May 26, 2021
WIN-TV announced this week it will axe its Toowoomba and Darling Downs local news bulletin.
The broadcaster will move to State-wide bulletins in the new timeslot of 5:30pm when it returns to being a Nine affiliate on July 1.
Also cancelled will be the WIN local news bulletins for Cairns, Townsville, Rockhampton and the Sunshine Coast plus four local news bulletins in Victoria.
It is unknown how many jobs will be lost from the decision.
“As is always our priority, WIN will make every attempt to redeploy, second or retrain any impacted employees to suitable, alternative employment within the WIN Group,” WIN CEO Andrew Lancaster said in a statement.
WIN – which has been broadcasting Network 10 content – will broadcast Nine’s metropolitan free-to-air content (from Channel 9, 9Go, 9Gem and 9Life) for a minimum of seven years from July 1.
WIN is also expected to drop broadcasting SKY News later this year after the swap to Nine.
Earlier this year, Nine announced it planned to close its regional Sunshine Coast and Wide Bay newsrooms from June 30.
These closures, announced to staff in March, are also linked to the deal by Nine to re-affiliate with WIN.
The re-affiliation is a blast from the past for regional TV networks.
In 2016, Nine dumped its long-standing relationship with WIN and shifted its content to Southern Cross Ten, owned by Southern Cross Austereo (SCA).
Later that same year, WIN signed a five-year affiliation agreement deal with Network 10 (owned by ViacomCBS Australia & New Zealand) to stream its premium content.
This deal expires on July 1.
SCA (Southern Cross Ten) and Network 10 will now re-enter an affiliation agreement to broadcast content from July 1.
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