List of Australian television call signs

Callsign suffixes
State/Territory
Q Queensland
N New South Wales
C Canberra
V Victoria
T Tasmania
D Northern Territory
S South Australia
W Western Australia

This is a list of Australian television call signs. When a television broadcaster in Australia is granted a licence, a call sign consisting of a unique series of letters and numbers is allocated by the Australian Communications and Media Authority and are unique for each broadcast station.[1]

Background

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For commercial networks, these are generally three letters. The first two letters are selected by the licensee, and the third letter often indicates the state or territory in which the station is located. Sometimes the third letter is also used as part of the abbreviation or mnemonic to name the station - for example GTV (General Television Corporation) represents "General TeleVision" or "General TV", although the V stands for Victoria.

Call signs in Australia do not include ITU prefixes. If one is required, "VL" is used. So, for example, GTV in an international context would actually be "VLGTV".

With the onset of aggregation in regional areas and digital television, the call signs do not retain the meaning that they did in the past. Stations will sometimes change frequency, or have different frequencies at different locations, such as re-transmission sites, where the same signal is re-broadcast in a different area. However, the three-letter codes have generally not changed and are still used within the industry.

A list of call signs is shown below, with original explanations of the call signs as of July 2022.[2]

National

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  • ABCAustralian Broadcasting Corporation
  • SBSSpecial Broadcasting Service

New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory

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Sydney

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  • ATNAmalgamated Television New South Wales
  • TCNTelevision Corporation New South Wales
  • TENTelevision Enterprises New South Wales

Southern NSW/Australian Capital Territory

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  • CBNCentral Broadcasting New South Wales
  • CTCCapital Television Canberra
  • WINWollongong Illawarra New South Wales

Northern NSW

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  • NBNNewcastle Broadcasting New South Wales
  • NENNew England New South Wales
  • NRNNorthern Rivers New South Wales

Griffith/Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area

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  • AMNAlbury Murray New South Wales
  • MDNMurrumbidgee Digital New South Wales
  • MTNMurrumbidgee Television New South Wales

Broken Hill

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  • BDNBroken Hill Digital Television New South Wales
  • BKNBroken Hill New South Wales
  • SCNSouthern Cross New South Wales

Victoria

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Melbourne

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  • ATVAustarama Television Victoria
  • GTVGeneral Television Victoria
  • HSVHerald Sun Victoria
  • MGVMelbourne Geelong Victoria

Regional

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  • AMVAlbury Murray Victoria
  • BCVBendigo Central Victoria
  • GLVGippsland Latrobe Valley Victoria
  • VTVVic Television Victoria

Mildura and Sunraysia

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  • MDVMildura Digital Television Victoria
  • PTVPrime Television Victoria
  • STVSunraysia Television Victoria

Queensland

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Brisbane

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  • BTQBrisbane Television Queensland
  • QTQQueensland Television Queensland
  • TVQTeleVision Queensland

Regional

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  • RTQRockhampton Television Queensland
  • STQSunshine Television Queensland
  • TNQTelecasters North Queensland

Mount Isa

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  • IDQITQ Digital Queensland
  • IMPImparja Television
  • ITQ – Mount Isa Telecasters Queensland

South Australia

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Adelaide

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  • ADSAdelaide South Australia (also said to stand for Advertiser South Australia, named after the sister newspaper The Advertiser and radio station 5AD)
  • CTSCommunity Television South Australia
  • SASSouth Australian Telecasters South Australia
  • NWS – The News South Australia

Mount Gambier/South East

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  • MGSMount Gambier South Australia
  • SDSSouth East Digital Television South Australia
  • SESSouth East South Australia

Riverland

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  • LRSLoxton Riverland South Australia
  • RDSRiverland Digital Television South Australia
  • RTSRiverland Television South Australia

Port Pirie/Spencer Gulf North

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  • GDS – Spencer Gulf Digital Television South Australia
  • GTS – Spencer Gulf Telecasters South Australia
  • SGSSpencer Gulf South Australia

Western Australia

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Perth

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  • NEWNew Western Australia (also to spell the word NEW)
  • STWSwan Television Western Australia
  • TVWTelevision Western Australia

South West and Great Southern

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  • SSWSouth West and Great Southern Western Australia
  • SDWSSW Digital Western Australia

Kalgoorlie

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  • VDWVEW Digital Western Australia
  • VEWView Western Australia

Geraldton

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  • GDWGTW Digital Western Australia
  • GTWGeraldton Telecasters Western Australia

Remote and Regional Western Australia

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  • WAWWestern Australia Western Australia
  • WDWWAW Digital Western Australia
  • WOWWIN of Western Australia

Tasmania

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  • TDTTasmanian Digital Television
  • TNTTelevision Northern Tasmania
  • TVTTeleVision Tasmania

Northern Territory

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Darwin

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  • DTDDigital Television Darwin
  • NTDNorthern Territory Darwin
  • TNDTelecasters Northern Territory Darwin

Other callsigns

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Remote Central and Eastern Australia

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  • CDTCentral Digital Television
  • IMPImparja Television
  • QQQQueensland Queensland Queensland
  • HPOHigh Power Open Narrowcasting
  • ACT – Aboriginal Community Television

