Bendigo free-to-air viewers face lengthy delay as full TV services unlikely before mid-year
Free-to-air television viewers across Victoria’s Bendigo region are facing a prolonged wait for the return of full broadcast services, with industry estimates indicating it could take up to six months to fully restore infrastructure damaged by bushfires.
The Mount Alexander transmission site, which carries signals for all commercial and national broadcasters serving the region, sustained significant damage during bushfires on 9 January 2026, cutting television services to thousands of households.
While temporary transmission facilities were installed and limited services resumed in late January, the interim solution remains restricted in both channel availability and transmission power.
The restoration of permanent infrastructure is not a quick fix. Industry sources speaking to TV Blackbox have advised that ordering and importing replacement transmitter equipment alone can take approximately three months. Mobilisation and installation may require a further six weeks, assuming there are no additional delays.
Commenting on the progess of the rebuild project, a spokesperson for WIN Television informed TV Blackbox,
“it could take up to 6 months due to the infrastructure and installation required. Our engineering team is working hard to reduce that time.”
The timeframe underscores the complexity of rebuilding a major broadcast facility, particularly one that services multiple networks including the Seven Network, WIN Network, Network 10, the ABC and SBS.
Under the current temporary arrangements, viewers can access Seven and 7mate, 9 and Gem, and 10 and 10 Drama, along with services from the ABC and SBS. However, all other commercial multichannels remain unavailable via terrestrial transmission.
The temporary broadcasts are also operating at reduced power, meaning households located further away from the site continue to experience reception issues.
Streaming platforms including ABC iview, SBS On Demand, 7plus, 9Now and 10 Play continue to provide access to additional channels, but this requires a reliable internet connection — an option not universally available across regional areas.
For now, Bendigo viewers must rely on the interim service while the long process of sourcing, installing and commissioning new transmission infrastructure continues.
I live in Castlemaine with 3 TVs. One of them picks up all FTA TV stations. The others only ABC and SBS channels. I have to use streaming for non ABC/SBS channels on those two TVs.
All of the TVs are some years old now, but the “good” one is a Sony. They are all connected to the same antenna.
I suspect many did not realise that a channel search helped.
Can’t find anything regarding channel 56.
One week left of May and I haven’t found any updates on this March report. Would be good if we got some news about progress. What other channels are still missing, other than 56?