEST/AEDT.

On weekends, except the Weekend Breakfast news block, the channel airs a live news bulletin at the top of almost all hours, which lasts 15 or 30 minutes. Occasionally it is a one-minute headline recap. A live news hour is featured on Sundays at 7pm. ABC News switches to the overnight format at 12:15am AEST/AEDT, without any live newscast until the next morning.

Live newscasters are Joe O'Brien (ABC News Morning), Ros Childs (midday), Gemma Veness, Kirsten Aiken and Patricia Karvelas (Afternoon Briefing), Jeremy Fernandez and Karina Carvalho (ABC News Tonight), Michael Tetlow (weekday editions of ABC Late News/News Overnight), Miriam Corowa (weekends), Jason Om (ABC News Weekend and weekend editions of ABC Late News/News Overnight). Specialist and feature programming includes a daily business programme covering the Asia-Pacific region, a topical debate programme entitled The Drum presented by Julia Baird and Ellen Fanning and an international bulletin with Beverley O'Connor entitled The World presented from ABC Melbourne Studio.[19][20]

Existing shows News Breakfast and ABC News at Noon are broadcast live on the ABC News channel at the same time as on ABC TV in AEST/AEDT time zones; viewers in the AWST and ACST time zones can choose to watch these programs either live (on the ABC News channel) or on delay in their local time (on ABC TV). In addition, The Business is shown in an earlier timeslot than currently scheduled on ABC TV.

On 30 September 2010, the ABC announced the first new programme to be shown on the channel titled Capital Hill. The political programme, originally hosted by Chris Uhlmann airs Fridays at 5:30 pm AEST/AEDT and takes a look at the week's political events and news, as well as feature interviews with the key players of politics. It is now broadcast every weekday at 1:00 pm AEST/AEDT and is hosted by Greg Jennett.

The World presented by Scott Bevan

Overnight the ABC News channel uses "satellite" programming, mainly from BBC World News which mostly uses the main BBC News bulletins, as well as sometimes using shows such as Impact (TV programme) with Yalda Hakim, Outside Source with Ros Atkins and Global with Matthew Amroliwala. These BBC World News broadcasts come live into the ABC News channel before being broadcast around Australia. About two Al Jazeera English Newshours are also broadcast. However, since 2018, the overnight programming has slowly refocused on rebroadcasts of the channel's daytime live shows like The Drum and The World (on weekdays), and ABC's own live news updates have increasingly carried.[19]

Repeated from ABC TV

Criticism

Along with other rolling news channels, the ABC News channel has been criticised for launching into rolling news coverage for "breaking news" where little new information supports such coverage, and just repeating limited information and footage about an event.[21] Conversely, the ABC News channel has also been criticised for not turning to rolling coverage.[22][23]

ABC News online

The ABC News channel can be streamed online at the ABC's website and on YouTube.[24] However, the YouTube stream is made available internationally except for the stream in iView where it is only available in Australia only,[25] and unlike other programming on iView, it is not currently offered as unmetered content by any internet service providers. The ABC News channel stream is available in medium and high bandwidth varieties on the iView site.

News presenters
ABC News 24 logo (22 July 2010 - 9 April 2017)

News

Other

Former presenters
  • Ali Moore – Afternoon Live, 2010
  • Chris Uhlmann – Political editor and host of Capital Hill, 2010
  • Juanita Phillips – ABC Evening News, 2010 – 2014
  • Lyndal Curtis – Political editor and host of Capital Hill, 2011 – 2014
  • Scott Bevan – Afternoon Live, 2010 – 2015
  • Ticky Fullerton – The Business, 2010 – 2016
  • Stan Grant – Matter of Fact, 2018
  • Jane Hutcheon – One Plus One, 2010 – 2019

International bureaus

Current
  • Washington, DC
  • London
  • Beijing
  • Jakarta (moved locations once)
  • New Delhi (reduced to home based bureau after cuts)
  • Bangkok (originally was an office, but was reduced to home-based type bureau after budget cuts)
  • Nairobi (There were speculations that it was going to be axed after reporter Sally Sara had to return to Australia for family reasons)
  • Port Moresby
  • Tokyo (in 2010s was reduced to a home-based bureau due to budget cuts, but was re-established to an office bureau)
  • Beirut (home-based bureau only)
  • Jerusalem (originally was situated in a building, but after budget cuts was reduced to home-based type bureau)

Former
  • Amman (used as minor bureau by the ABC, to cover the Middle East. Closed for unknown reasons. No official address was available, according to annual reports)
  • Auckland (occupied on Level Three of TVNZ's headquarters. Closed due to budget cuts by the government)
  • Brussels (used to cover news from the European Union. Between 1996-1997 was increased in activity over the London bureau. Closed due to budget cuts by the government.)
  • Hong Kong (the second bureau located in China. Closed for unknown reasons.)
  • Honiara (operated sometime in the 1940s. Was the ABC's only bureau ever in the Pacific Islands. Closed for unknown reasons)
  • Johannesburg (closed due to high costs. Upon closure, all African news-gathering was transferred to the then-newly established Nairobi bureau)
  • Hanoi (one of the minor Asian bureaus in the 1990s. Closed due to Bangkok being enhanced as an Asian hub, but was temporarily re-established in 2019 to cover the second Trump-Kim summit)
  • Singapore (one of the minor Asian bureaus in the 1990s. Closed due to Bangkok being enhanced as an Asian hub but closed one year earlier than Hanoi)
  • Moscow (one of the oldest bureaus in the history of the ABC, operating for 23 years. Closed due to budget cuts)
  • New York (the minor of the two bureaus located in the USA. Closed for unknown reasons)
  • Kabul (opened after the ABC slashed a number of other overseas bureaus due to budget cuts. Like Amman, no official address was available. Closed for unknown reasons, with Middle East reporting now transferred to either Jerusalem or Beirut)
  • Kuala Lumpur (operated during the 1960s. Closed due to unknown reasons)
  • Toronto (the only Canadian bureau to be ever used by the ABC. Closed for unknown reasons)