Former callsigns

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  • ABC - Australian Broadcasting Corporation Canberra
  • ABNAustralian Broadcasting Corporation New South Wales
  • CTNCommunity Television New South Wales
  • TSNTelevision Sydney New South Wales
  • CWNCentral Western Slopes New South Wales
  • ABWN - Australian Broadcasting Corporation Wollongong New South Wales
  • ABSN - Australian Broadcasting Corporation Southern New South Wales
  • ABCN - Australian Broadcasting Corporation Central New South Wales
  • ABMN - Australian Broadcasting Corporation M New South Wales
  • ABQN - Australian Broadcasting Corporation Q New South Wales
  • ECNEast Coast New South Wales
  • RTNRichmond and Tweed New South Wales
  • ABDNAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Dorrigo New South Wales
  • ABHNAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Hunter River New South Wales
  • ABMINAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Mungindi New South Wales
  • ABRNAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Richmond and Tweed New South Wales
  • ABTNAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Taree New South Wales
  • ABUNAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Upper Namoi New South Wales
  • RVNRiverina New South Wales
  • ABGNAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Griffith New South Wales
  • ABLNAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Broken Hill New South Wales
  • ABVAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Victoria
  • ABRVAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Ballarat Victoria
  • BTVBallarat Television Victoria - (also briefly 'RTV' during aggregation preparations)[3]
  • ABSVAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Swan Hill Victoria
  • ABWVAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Western Victoria
  • ABMVAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Mildura Victoria
  • ABGVAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Goulburn Valley Victoria
  • GMVGoulburn Murray Victoria - (also briefly 'RTV' during aggregation preparations)[3]
  • ABLVAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Latrobe Valley Victoria
  • RTVRegional Television Victoria - (used briefly for BTV and GMV during aggregation preparations)[3]
  • CTVCommunity Television Victoria
  • ABAVAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Albury Victoria
  • ABEVAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Bendigo Victoria
  • ABQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Queensland
  • ABCTQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Clermont Queensland
  • ABDQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Darling Downs Queensland
  • ABEQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Emerald Queensland
  • ABGQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Goondiwindi Queensland
  • ABMQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Mackay Queensland
  • ABMSQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Miles Queensland
  • ABNQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation North Queensland
  • ABRQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Rockhampton Queensland
  • ABSQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Southern Downs Queensland
  • ABSEQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Springsure Queensland
  • ABTQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Townsville Queensland
  • ABWQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Wide Bay Queensland
  • ABIQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Mount Isa Queensland
  • ABMKQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Mary Kathleen Queensland
  • ABAQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Alpha Queensland
  • ABAAQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Augathella Queensland
  • ABBQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Barcaldine Queensland
  • ABBLQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Blackall Queensland
  • ABCAQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Cunnamulla Queensland
  • ABCEQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Charleville Queensland
  • ABCLQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Cloncurry Queensland
  • ABDIQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Dirranbandi Queensland
  • ABHQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Hughenden Queensland
  • ABJQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Julia Creek Queensland
  • ABLQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Longreach Queensland
  • ABMLQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Mitchell Queensland
  • ABMNQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Morven Queensland
  • ABRAQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Roma Queensland
  • ABRDQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Richmond Queensland
  • ABSGQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation St. George Queensland
  • ABWNQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Winton Queensland
  • DDQDarling Downs Queensland
  • ABNPQAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Northern Peninsula Queensland
  • FNQFar Northern Queensland
  • MVQMackay Vision Queensland
  • SDQSouthern Downs Queensland
  • SEQSouth East Queensland
  • WBQWide Bay Queensland
  • CTQCommunity Television Queensland
  • ABSAustralian Broadcasting Corporation South Australia
  • ABGSAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Mount Gambier South Australia
  • ABRSAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Riverland South Australia
  • ABNSAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Spencer Gulf North South Australia
  • ABCSAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Ceduna South Australia
  • ABLCSAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Leigh Creek South Australia
  • ABWSAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Woomera South Australia
  • ACEAdelaide Community and Educational Television
  • ABWAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Western Australia
  • ABAWAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Albany Western Australia
  • ABCWAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Central Agricultural area Western Australia
  • ABSWAustralian Broadcasting Corporation South West Western Australia
  • ABKWAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Kalgoorlie Western Australia
  • ABEWAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Esperance Western Australia
  • ABNWAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Norseman Western Australia
  • ABSBWAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Southern Cross/Bullfinch Western Australia
  • ABGWAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Geraldton Western Australia
  • ABCMWAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Morawa Western Australia
  • ABCNWAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Carnarvon Western Australia
  • ABDWAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Dampier Western Australia
  • ABKAWAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Karratha Western Australia
  • ABMWAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Moora Western Australia
  • ABPHWAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Port Hedland Western Australia
  • ABRBWAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Roebourne Western Australia
  • BTWBunbury Television Western Australia
  • GSWGreat Southern Western Australia
  • ATWAccess Television Western Australia
  • CTWCommunity Television Western Australia
  • ABCNWAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Carnarvon Western Australia
  • ABDWAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Dampier Western Australia
  • ABKAWAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Karratha Western Australia
  • ABMWAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Moora Western Australia
  • ABPHWAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Port Hedland Western Australia
  • ABRBWAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Roebourne Western Australia
  • ABTAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Tasmania
  • ABKTAustralian Broadcasting Corporation King Island Tasmania
  • ABNTAustralian Broadcasting Corporation North Eastern Tasmania
  • ABDAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Darwin
  • ABADAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Alice Springs Darwin
  • ABKDAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Katherine Darwin
  • ABTDAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Tennant Creek Darwin

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Broadcasting transmitter (apparatus) licences". Australian Communications and Media Authority. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Radio and television broadcasting stations: Internet edition" (PDF). Australian Communications and Media Authority. July 2022. pp. 151–397. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Michael Faulkner, Future of Regional TV (Staff Meeting) BTV6 Ballarat Nov 1989 – via YouTube.
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