List of Australian television callsigns
This is a list of Australian television callsigns. When a television broadcaster is granted a licence, a callsign is allocated. For commercial networks, these are generally three letters. The first two letters are selected by the licensee; and the third letter indicates the state or territory the station is located in. Sometimes the third letter is used as part of the acronym or mnemonic to name the station - for example GTV (General Television Corporation) represents 'General TeleVision' or 'General TV', although the V stands for Victoria.
State/Territory | |
---|---|
Q | Queensland |
N | New South Wales |
C | Canberra |
V | Victoria |
T | Tasmania |
D | Northern Territory |
S | South Australia |
W | Western Australia |
Callsigns 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 now digital television, the callsigns 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 callsigns is shown below, with original explanations of the callsigns:
New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory
Sydney
Southern NSW/Australian Capital Territory
- ABC - Australian Broadcasting Corporation Canberra
- 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
- CTC - Capital Television Canberra
- WIN - Wollongong Illawarra New South Wales
- CBN - Central Broadcasting New South Wales
Northern NSW
- ABDN – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Dorrigo New South Wales
- ABHN – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Hunter River New South Wales
- ABMIN – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Mungindi New South Wales
- ABRN – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Richmond and Tweed New South Wales
- ABTN – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Taree New South Wales
- ABUN – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Upper Namoi New South Wales
- NBN – Newcastle Broadcasting New South Wales
- NEN – New England New South Wales
- NRN – Northern Rivers New South Wales
- RTN – Richmond and Tweed Heads New South Wales
- ECN – East Coast New South Wales
Griffith/Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area
Victoria
Melbourne
Regional
- ABAV – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Albury Victoria
- AMV – Albury Murray Victoria
- ABEV – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Bendigo Victoria
- BCV – Bendigo Central Victoria
- ABGV – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Goulburn Valley Victoria
- GMV – Goulburn Murray Victoria
- ABLV – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Latrobe Valley Victoria
- GLV – Gippsland Latrobe Valley Victoria
- ABRV – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Ballarat Victoria
- BTV – Ballarat Television Victoria
- ABSV – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Swan Hill Victoria
- ABWV – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Western Victoria
- VTV – Vic Television Victoria
Queensland
Brisbane
Regional
- ABCTQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Clermont Queensland
- ABDQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Darling Downs Queensland
- ABEQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Emerald Queensland
- ABGQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Goondiwindi Queensland
- ABMQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Mackay Queensland
- ABMSQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Miles Queensland
- ABNQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation North Queensland
- ABRQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Rockhampton Queensland
- ABSQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Southern Downs Queensland
- ABSEQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Springsure Queensland
- ABTQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Townsville Queensland
- ABWQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Wide Bay Queensland
- STQ – Sunshine Television Queensland
- RTQ – Rockhampton Television Queensland
- TNQ – Telecasters North Queensland
Mount Isa
Northern Peninsula
Remote
- ABAQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Alpha Queensland
- ABAAQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Augathella Queensland
- ABBQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Barcaldine Queensland
- ABBLQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Blackall Queensland
- ABCAQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Cunnamulla Queensland
- ABCEQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Charleville Queensland
- ABCLQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Cloncurry Queensland
- ABDIQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Dirranbandi Queensland
- ABHQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Hughenden Queensland
- ABJQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Julia Creek Queensland
- ABLQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Longreach Queensland
- ABMLQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Mitchell Queensland
- ABMNQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Morven Queensland
- ABRAQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Roma Queensland
- ABRDQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Richmond Queensland
- ABSGQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation St. George Queensland
- ABWNQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Winton Queensland
South Australia
Adelaide
- ABS – Australian Broadcasting Corporation South Australia
- SAS – South Australian Telecasters South Australia
- NWS – The News South Australia
- ADS – Adelaide South Australia (also said to stand for Advertiser South Australia, named after the sister newspaper The Advertiser and radio station 5AD)
- CTS – Community Television South Australia
Mount Gambier/South East
Riverland
Port Pirie/Spencer Gulf North
Western Australia
Perth
South West and Great Southern
- ABAW – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Albany Western Australia
- ABCW – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Central Agricultural area Western Australia
- ABSW – Australian Broadcasting Corporation South West Western Australia
- SSW – South West and Great Southern Western Australia
- SDW – SSW Digital Western Australia
Kalgoorlie
- ABKW – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Kalgoorlie Western Australia
- ABEW – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Esperance Western Australia
- ABNW – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Norseman Western Australia
- ABSBW – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Southern Cross/Bullfinch Western Australia
- VEW – View Western Australia
- VDW – VEW Digital Western Australia
Geraldton
Remote and Regional Western Australia
- WOW - WIN of Western Australia
Remote Western Zone
- ABCNW – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Carnarvon Western Australia
- ABDW – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Dampier Western Australia
- ABKAW – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Karratha Western Australia
- ABMW – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Moora Western Australia
- ABPHW – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Port Hedland Western Australia
- ABRBW – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Roebourne Western Australia
- WAW – Western Australia Western Australia
- WDW – WAW Digital Western Australia
Tasmania
Northern Territory
Darwin
Other callsigns
Nationwide
- SBS – Special Broadcasting Service
Remote Central and Eastern Australia
Remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
Note: The callsign HPO is used by all local Indigenous-owned open-narrowcast services.
Former callsigns
- CWN – Central Western Slopes New South Wales
- ECN – East Coast New South Wales
- RTN – Richmond and Tweed New South Wales
- RVN – Riverina New South Wales
- BTV – Ballarat Television Victoria
- GMV – Goulburn Murray Victoria
- ABMKQ – Australian Broadcasting Corporation Mary Kathleen Queensland
- DDQ – Darling Downs Queensland
- FNQ – Far Northern Queensland
- MVQ – Mackay Vision Queensland
- SDQ – Southern Downs Queensland
- SEQ – South East Queensland
- WBQ – Wide Bay Queensland
- CTQ – Community Television Queensland
- ACE – Adelaide Community and Educational Television
- BTW – Bunbury Television Western Australia
- GSW – Great Southern Western Australia
- ATW – Access Television Western Australia
- CTS – Community Television Sydney
- TSN – Television Sydney New South Wales
See also
- List of Australian radio station callsigns
- Television in Australia
- Callsigns in Australia
- Television stations in Australia
References
- "TV broadcasters call signs and IDs" (PDF). Australian Communications and Media Authority. 24 June 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 September 2007. Retrieved 7 September 2007.