Regional Audiences Feel the Impact of Network 10 Loss

Regional audiences are facing a range of impacts following the loss of Network 10 services in several areas. WIN Network has announced it will cease broadcasting Network 10 channels, including 10, 10 Drama and 10 Comedy, in the Mount Gambier, Riverland, Griffith and Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area markets.

According to WIN, providing the service in these markets is no longer viable, reflecting "the realities of regional broadcasting". Network 10 says people can still stream its channels online.

Changing Landscape of Television

University of Sydney professor of digital communication and culture Terry Flew said traditional broadcasters around Australia and around the world are feeling the pinch. "The cost of delivering the terrestrial service is now greater than the returns that are coming from the advertising share, and that is impacting on regional areas," he said.

Professor Flew noted that commercial broadcasters had already seen about 20-30 per cent of their audience move to streaming platforms. "It would probably be cheaper [for Network 10] to buy everyone a new television than to continue to provide a terrestrial service," he said.

"You would then need to connect up all those homes with a modem, and people would need to become familiar with how to use the television in a different way. There may be an opportunity for local or state government to get involved in providing services in that way," Professor Flew added.

Range of Impacts for Regions

For some, the decision will not have much of an impact on how they consume media. Limestone Coast resident Talie Teakle, 54, said she had not had an aerial connected to her TV for about 17 years.

"Life is so busy, if I've got free time I want to be able to watch what I want, when I want to watch it," she said. "I don't want to be at the whim of a schedule where you're waiting for a weekly show to come on."

However, Mount Gambier's Rosy Smith said she was a regular free-to-air TV watcher, and it was an "absolute shame" to lose channels. "There's a lot of people that don't want to go down that track," she said. "It's just another blow to the regional community, having had things and then it's taken away from you. Why does it have to be regional people?"