Senator the Hon Helen Coonan

Minister for Communications,

Information Technology

and the Arts

ABC2: It's coming to you

ABC2 Launch

Canberra

Thursday 10 March 2005

Thank you Donald [McDonald AO, Chair ABC] and good morning everyone.

It's a pleasure to be here for this very special occasion - the launch of ABC2.

This marks a new and exciting phase for Australian television, and especially for the ABC which is leading the way in testing new broadcasting technology.

ABC2 has already been branded as the younger sibling to the very well known and respected ABC main channel.

ABC2 is new, it's digital and it's now on show around the nation.

Going digital

Broadcasting is certainly a dynamic industry and the Howard Government is determined to ensure that we continue to have an environment that enables the Australian broadcasting sector to keep building and creating a strong, innovative market.

Australia 's free to air broadcasters have been providing digital television since 1 January 2001.

Availability was initially limited to five capital cities but now around 94 per cent of Australians have access to at least one digital free to air service and more than 80 per cent have access to all the free to air digital services in their area.

A growing number of Australian households are enjoying free to air digital television with around 700,000 digital receivers now sold. While initial take up rates were modest, sales are ever-increasing with around 60 per cent of total digital receivers sold during 2004.

Viewers all around Australia are really starting to appreciate the benefits of going digital.

As those of us here know, digital provides superior quality pictures and sound.

It also allows for additional services like on-screen program guides, added camera angles, interactive features and high definition programming.

This makes for exciting viewing and I'm sure we'll be seeing more and more Australian households making the most of this technology, especially with the launch of ABC2.

ABC2 programming

To complement the main channel, ABC2 will feature a broad range of new and repeat ABC programming, as well as a comprehensive mix of high quality children's, documentary, arts, international and regional news shows.

I'd particularly like to commend the strong regional focus of the programming.

ABC2 will provide repeat screenings of Landline and the only chance for audiences to view all eight versions of Stateline.

It will also feature a new prime time fifteen minute regional news program called Australia Wide that is exclusive to ABC2.

This is great news for people living in rural and regional Australia and I'm sure they will benefit greatly and become avid viewers.

Families and children will also be able to enjoy more of the quality programming that ABC has to offer - switching between the main channel and ABC2 throughout the day to access many hours of continuous, safe and trusted ABC Kids TV.

ABC2 will also screen programs such as Foreign Correspondent, and the very popular social documentary Australian Story.

For news junkies, which so many of us in this building are, international news and analysis programs will also form an integral part of the schedule with the first ever Australian broadcast of the ABC Asia Pacific program Hemispheres.

And of course there will be other ABC favourites like At The Movies, Gardening Australia and Catalyst.

Innovation

One of the real innovations that digital production methods allow is the ability to produce content suitable for a range of platforms.

This is something that is becoming an increasingly important part of the business of broadcasting - particularly production technology which is rapidly converging.

The ABC has been at the forefront of this trend in Australian broadcasting with a generous amount of both radio and television content now available on the ABC website.

As such, I'm particularly looking forward to viewing the ABC2 content that has been especially created for both broadband and digital television.

This feature allows viewers to have the choice of either watching a show as a scheduled television program, or watching it whenever they want - on demand, online through their broadband connection.

This is a wonderfully innovative component of ABC2 and offers great choice to viewers.

The integrated programming will include a variety of news, business, and rural news bulletins updated at various times of the day.

Conclusion

ABC2, with its combination of trusted and innovative content, is precisely the sort of offering that will encourage even more Australians to take up digital television.

I'd like to congratulate everyone involved with ABC2 for leading the way with multichannelling and showing how it can be done.

Not only is the ABC integral to our cultural landscape - it's now integral to technological advancement and innovation in Australian broadcasting.

It's now my pleasure to officially launch ABC2.

Thank you.

ABC gets digital sibling by Sheena MacLean. Article in The Australian 17 February 2005