ABC Television in Brisbane comprises national programming on the

ABC television network The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Califor ...

in or from

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

which broadcasts on a number of channels under the ABC

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assign ...

. There is some local programming from the Brisbane studio. ABQ was the historic name for the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

's television station in Brisbane, which began broadcasting on 2 November 1959, with the "Q" in the

standing for Queensland. ABC Television in Brisbane is based at purpose-built headquarters on the South Bank. The station is received throughout the state through a number of relay transmitters.

History

ABC Television started broadcasting from Brisbane on 2 November 1959, with the "Q" in the call sign standing for Queensland. Available by satellite transmission on the now defunct

Optus Aurora Optus Aurora was a free-to-view satellite television platform in Australia, which aimed at providing television and radio services to remote and black spot areas using the Optus C1 and B3 satellites. The service was available in all areas, usin ...

free-to-view platform during the 2000s, ABC's digital channels have been available via the

Viewer Access Satellite Television The Viewer Access Satellite Television service, or VAST, is a satellite television platform in Australia, providing digital television and radio services to remote and rural areas, as well as viewers in terrestrial black spots. The service using ...

(VAST) network since 2010. For many years, the station was based at studios in the inner-western suburb of

Toowong Toowong is a riverside suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Toowong had a population of 10,830 people. Geography Toowong is situated between Mount Coot-tha and the Brisbane River and is made up of rolling hills ...

, with a transmitter at

Mount Coot-tha Mount Coot-tha is a mountain and a suburb of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , there were no residents in the suburb. Visible from much of the city, Mount Coot-tha is a popular bushland tourist destination including the Mou ...

. In December 2006, the Toowong studios were closed after an unacceptably high rate of

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...

has been observed at the facility. An independent study examined 10 cases of breast cancer reported at the studios, and found the incidence rate was 11 times higher than the general working community. led to the closure of the site in December 2006, TV and radio operations were moved to alternative locations around the city. Staff worked from several sites around Brisbane, with ABC Radio based in nearby Lissner Street in Toowong, ABC News staff working from Network Ten's Mount Coot-tha studios, ABC Innovation and Online staff working at

QUT Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public university, public research university located in the Urban area, urban coastal city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. QUT is located on two campuses in the Brisbane area viz. Gardens Poin ...

Kelvin Grove, and other staff based in other locations, including Coronation Drive and West End. On 10 January 2012, ABC Brisbane moved into new purpose-built accommodation in South Bank. The analogue signal for Brisbane/Gold Coast/Sunshine Coast was shut off on May 28, 2013.

ABC Television in Brisbane today

All ABC operations are located in the South Bank building. there is a large number of transmitters broadcasting a number of ABC channels throughout Queensland.

Programming

ABC Television in Brisbane schedule largely consists of national programming with opt-outs for news and current affairs,

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

and state election coverage.

Local programming

''ABC News Queensland'' is presented by

Matt Wordsworth Matt Wordsworth is an Australian television presenter. Wordsworth is currently weeknight presenter of '' ABC News Queensland'' in Brisbane. Wordsworth attended Brisbane State High School. Career In January 2018, it was announced he was chose ...

(Monday - Thursday) and Jessica van Vonderen (Friday – Sunday). Weather is presented by

Jenny Woodward Jenny Woodward is an Australian journalist. She is currently weather presenter for ''ABC News'' in Queensland. Career Woodward began her television career at DDQ-10 in Toowoomba where she produced and directed children's programmes, vari ...

(Monday – Friday) and

Craig Zonca Craig Zonca (born 1984) is an Australian radio and television presenter. He is currently a breakfast presenter on ABC Radio Brisbane and a weather presenter on ABC Television. After presenting the Queensland edition of ''The Country Hour'' for ...

(Sunday). Finance is 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. Past presenters of the bulletin have included Rod Young and

Andrew Lofthouse Andrew Lofthouse (born 1962 or 1963) is a television and radio newsreader based in Brisbane, Australia. The former teacher is the weeknight presenter of ''Nine News Queensland'' with Melissa Downes, having previously presented on weekends. Prior ...

, both of whom went on to read the flagship 6:00 pm bulletins on Seven and

Nine 9 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 9 or nine may also refer to: Dates * AD 9, the ninth year of the AD era * 9 BC, the ninth year before the AD era * 9, numerical symbol for the month of September Places * Nine, Portugal, a parish in the ...

respectively. The pair opposed each other in this timeslot between mid-2009 and late-2012, during which the Seven bulletin co-read by Young and Kay McGrath consistently rated higher than the Nine bulletin co-read by Lofthouse and

Melissa Downes Melissa Downes (born 17 September 1973) is an Australian broadcast journalist. Downes is currently a co-presenter of ''Nine News Queensland'' alongside Andrew Lofthouse. Career Downes first worked with Seven Brisbane where she was a report ...

(as of 2017, however, Nine has regained the lead in the south-east Queensland ratings).

Relay stations

The following stations relayed ABQ throughout Queensland: Notes: *1.

HAAT Haat or hat, even haat bazaar, is an open-air market that serves as a Trading post, trading venue for local people in rural areas and towns of Indian subcontinent, especially in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan. Haat bazaars are conducted o ...

estimated from http://www.itu.int/SRTM3/ using EHAAT. *2. ABDQ was on VHF channel 3 from its 1963 sign-on until 1993, moving to its current channel in order to accommodate FM radio. *3. ABMQ was on VHF channel 4 from its 1967 sign-on until 1988, moving to its current channel in order to accommodate FM radio. *4. ABRQ was on VHF channel 3 from its 1963 sign-on until 1988, moving to its current channel in order to accommodate FM radio. *5. ABSEQ was on VHF channel 9 from its 1974 sign-on until 1989. Mary Kathleen also had a relay station (ABMKQ channel 9) from 15 December 1971 until the town was abandoned ca. 1982.

References