Channel 44 (C44, call-sign CTS33) is a

free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscripti ...

community television Community television is a form of mass media in which a television station is owned, operated or programmed by a community group to provide television programs of local interest known as local programming. Community television stations are most c ...

channel in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. C44 features locally and nationally made content and has been broadcasting since 23 April 2004. Previously known as C31 when on analogue television, C44 made the switch to digital on 5 November 2010 and switched off its analogue signal on 31 May 2012. C44 airs a range of local, interstate and international content that is relevant to the local community.

History

Before C44, Adelaide's community television station was ACE TV, run by Adelaide Community and Education Television Inc. ACE TV held a temporary licence from May 1994 until December 2002, when it was cancelled due to breaches of its licence conditions. ACE TV had its last broadcast in May 2002. In 2003, after ACE TV's closure, C31 Adelaide Ltd received the community television licence for Adelaide. Its station, called C31 Adelaide (C31), launched on 23 April 2004 on analogue channel UHF 31. In 2004, most community TV services in capital cities received permanent licences from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). However, the process for allocating a permanent licence in Adelaide, which began in 2004, was terminated in mid-2006; the two prospective applicants (of which C31 was one) were declined for different reasons. On 5 November 2010, the station was moved to digital channel 44 and was renamed 44 Adelaide, with its analogue signal switched off on 31 May 2012. 44 Adelaide received a new logo in 2013 and was later renamed Channel 44 (C44) in 2014. In September 2014, Australian federal communications minister

Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Turnbull grad ...

announced that licensing for community television stations would end in December 2015. In September 2015, Turnbull, now Prime Minister, announced an extension of the deadline to 31 December 2016. In April 2016, the channel started moving operations online, streaming its channel live on their website. The move online means that local content can now be viewed by those outside Adelaide. The license due to expire on 31 December 2016 was extended twice at the last minute by Minister for Communications

Mitch Fifield Mitchell Peter Fifield (born 16 January 1967) is the Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations. He is a former Australian politician who served as a Senator for Victoria from 2004 to 2019, representing the Liberal Party. He wa ...

, first to 30 June 2017, and later to 31 December 2017. Fifield made an additional extension to 30 June 2018 as part of the government's deal with the

Nick Xenophon Team Centre Alliance, formerly known as the Nick Xenophon Team (NXT), is a centrist political party in Australia based in the state of South Australia. It currently has one representative in the Parliament, Rebekha Sharkie in the House of Represe ...

to garner support for large-scale media reforms in the Senate, while a further extension, announced on 1 June 2018, gave broadcasters an additional two years through 30 June 2020. In June 2020, a 12-month extension was granted by the federal government at the last minute, and in June 2021, they were given a 3-year extension a week before expiry, thanks to amendments tabled by South Australian Senator

Rex Patrick Rex Lyall Patrick (born 8 May 1967) is an Australian politician who served as a Senator for South Australia from November 2017 until June 2022. He was appointed to the Senate to fill a casual vacancy caused by the resignation of Nick Xenophon. ...

Partnership with SAFC

The South Australian Film Corporation's First Nations Advisory Committee was launched in November 2020 as part of their First Nations Screen Strategy 2020–2025, in partnership with Channel 44.

Identity history

* 2010–2016: ''Bringing You the Community through TV'' * 2016–present: ''Adelaide - It's Your 44''

References

{{Australian free-to-air television networks Australian community television Television stations in Adelaide Television channels and stations established in 2004 English-language television stations in Australia 2004 establishments in Australia

History

Partnership with SAFC

Identity history

See also

References