Branding Southern Cross Height 147 m (both) Owner Southern Cross Austereo | Affiliations Seven Former channel number(s) 34 (UHF) (analog) First air date 27 March 1998 | |
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Slogan Your Favourites, Your Station Former affiliations Ten (secondary, 2005-2008)
effective_radiated_power = 150 kW (analog)
85 kW (digital) Call letters' meaning Television; Northern; Darwin Channels Digital: 32 (UHF); 07 (SDTV); 70 (7mate); 72 (7two); 74 (Yesshop) | ||
TND is the call-sign for the Southern Cross Television station in Darwin, Northern Territory. The station, launched in 1998 as Seven Darwin and broadcasting to the greater Darwin region, serving around 100,000 people, is owned by Southern Cross Austereo. Its main competitor is the incumbent Nine Network station, Nine Darwin (formerly 'Channel 8').
Contents
Programming
As Seven Darwin, TND-34 existed as essentially a re-broadcast of SCB's remote Australia satellite service Seven Central, apart from localised adverts, inserted at SCB's playout centre in Townsville, Queensland, and delivered to Darwin via Optus Transcontinental Fibre Optic cable. The station also carries Seven News Brisbane bulletins from BTQ.
Since 2008, the station holds dual affiliations with the Seven Network, after the Ten affiliation relinquished by NTD-8 as it became Nine Darwin. At this time, Seven Darwin changed its name to Southern Cross Darwin.
Like its Tasmanian and Spencer Gulf/Broken Hill sister stations, the Seven Network affiliation remains the primary one. The Network Ten affiliation is, in time, expected to be dropped from Southern Cross Darwin and given to a digital-only third channel (such as those found in Tasmania and Mildura), as proposed by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
Despite the change in name and affiliation of TND-34, Seven Central remained as a fully Seven Network-aligned service for remote Australia. Since 2008, Seven Central has carried a small amount of Ten Sport programming, in response to rival broadcaster Imparja Television dropping its Network Ten licence early in the year.
In 2008, Southern Cross Darwin ceases broadcasting its last Ten content, it was moved to Darwin Digital Television. The station has carried a sole Seven affiliate, on relay from Melbourne, Victoria.
News updates
Under previous owners, a local Seven News bulletin for Darwin and Central Australia was produced until 2000. Separate news update services for Darwin were introduced in 2005 before being merged with updates for remote Australia into one service in 2013. The shared three-minute short news updates throughout the day are broadcast on ITQ/QQQ serving remote areas and TND in Darwin, presented from Southern Cross Austereo's studio in Canberra.