Australia’s Nine Network will see its last broadcast from the Sydney suburb of Willoughby this weekend and the first official broadcast from its new HQ at 1 Denison St North Sydney. After 63 years, Saturday night will mark the final TCN broadcast and Sunday the first from Nine Sydney.
“As we bid farewell, it’s important that we celebrate our history and take with us an unrivalled legacy,” said Nine CEO Hugh Marks. “Willoughby is the place where Australian TV began. It’s where Bruce Gyngell famously greeted viewers in 1956 with, ‘Good evening, and welcome to television’. Since that day, our network has never skipped a beat and led the way in telling stories in Australia and beyond.
“It’s been home to 60 Minutes, Today, Midday, and so many more. Over the decades, many have come through our doors and made a mark on Australian television as an industry.
“As you know, media is an ever-changing industry and as we vacate our home, we move to a new era.
“Our purpose-built studios at Denison Street in North Sydney will place us at the forefront of our industry, not just in Australia, but across the world. The investment in new technologies for our studios is like no other company. We will function on a whole new level. It brings together television, news, digital and radio in a way none of our competitors can.”
The new facility also houses purpose-built newsrooms for newspapers The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian Financial Review.
“In all respects, this state-of-the-art home positions all of Nine’s businesses for an amazing future,” said Marks. “As I’ve said the aim of all this is for Nine Sydney to be a creative campus – one which will fundamentally change our business, how we operate and most importantly, how we collaborate.
“While some things may change, others remain the same, and the talent, skill and passion you all have will only be enhanced by this new place as we continue to create incredible content that speaks to all Australians.”
Nine brought in German company Qvest Media to oversee the broadcast technology build for the new HQ.
According to Geoff Sparke, Nine’s Director of Broadcast Operations, Nine has taken the opportunity presented by the move from its Willoughby broadcast centre to 1 Denison Street, North Sydney, to overhaul its technological broadcast stack, moving to SMPTE 2110 Standard for Professional Video Delivery Over IP Networks.
“This is a major change for us and the Nine business,” Sparke said. “SMPTE 2110 is the standard we have chosen for video transport over IP on a COTS platform. Traditional infrastructure no longer is a viable platform when considering a greenfield site.”
Visit www.nineforbrands.com.au