National Indigenous Television (NITV) is poised for its HD channel launch on 5 December 2023, building on its momentum from an impressive year that included its expansion to a 12-market broadcast footprint and a decade of free-to-air service.
Additionally, The evolution of the Beyond 3% initiative, NITV’s pioneering program aimed at bolstering First Nations media, introduces a fresh tiered partnership structure for brands, cementing NITV’s commitment to supporting indigenous narratives.
The HD channel reveal was made by Tanya Denning-Orman, SBS’s Director of Indigenous Content, at the SBS 2024 Upfront in Sydney. Denning-Orman, a proud Birri and Guugu Yimidhirr woman, expressed her enthusiasm:
“I’m excited that we will be presenting to Australia a beautiful, bold and unapologetically Blak content slate over the year ahead – including our fast-paced community-loving sport – in high definition.”
NITV will commence broadcasting in High Definition from the 5 December on Ch34. The Channel will also continue to be available in standard definition on Ch36.
Tanya Denning-Orman reflected on NITV’s journey, saying,
“It’s just the latest development for NITV as the channel continues to go from strength to strength, delivering more First Nations stories to more Australians, and continuously improving how we serve our growing audience, as well as our partners.”
NITV’s decade-long journey as a free-to-air channel, its introduction of a 12-market broadcast signal, and its unceasing efforts to amplify First Nations voices were among her highlighted points. She spoke of the channel’s dedication to informing Australians about the rich tapestry of 65,000 years of indigenous culture, history, and knowledge.
Peter Noble, NITV General Manager, chipped in with his insights about the channel’s promising content roadmap. A proud Bandjin and Girramay man, Noble mentioned,
“We continue to increase our investment in the Indigenous production sector and partnerships across the industry, and are proud to not only be delivering more of our sport, documentaries, drama, entertainment, and award-winning kids, news and current affairs programming to audiences in 2024, we’re also excited to have returning series with Our Law and Little J and Big Cuz.”
A notable partnership that NITV has embarked upon is with streaming giant Netflix to adapt AFL star Eddie Betts’ popular children’s books into an animated series named Eddie’s Lil’ Homies.
Anna Dancey, NITV National Sales Manager, during the SBS 2024 Upfront, unveiled the redefined Beyond 3% framework, crafted to offer brands more engaging avenues to partner with the indigenous network. Dancey, a proud Yuwaalaraay woman, stated, “2023 has been our biggest year ever,” and acknowledged brands such as Coles, Airbnb, Amazon, and Palmolive for augmenting their investments with NITV. She also highlighted NRMA’s commendable decision to become the first Australian brand to commit 3% of its broadcast media spend to First Nations media.
Beyond 3% originated in early 2021 to address a disparity: while Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples represent 3.8% of Australia’s populace, a mere 0.3% of the country’s advertising media spend targets these communities. The program aspires to realign industry investment towards a more inclusive approach.
A quick glance at NITV’s milestones:
- Celebrated its 10th year as a free-to-air channel in the SBS network in December 2022.
- Initiated broadcasts to 12 markets in May 2022, allowing simultaneous live broadcasts across time zones and enhanced ad opportunities.
- In March 2021, alongside SBS Media, it spearheaded Beyond 3%, which has since resulted in significant investment upticks.
- The 2022-23 period saw the channel reaching an average of 1.8 million Australians monthly.
- First Nations content consumption soared, with a 143% YoY increase on SBS On Demand.
- In 2018, the channel clinched the TV Week Logie Award for the animated series, Little J & Big Cuz.
Another feather in NITV’s cap is the Living Black show, the longest-standing Indigenous current affairs program in Australia, which marked its 20th anniversary in 2022.
