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ABN

Sydney, New South Wales Australia
Channels	Digital: 12 (VHF) Virtual: 2
Programming
Affiliations	ABC Television
Ownership
Owner	Australian Broadcasting Corporation
History
First air date	5 November 1956; 68 years ago (1956-11-05)
Former channel number(s)	2 (VHF) (analog) (1956–2013)
Call sign meaning	ABC New South Wales
Technical information
Licensing authority	Australian Communications and Media Authority
ERP	200 kW (analog) 50 kW (digital)
HAAT	168 m (analog) 205 m (digital)
Transmitter coordinates	33°49′12″S 151°11′6″E / 33.82000°S 151.18500°E / -33.82000; 151.18500 (ABN)
Links
Website	www.abc.net.au/tv/

ABC Television in New South Wales comprises national and local programming on the ABC television network in the Australian state of New South Wales, headquartered in Sydney.

ABN or ABN-2 was the historic call sign of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television station in Sydney. The station began broadcasting on 5 November 1956 as the second television station in New South Wales and Sydney. Its original studios were located in Gore Hill and were in use up until March 2004, when they were co-located with ABC Radio, Radio Australia, ABC-TV Set Construction and ABC Australia at the Corporation's headquarters in the inner city suburb of Ultimo. Its main transmitter, however, remains at Gore Hill. The station can be received throughout the state through a number of relay transmitters, as well as domestic satellite transmission on the Viewer Access Satellite Television (formerly Optus Aurora) platform.

History

The first national public television station in Australia opened in Sydney at 7:00pm on 5 November 1956 under the call sign ABN-2. It was opened by Prime Minister of Australia Robert Menzies, with the first television broadcast presented by Michael Charlton, and James Dibble reading the first television news bulletin with full-time colour broadcasting introduced in March 1975.

For more than 40 years, Gore Hill was best known as the location of the ABC's Sydney television studios, which were fully opened in 1958 and which operated until 2002, when the site was closed and sold off. Later, the ABC moved its television operations to its broadcasting centre in Ultimo.

The station has also carried a number of programs originally produced at Channel 31 stations in other states (programs such as Aurora Community Channel and National Indigenous Television.

ABN commenced digital television transmission in January 2001, broadcasting on VHF Channel 12 while maintaining analogue transmission on VHF Channel 2.

The analogue television signal for Sydney, Gosford and surrounding areas was shut off at 9.00am on 3 December 2013.

In December 2024, the 7pm ABC News bulletin moved from Ultimo to the Corporation's new studios in Parramatta.

Programming

Local programming

ABN's schedule is similar to the national ABC schedule, with the exception of some news, current affairs, sport and occasionally, election programming.

ABC News New South Wales is presented by Jeremy Fernandez (Sunday–Thursday) and Lydia Feng (Friday–Saturday). The weeknight bulletins also incorporate NSW weather forecasts presented by Tom Saunders as well as a national finance segment presented by Alan Kohler in Melbourne.

Digital multiplex

Relay stations

The following stations relay ABN throughout New South Wales:

Notes

1. ^ HAAT estimated from http://www.itu.int/SRTM3/ using EHAAT.
2. ^ Analogue transmission ceased as of 5 June 2012 as part of the national shutdown of analogue television
3. ^ Analogue transmission ceased as of 27 November 2012 as part of the national shutdown of analogue television.
4. ABHN also broadcasts on analog UHF channel 48 with 1200 kW ERP at 441 m HAAT. ABHN was on VHF channel 5 from its 1963 sign-on until the late 1970s, moving to its current channel in order to accommodate FM radio.
5. Analogue transmission ceased as of 15 December 2010 as part of the national shutdown of analogue television.
6. ABQN was on VHF channel 5 from its 1966 sign-on until 1988, moving to its current channel in order to accommodate FM radio.
7. ABTN was on VHF channel 1 from its 1966 sign-on until 1990.
8. ABWN was on VHF channel 5A from its 1963 sign-on until 1988.

References

1. "Inside the ABC - Issue 7 - Building on the Future". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 15 November 2004. Retrieved 27 July 2007.
2. "Communications - Television - Sydney national television station ABN2 transmitting masts at Gore Hill, Sydney New South Wales [photographic image] / photographer, John Tanner. 1 photographic negative: b&w, acetate". National Archives of Australia. 1959. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
3. Kidman, Angus (25 June 2012). "Analogue TV gets an official switch-off date". Lifehacker Australia. Archived from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
4. Knox, David (3 December 2013). "Sydney switches off analogue TV". TV Tonight. Archived from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
5. "First NSW 7PM News broadcast from ABC Parramatta". About the ABC (Press release). 6 December 2024. Archived from the original on 9 December 2024. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
6. Knox, David (6 December 2024). "ABC NSW News from Parramatta this Sunday". TV Tonight. Archived from the original on 9 December 2024. Retrieved 9 December 2024.

• Television stations in Sydney
• Television channels and stations established in 1956
• Australian Broadcasting Corporation television stations