The ABC has yet to open any bureaus in the following locations:

  • South America (although that during the Rio Olympics, the ABC team covering it set up a mini-bureau in Rio de Janeiro)
  • The Caribbean
  • Central America
  • Any US states except Maryland and New York
  • Any Canadian provinces except Ontario
  • Any European countries except the UK, Belgium, and Russia
  • Any countries in the Middle East except Israel, Jordan, Afghanistan, and Lebanon
  • Any countries in Africa except South Africa and Kenya
  • Any countries in Asia except India, China, Thailand, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam
  • Any countries in the Pacific except the Solomon Islands

Overseas correspondents
  • Phillip Williams - Canberra / Worldwide (Chief Foreign correspondent)
  • David Lipson - Washington DC (North America Bureau Chief)
  • James Glenday- Washington DC (North America correspondent)
  • Kathryn Diss - Washington DC (North America correspondent)
  • Samantha Hawley - London (Europe Bureau Chief)
  • Linton Besser - London (Europe correspondent)
  • Bridget Brennan - London (Europe correspondent)
  • Sarah Ferguson - Beijing (China Bureau Chief)
  • Bill Birtles - Beijing (China correspondent)
  • Adam Harvey - Beirut (Middle East correspondent)
  • Eric Tlozek - Jerusalem (Middle East correspondent)
  • Amy Bainbridge - Jakarta (Indonesia correspondent)
  • Anne Barker - Jakarta (Indonesia correspondent)
  • Siobhan Heanue - New Delhi (South East Asia correspondent)
  • Liam Cochrane - Bangkok (South East Asia correspondent)
  • Jake Sturmer - Tokyo (North Asia correspondent)
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References
  1. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "ABC to launch 24-hour news channel". ABC News Online. 21 January 2010. Archived from the original on 27 June 2010. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
  4. Danny (5 April 2010). "abc-news-24 "New ABC news channel to be called "ABC News 24"". The Tube. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
  5. Knox, David (21 January 2010). "ABC announces 24/7 News channel". TV Tonight. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
  6. "ABC to launch 24hr news channel next week". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 13 July 2010. Archived from the original on 15 July 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
  7. "ABC News 24 will launch on Thursday 22 July". The Spy Report. Media Spy. 13 July 2010. Archived from the original on 27 April 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
  8. "ABC is changing to HD". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  9. "ABC News 24 logo revealed". The Spy Report. Media Spy. 29 June 2010. Archived from the original on 2 July 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
  10. "ABC News 24 hype reel unveiled". mUmbrella. 8 July 2010. Archived from the original on 10 July 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  11. "Exclusive: ABC News 24 will launch this month". The Spy Report. Media Spy. 4 July 2010. Archived from the original on 11 July 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
  12. Lallo, Michael (2 November 2016). "ABC in 2017: Diversity a focus, but which popular shows aren't returning?". Brisbane Times. Brisbane. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  13. "New Look - ABC News". ABC News. 31 March 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  14. "New-look ABC News ditches News 24". TV Tonight. 8 April 2017.
  15. Meade, Amanda (13 February 2012). "Aunty admits its news unit is $2.5m in the red". The Australian. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  16. Reece Homfray; Miles Kemp (23 February 2012). "ABC-24 costly for the SANFL". Adelaide Now. The Adelaide Advertiser. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  17. "News 24 not hurting main bulletin: ABC". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  18. Knox, David (4 July 2016). "ABC, TEN lift in buoyant ratings week". TV Tonight. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  19. Blundell, Graeme (3 July 2010). "24-hour party people". The Australian. p. 27. Archived from the original on 12 August 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
  20. "The Drum launches in prime-time; new roles for Patricia Karvelas and Josh Szeps; ABC NEWS channel unveils 2019 line-up". tv.press.abc.net.au. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  21. SIMONS, MARGARET SIMONS. "How ABC News 24 lost pace with news from Japan". crikey.com.au. Retrieved 18 January 2015. All news channels, including the ABC, played the same pictures, and the same interviews, over and over again.
  22. Canning, Simon (16 December 2010). "ABC news missed the boat via reruns". theaustralian.com.au. The Australian. Retrieved 18 January 2015. THE ABC's news channel, ABC24, has been slammed by critics for failing to recognise the scale of the Christmas Island asylum-seeker tragedy.
  23. SIMONS, MARGARET (15 August 2011). "ABC News 24 runs on the smell of an oily rag". crikey.com.au. Crikey. Retrieved 18 January 2015. And other critics (including me) have complained that the channel is too slow to switch to breaking news.
  24. "abc news 24". ABC NEWS. Archived from the original on 17 August 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  25. "abc news 24 FAQ". ABC NEWS 24 FAQ. Archived from the original on 24 July 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
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