BTQ

BTQ is the Brisbane station of the Australian Seven Network. BTQ was the second television station to launch in Brisbane, going to air on 1 November 1959, after QTQ (station of the Nine Network) launched three months earlier.

This article is about the Australian television station. For other uses, see BTQ (disambiguation).

BTQ
Brisbane, Queensland
ChannelsDigital: 6 (VHF)
Virtual: 7
BrandingSeven
Seven Brisbane
SloganOnly on 7
Programming
AffiliationsSeven (O&O)
Ownership
OwnerSeven West Media Limited
(Channel Seven Brisbane Pty Ltd)
History
First air dateNovember 1, 1959 (1959-11-01)
Former channel number(s)Analog: 7 (VHF) (1959-2013)
Call sign meaningBrisbane
Television
Queensland
Technical information
ERP200 kW (analog)
50 kW (digital)
HAAT337 m (analog)
335 m (digital)[1]
Transmitter coordinates27°27′59″S 152°56′36″E
Links
Website7plus.com.au

Along with other Australian television channels, BTQ began broadcasting on digital television on 1 January 2001.

In the early eighties, Seven National News became the first Brisbane-based bulletin to be relayed throughout a string of independent Queensland telecasters. Within the same decade, BTQ was also a major production house for children's television - hosting popular shows as Wombat, Now You See It, Family Feud, Play Your Cards Right and Seven's Super Saturday featuring Agro (puppet). In the 1980s and 1990s, the channel regularly opened its facilities to the Brisbane public - at Open Days. In the 1970s, BTQ also held annual telethons for the Children's Hospital, featuring network personalities.

In 1995, BTQ also produced "Tourist TV", a tourist information channel which could be viewed at various Gold Coast hotels and resorts, including Sea World Nara Resort.

Until 2007, BTQ was the key station of the national Austext teletext service. The service was later largely automated out of ATN-7 Sydney until it was decommissioned in September 2009.

In July 2018, deconstruction of the BTQ transmission tower began after nearly 60 years of service. On 21 July 2018 the top half of tower which contained its broadcasting elements, no longer in use by the station, was removed in stages by a destruction crew via helicopter.[2]

News
Further information: Seven News

Brisbane and Queensland

Seven News Brisbane is directed by Ross Dagan and presented by Sharyn Ghidella and Max Futcher on weeknights and Katrina Blowers on weekends from Seven's Brisbane studios, located at Mount Coot-tha. Sport is presented by Shane Webcke on weeknights and Pat Welsh on weekends. Weather is presented by Tony Auden on weeknights and is presented by Paul Burt on weekends.

The bulletin is also simulcast in Brisbane on local radio station 96.5 Family FM, to regional Queensland viewers in the Sunshine Coast, Wide Bay-Burnett, Toowoomba, Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville and Cairns television markets via the Seven Queensland network and across central & remote areas of eastern Australia, on Southern Cross Central.

Previously, Tracey Challenor presented the weekend news for many years until her resignation in February 2007. Cummins was first appointed to the weekday weather in 2005 after more than a year of the Brisbane bulletin not having a weather presenter; former kids show presenter Tony Johnston had this role in 2003. Cummins was replaced by former Nine weatherman John Schluter in early 2007 and she was moved to weekends. Ghidella joined Seven News in 2007 and replaced Challenor.

In October 2002, Rod Young moved from ABC News in Brisbane to co-anchor with Kay McGrath. She had presented Seven News Brisbane solo for the previous nine months following the retirement of Frank Warrick. Their dual presenter format has proved to be successful. Following a couple of lean years coming second to Nine News Brisbane, Seven News Brisbane regained its ratings lead by 2007, helped by the recruitment of ex-Nine weatherman John Schluter and director of news Rob Raschke. In 2008, Seven News Brisbane was officially the #1 bulletin in Brisbane, winning all 40 ratings weeks.

In January 2013, Sharyn Ghidella and Bill McDonald were appointed Sunday to Thursday presenters with Kay McGrath and Rod Young moving to present on Friday & Saturday. It was also announced that Ghidella will present a local edition of Today Tonight.

In March 2018, McDonald was removed as co-anchor of the bulletin,[3] and was replaced by Max Futcher following poor ratings.[4]

News updates for Brisbane are presented by Sharyn Ghidella or Max Futcher throughout the afternoon and the early evening. Katrina Blowers, Patrick Condren, Bianca Stone and Jillian Whiting are fill-in news presenters, with Rohan Welsh presenting sport, and Liz Cantor presenting the weather.

Current presenters
Role Bulletins
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
News Max Futcher (2018–present)
Sharyn Ghidella (2007–present)		 Katrina Blowers (2020–present)
Sport Shane Webcke (2007–present) Pat Welsh (1975–present)
Weather Tony Auden (2013–present) Paul Burt (2013–present)

Gold Coast

On 4 July 2016, a new local bulletin for the Gold Coast was introduced, produced and broadcast every evening from Seven's Surfers Paradise studio.

Upon its inception, Seven News Gold Coast was presented by Rod Young on weeknights and Amanda Abate on weekends with sport presenter Katie Brown on weeknights and Matthew Howard on weekends and weather presenter Liz Cantor and coastal, beaches and fishing reports from Paul Burt.

Due to cost-cutting measures, the weekend news bulletin was axed in mid-2017 with Abate joining Rod Young on the weeknight bulletin in addition to presenting the sport.

The bulletin airs nightly at 5.30pm on BTQ-7's Gold Coast relay transmitters, ahead of the main 6pm news from Brisbane, placing it in direct competition with rival Nine Gold Coast News.

Fill in presenters include Katrina Blowers and Bianca Stone (news), Tom Hartley (sport) and Tamra Bow (weather).

Reporters

Sunrise correspondents
  • Bianca Stone (primary)
  • Tamra Bow.

The Latest: Seven News correspondents
  • Joel Dry (Mondays).

Past presenters

Current local programming

Former local programming
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See also

References
  1. HAAT estimated from http://www.itu.int/SRTM3/ using EHAAT.
  2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUYeJv8A_D4
  3. Knox, David (9 March 2018). "Bill McDonald to exit Seven News". TV Tonight. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  4. "Veteran journalist Max Futcher is the man for Seven anchor role". The Courier-Mail. 11 March 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
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