Regional broadcaster WIN Television has today confirmed a decision to axe 9 local news bulletins across Victoria and Queensland.
The decision is a further blow for many rural communities which have already witnessed many local newspaper, TV and radio services cut as local media companies struggle to compete against an influx of internet-based metro content.
The axed local bulletins in Victoria are:
- Shepparton
- Bendigo
- Ballarat
- Gippsland
While in Queensland, WIN has moved to axe the following five bulletins
- Cairns & Far North Queensland
- Townsville & North Queensland
- Rockhampton & Central Queensland
- Toowoomba & Darling Downs
- Sunshine Coast
In their place, WIN has committed to producing 3 new state-based bulletins which will air at 5:30pm to serve Victoria, Queensland and the western areas of Southern NSW.
Existing WIN News bulletins in Wollongong, Canberra and Tasmania will continue to be broadcast in their current format in the new timeslot of 5.30pm.
The changes are due to come in to place from 1 July when WIN returns to being a Nine affiliate.
It is not known how many jobs will be lost as a result of the changes.
WIN is also expected to cease broadcasting the Sky New on WIN channel in August when the current supply contract expires.
The new statewide bulletins will broadcast into the additional regions of Mackay, Bundaberg and Hervey Bay in Queensland, Orange, Dubbo, Wagga Wagga and Griffith in New South Wales and Albury Wodonga in Victoria.
While there is expected to be significant job losses in Victoria and Queensland, the creation of a new state bulletin in NSW will see WIN employing some additional local news-gathering staff in rural NSW to serve this region.
Starting July 1, the new program line-up will deliver 2 hours of news and current affairs every weeknight:
5.30pm WIN News
6pm National Nine News
7pm A Current Affair
Speaking about the announcement, WIN Network CEO Andrew Lancaster said,
“With this change, WIN News bulletins in Queensland, Victoria and western areas of Southern NSW will be State bulletins delivering the most important local stories from all of our regions across the respective states.”
“The move to State based bulletins in Queensland and Victoria will result in a reduction in news gathering staff in these regions as well as in the News production facility in Wollongong.
“As is always our priority, WIN will make every attempt to redeploy, second or retrain any impacted employees to suitable, alternative employment within the WIN Group.”
“We will be working through a process over the coming weeks to determine the resources, skills and experience required to continue to gather and tell local stories in the State bulletins.”
“WIN has always prided itself on delivering local news and whilst some of these changes are impactful, the statewide WIN News bulletins will be telling local stories across more regional communities with the most important stories of the day,”
The changes to the affiliate agreement from July 1 will also see Nine discontinue the three regional news bulletins which it currently produces for Southern Cross Austereo stations in Victoria, Queensland and Southern NSW. This move has already resulted in a number of job losses, with more to come.
Southern Cross Austereo is yet to confirm any plans to air local news content on its regional TV stations from July 1 when they commence airing programming supplied by the 10 Network.
The news of closures at WIN was first broken by 13-year-old journalist Leonardo Puglisi, who runs the 6 NEWS online news source.
Hearing WIN News Queensland may become 1 statewide bulletin when the affiliation swap happens at the end of next month. @6NewsAU
— Leonardo Puglisi (@Leo_Puglisi6) May 24, 2021
Additional Reporting – Robert McKnight
It is Big Blow for Regional Victoria, it is the end of an era for separate local bulletins across Regional Victoria particularly for Ballarat & Shepparton (WIN’s Victorian imcumbents) with no other local news services on Television, WIN currently airs local news in Shepparton, Bendigo (Central Victoria), Ballarat (Western Victoria) and Gippsland
Also it is the end of an era for WIN’s Queensland incumbent markets Rockhampton & Toowoomba (as separate local bulletins). WIN currently airs local bulletins in Cairns, Townsville, Rockhampton, Sunshine Coast & Toowoomba, In Queensland with WIN adopting the Nine News Local format for their bulletins this will leave Channel 7 with the only separate dedicated local news bulletins in all Regional Queensland markets.
Not only for incumbent markets, but for the other WIN submarkets that received separate dedicated local bulletins for years, This is a big blow for Regional News & Regional Television.
I’m in Regional Queensland & from July I will only be watching Seven for local news after July (as a lot of people will), I want to see what is happening locally not in other areas leave that for the All Australian News, a Statewide bulletin worked when they had WIN News Late Edition but not for the main evening local bulletin.
I don’t see this working at all. Also this it not the first time WIN tried this in 2010 with the South Australian Bulletins until axing it in 2013 (separate Riverland & Mt Gambier bulletins were merged into a statewide bulletin).
… think about it .. it makes absolute sense … the whole basis of regional television aggregation was that a combined population of one million could sustain three competing commercial television companies … not individual towns like Wagga or Orange …
True. It’s obviously just sad to see more job losses in the media sector. Once upon a time these local stations had their own shows including live variety and kids programming.
… absolutely agree with you Robert … I worked in regional television in those days and produced a weekly local variety show as well as many other program types … the obsession with local news as the only thing to be produced locally actually killed that kind of programming off to the detriment of “localism” even before aggregation put the final nail in the coffin …
Disgusting how they treat regional News. I personally couldn’t give a hoot about Sydney, Melbourne nor Brisbane news. Switch off.
What is going to happen to Newcastle/Northern NSW where NBN Network which is owned Nine operates in competition with WIN
NBN News will continue to air nightly at 6:00pm in Northern NSW and NBN will continue as a Nine station (Being a 9 O&O), WIN will continue to broadcast Channel 10 programs across Northern NSW.
But apparently as from 1st July, WIN will take over advertising sales for NBN
Yes that is correct, WIN will handle advertising sales for both NBN (Nine) and WIN (Ten) in Northern NSW from July.