ABT is a television station operated by the publicly-owned Australian Broadcasting Corporation, with a transmission area covering southern
Tasmania
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, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
. ABT began broadcasting on VHF channel 2 on 4 June 1960, with studios in inner-city
Hobart
Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...
and transmitter at
Mount Wellington. The "AB" in the call sign stands for "Australian Broadcasting", as in Australian Broadcasting Commission (now Australian Broadcasting Corporation). The "T" in the call sign stands for Tasmania.
As in other Australian states, the ABC television station in the state's capital city relays programs to a network of region-based transmitters: in the case of Tasmania, ABNT for northern Tasmania (transmitter located on Mt Barrow) and ABKT for King Island (transmitter located on Gentle Annie Hill). Whilst their callsigns imply that they are standalone television stations, they have only ever operated as relays from ABT.
As well as these two nominal stations transmitting programs from ABT, there is an extensive network of translator stations performing the same function. Their purpose is to provide improved signal reception in areas with poor or no reception from Mount Wellington. They pick up the on-air signal from the Mount Wellington transmitter and re-broadcast it on another channel (to prevent cross interference which would arise from two transmitters in different locations transmitting the same program). The broken terrain and scattered population of Tasmania has necessitated a relatively large number of translator stations, even within the Hobart urban area e.g. Taroona.
History
ABT was the first television station to transmit in Tasmania, although from 1956, with the beginning of television transmission in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, it was possible along the northern coast of Tasmania, in favourable meteorological conditions, to receive television signals from Mount Dandenong, immediately east of Melbourne.
Until the completion of microwave links between Melbourne and Hobart, ABT operated as a standalone station, but with the completion of the microwave links, it increasingly shared programming with the national ABC television network. However some locally-produced programming still occurs e.g. ''
Collectors
Collector(s) may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Collector (character), a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe
* ''Collector'' (2011 film), a 2011 Indian Malayalam film
* ''Collector'' (2016 film), a 2016 Russian film
* ''Collec ...
'', which was produced in Hobart from 2005 to 2011.
The original tower and transmitter for ABT on Mount Wellington were replaced in 1997 due to frequent signal failure due to icing of the transmitter elements, caused by meteorological conditions. The replacement transmitter, which necessitated a new tower to support it, is protected by a large protective cylinder which is opaque but through which radio signals are able to pass.
The analogue signal for ABT on channel 2 was shut off on 9 April 2013. Since this time only a digital signal in the UHF band has been transmitted.
ABC Television in Tasmania today
Relay stations
The following stations relay ABT:
Notes:
*1.
HAAT
Haat or hat, even haat bazaar, is an open-air market that serves as a trading venue for local people in rural areas and towns of Indian subcontinent, especially in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan. Haat bazaars are conducted on a regular ba ...
estimated from http://www.itu.int/SRTM3/ using EHAAT.
*2. ABNT was on VHF channel 3 from its 1963 sign-on until 2002, moving to its current channel in order to accommodate FM radio.
*3. Analogue television services ceased operation 9 April 2013 as part of the national conversion to digital television.
there is a large number of transmitters broadcasting a number of ABC channels.
[ ]
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
licence.
Local programming
''ABC News Tasmania'' is presented by Guy Stayner on weeknights and Alexandra Alvaro on weekends. The weeknight bulletins also incorporate national finance segment presented by
Alan Kohler
Alan Robert Kohler (born 26 April 1952) is an Australian financial journalist and newspaper editor. He currently writes for his own online financial publication, ''The Constant Investor''.
Career
In 1969, Kohler began as a cadet on ''The Aust ...
in Melbourne.
See also
*
History of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation had its origins in a licensing scheme for individual radio stations administered by the Postmaster-General's Department established in 1923 into a content provider in radio, television and new media. From 1 ...
*
Television broadcasting in Australia
Television broadcasting in Australia began officially on 16 September 1956, with the opening of TCN, TCN-9, quickly followed by national and commercial stations in Sydney and Melbourne, all these being in 625-line Black and white television, bla ...
References
Television stations in Hobart
Television channels and stations established in 1960
Australian Broadcasting Corporation television stations
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