Surprised that their marketing and sales wasn’t already combined into the rest of SCA 10, like how NBN sales used to be managed by WIN (or still are?)
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I read this:
SCA recently began a strategic review of their regional television assets, which include a 100% stake in 7 Tasmania and a 50% stake in TDT and are reportedly in active negotiations with several interested buyers.
As implying that of SCA’s assets, several buyers are interested in their assets, but not necessarily multiple in the same assets. Their Seven affiliates would be much more desirable than the Ten stuff, and maybe there’d be multiple potential buyers there, but can’t imagine interest in TDT.
Would make sense for SCA to sell their stake to WIN or vice-versa, so that the station is untangled of the 50% share stuff prior to any transaction. I would have to think anyone interested in buying TDT would be wanting all of the Ten regional stations, but the complication of potentially closing a deal for one half of TDT separate to the other would be perhaps a stumbling block.
I would hope the MDT situation was enough of a heads up for TDT staff to be looking for the exits, or there’s enough out there at SCA or WIN to find a new position pretty quickly. If someone was doing good work at selling ads in this economy, there’s surely a job out there for them somewhere.
If SCA doesn’t want it, why would WIN?
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Easier to sell it as a whole than a bad scenario of potentially WIN selling their half of TDT to one company, and SCA selling their half to another - or just not selling in the end - as it will be harder for SCA to make their deal for all their Ten affiliate stations than for WIN to sell NRN.
Unlike NRN, WIN’s half share of TDT isn’t an issue for them increasing their stake in Nine, so they could just keep it - but if SCA get out of TV entirely, that could then leave them with an unknown joint venture partner, with potentially different ideas on operation.
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I would assume that the JV companies have restrictions on how shares can be sold. The general case for companies structures in such a way would mean that if SCA want to sell, WIN would have the first right of refusal, and potentially a requirement for WIN’s approval if they don’t want to buy the other 50%. These clauses are very common to protect the remaining shareholders from being forced to work with a partner they don’t want to.
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From the AFR report on WIN threatening to stop broadcasting Seven in Mount Gambier and Griffith from July 1 this year, as reposted by TV Cynic:
(Andrew) Lancaster said WIN was carrying out a broader strategic review of its involvement in “non-core broadcast signals”, naming Network 10 channel broadcasts in regional Western Australia and Tasmania – suggesting there could be more signal closures to come.
Is the future of TDT at risk?
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Could 10 choose to separately transmit their channels in these regions, or does the licence in these areas restrict 10 from entering the market?
My understanding is the license exists once it’s created - ie there are three commercial television licenses, and should one be surrendered, it can then be sold.
Usually the ACMA operate on the idea of waiting for someone to express interest, then they’d organise an auction. They couldn’t just give Ten the license - though I’m sure if Ten expressed that they’d want to take it over, they would rapidly facilitate that.
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Thanks Moe. I wonder if 10 would be open to it given they now have some studio space in Tasmania.
(Obviously very cost-dependant)
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10 News First Tasmania before 9News Tasmania? 
I’d say 10 probably will buy the license if they can, as it facilitates them for the whole of Tasmania.
I have a feeling that TDT is actually tied to both WIN and SCA (soon to be 7WM), and as a result both parties would need to agree to a sale.
Added complexity is that BAI own the transmission assets of TDT in the northern half of the state, as they were part of SCA’s TX asset sales not so long back. In the south they are WIN assets.
So for TDT to disappear and be sold to a new player, you would potentially need 7WM, WIN and BAI to agree…
I think what’s more likely is as TX equipment ages and fails, you will see TDT disappear from regional areas (especially in the south), and TDT concentrate on the Metro area of Hobart with those country areas simply missing out.
Isn’t TAS one licence area though? So they would probably have to keep broadcasting to the whole region or shut down completely.
It would have to be. Since TDT is a statewide feed (yes, there’s been Launceston/Northern Tasmanian ads broadcasting on TDT’s main channel in Hobart e.g), if TDT was to cease broadcasting in Launceston let’s say, then TDT would have to just go off-air completely.
Otherwise the station would no longer be able to accept advertisers from Launceston (all those ads would be transferred over to either SWM or WIN), though I’d expect WIN would just elect to shut it down at this rate if transmissions of the TDT service were to cease in Northern Tasmania and not in Hobart, meaning Hobart residents would also have to stream on the 10 (formerly 10play) app, or sign up for VAST to receive 10 Central or (maybe) 10 Melbourne.
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There’s no obligation to service any given transmitter site, there’s a number of ABC only or ABC/SBS sites in Tassie where there’s frequencies allocated for the commerical stations, but they aren’t on air.
There’s not many locations where some but not all commercial stations service a site, but they do exist.
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The Central Coast being a prime example.
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This happens a lot with radio too, commercial stations being given frequencies to put a service to air within their licence area but either fail to do so, or take years to get them on air.
This is the thing that is widely being reported but is inaccurate.
Tasmania has THREE licences for the commerical networks. However, the number of operators is two. A joint venture operates the third.
So if the JV stopped operating it would mean:
- Licence 1 - Seven
- Licence 2 - WIN
- License 3 - empty
At that point Paramount could apply to ACMA and run that license themselves. As could Seven do in Griffith and as Paramount could do in Mildura.
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Tasmania TV1 is one licence area that currently has three commercial broadcasting licences for the affiliates of Seven, Nine and Ten.
Where is the inaccuracy in the quote you highlighted?
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Sorry perhaps I misread. From reading a lot of posts, there is an assumption that there is one licence in some areas. There are three licences so if someone shuts down when there is two operators, a third can come in.
However, in this case - I read that particular post wrong. Apologies
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But if they did that, Tasmanians, the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area and Sunraysia residents would get a full-time dirty feed of the capital city channels, and without local ads.
Instead of negotiating, couldn’t Seven just acquire the Mount Gambier and Griffith TV licenses from WIN like what Network 10 did for their affiliates in Northern NSW/Gold Coast? Otherwise these stations will indeed go dark and viewers will have fewer choice.
Though I can’t expect these broadcasters to go and get new TV licenses from the ACMA, as it would prove very costly, and by the time they eventually do begin transmissions as O&O stations in these regions, it’ll be too little too late. Either Seven acquires the stations and own-and-operate them now, or face their final death knell in these regions.
Will Griffith residents give the NRL a try on Nine if Seven goes dark? Probably. Given the NRL dominates NSW, I wouldn’t be surprised if AFL supporters in Griffith ended up becoming NRL supporters. Great news for Rugby, not so good news for Grass Roots Footy.
One commenter from Griffith NSW on the TVTonight article from today said their internet quality for streaming Seven via IPTV is… well, crap.
