Channel 10 viewers in Mount Gambier, the Riverland and Griffith have until Friday. After that, the channel is gone from their aerials.
WIN Network holds the TV licences in those areas, and it has confirmed it will stop broadcasting 10, 10 Drama and 10 Comedy. The final broadcasts are on Friday, 9 October. The switch-off covers South Australia’s south-east and Riverland, as well as Griffith and the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area across the border in NSW.
People in these towns probably saw this coming. WIN first warned back in May that its deal with Network 10 was due to expire in July and the channels would be pulled.
A reprieve that didn’t last
At the end of June, viewers were given a three-month stay of execution. Network 10 offered WIN its feed free of charge while the two companies kept talking. Those talks have now ended without a deal.
WIN says carrying 10 in these markets is “no longer viable”. Its statement pointed to the high cost of running transmission and infrastructure across big regional areas, at a time when streaming keeps pulling viewers, and advertisers, away from free-to-air TV.
The part country viewers might want to pay attention to is WIN’s warning that those same economics will keep making it hard to maintain services right across regional Australia. In other words, 10 may not be the last channel to go.
Network 10 says it explored options with WIN to keep its shows on air locally, and that it remains committed to regional audiences.
They’ve been through this before
It’s only been a little over a year since the same three areas lost Channel 7. Seven and WIN couldn’t agree on a new deal and viewers were left staring at a red screen telling them the programs were no longer available. That one had a happy ending. Seven was back on air within a few days once a new agreement was signed.
Mildura wasn’t so lucky. In 2024 the town lost Network 10 for good when Seven and WIN, which co-owned the local station that carried it, shut it down because it had never made money. The ABC found some older residents who thought their TV had broken.
The ABC contacted Communications Minister Anika Wells for comment on the latest switch-off.
So how do you keep watching?
The shows aren’t disappearing, they’re just leaving the aerial. Network 10 says its channels are still available online and through its app.
Speaking for myself, if my favourite channel stopped working on the TV, I wouldn’t just give up on it. I’d switch to the app, and I’d happily pay for it too, because I feel connected to that channel and I like what it shows. I suspect a lot of 10’s regular viewers in these towns will do exactly the same.
If you’ve got a smart TV, check your TV’s app store for the 10 app. Most recent models have it, but it’s worth checking yours before Friday rather than on the night your show is on.
Older TV? A streaming stick like a Chromecast, Fire TV Stick or Apple TV plugs into the back and will do the job. The cheaper ones cost well under $100.
You can also watch on a phone, tablet or laptop. There’s no charge for it. You just have to make an account first.
One thing to keep in mind is data. Watching live uses quite a lot of it. People on a small monthly plan, or with internet that keeps dropping out, should check that first. Nobody wants the stream freezing halfway through the news.
Older viewers may need a hand
The app itself is easy enough. It’ll be the person who has watched TV the same way for 50 years and suddenly finds a channel missing.
If you’ve got parents, grandparents or an elderly neighbour in one of these areas, it’s worth calling in before Friday. Put the app on their TV, walk them through it once or twice, and jot down the steps somewhere they can see them.
What this means for country viewers
One missing channel is not the end of the world. But free-to-air TV is still where plenty of regional people get their local news, weather and emergency updates, and every time a channel goes, country viewers end up with less than people in the cities.
WIN has made it pretty clear the money problem isn’t going away. Sooner or later, someone will have to decide whether regional TV is worth protecting. Until then, more of it may simply end up online.