IT is just over two years since ATV became interested in the Australian scene by purchasing the commercial radio and television interests of the Daily Mirror group. ATV (Australia) Pty. Ltd. was then formed to be ATV’s Australian company.

The commercial radio interests acquired by ATV included shareholdings in Station 2GB Sydney and in Stations 3AW Melbourne and 5DN Adelaide, as well as in Station 2CA Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory and stations in the provincial cities of Wollongong, Young and Lithgow in the state of New South Wales.

In addition, ATV became a major partner in the Macquarie Broadcasting Service, the only Australia-wide network of commercial radio stations. It also took over a large investment in television station ATN Sydney.

EXPANDED INTERESTS

The Macquarie Network is made up of 22 member stations (including the ATV group) and 39 co-operating stations, on which Macquarie produced programmes are placed. These 61 stations of a total of 109 commercial stations cover 75% of the population.

In the past two years, our Australian interests have greatly expanded. We have acquired shareholdings in commercial television stations QTC Brisbane and NWS Adelaide and also in five provincial television stations which will operate in Canberra, Wollongong, Orange, Lismore and Ballarat.

Pye Records is established in business as our Australian record company and we are about to give the folk in Sydney and Melbourne the benefit of Muzak.

Last, but by no means least, ATV has produced “Whiplash”, the first major TV series made here for world-wide distribution.

Since the first TV transmissions just over four years ago this exciting medium has grown rapidly, so that today there are two commercial stations and one national station in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide, and one commercial and one national station in Perth and Hobart.

Total sets licensed in these cities exceed 1,000,000, representing approximately 70% saturation in Sydney and Melbourne, and over 50% in the other four cities.

Within 12 to 18 months, a further 13 commercial stations and 13 national stations will open in country and provincial areas bringing over 70% of the total population within coverage of TV.

GROWING MARKET

In this rapidly growing market ATV (Aust.) has been very active selling and distributing your programmes. We now have 37 film and 12 telerecorded series on Australian screens totalling 2,130 half-hours of entertainment. Half of this is British material.

Our Company is easily the biggest distributor of British product in a market where 88% of programme footage imported last year came from the United States and 10% from the United Kingdom.

Programmes currently keeping ATV in the public eye include: Deadline Midnight; Probation Officer, Emergency–Ward 10; The Larkins; Arthur Haynes; Saturday Spectaculars; Television Playhouse; Whiplash; Danger Man; Four Just Men; Interpol Calling; Robin Hood; Invisible Man and William Tell.

This is a hungry market. Transmission hours are longer than in the United Kingdom and the commercial stations in Sydney and Melbourne are on the air for an average of 12 hours per day.

NEW ZEALAND SALES

ATV (Aust.) Pty. Ltd. is also selling and distributing programmes in the New Zealand market where transmissions started in Auckland some nine months ago. Coverage is expected to extend to Wellington, Christchurch a Dunedin shortly and we look forward to an increasing volume of sales in this new market.

So far, we have secured a large share of the present programmes scheduled in Auckland where some 500 half hours have been sold.

This then, is the overall picture of what is happening on the other side of the globe.

We are very proud of our association with all you good folk in England and we look forward to many years of co-operation with ATV in Britain.

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