Australian network, WIN Television, celebrated 30 years as the largest TV operator in Australia under the leadership of Bruce Gordon. For its 30th birthday, WIN Corporation threw its TV division an elaborate black-tie dinner in its Wollongong home-base on August 27, where among the 300 attendees were Lachlan Murdoch, David Gyngell and Glen Kinging. A second, more private dinner celebration for some 60 invitees was held on September 9 in Sydney. Based in Wollongong, just South of Sydney in New South Wales, WIN Television originally launched on March 18, 1962 as WIN-4, a single station owned by a group of local businessmen under the auspices of Television Wollongong Transmission Limited (TWT/WIN-4). Today, WIN Television owns and operates 28 stations, broadcasting to more than 42 percent of Australia’s 8.5 million TV viewers across six states, including Wollongong, Canberra, Ballarat, Tasmania, Mildura, Perth, Adelaide and the Southern Queensland markets, spanning the largest geographical area in the world. As the only 100 percent Australian owned commercial network, WIN Television produces the most comprehensive news service in Australia, with 18 individual 30-minute local WIN News bulletins each weekday and one 60-minute newscast seven days a week pooling information from 28 newsrooms and bureaus across the country. In addition, WIN Television currently produces and licenses several dozen shows, including sports, drama, current affairs, comedy, reality, game show, family, lifestyle, documentary and talk genres. Titles licensed include Two and a Half Men, The Ellen Degeneres Show, Cold Case, 60 Minutes, Today, THIS Afternoon, Susie, Australia’s Funniest Home Videos, Getaway, Alive and Cooking, The Saddle, Millionaire Hot Seat, The Apprentice, Missing Persons Unit, Trouble in Paradise, Random Acts of Kindness, Fishing Australia, Postcards Australia, The Footy Show and Wide World of Sports . Self-produced titles include Susie, The Saddle Club, Fishing Australia, Alive and Cooking ACA Perth and Adelaide, Postcard Australia. WIN Television is an affiliate of three major commercial television networks in Australia: Nine Network, Seven Network and Network Ten. WIN Television is a Nine Network (Channel Nine) affiliate in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania. Nine Network, which is based in Willoughby and has been broadcasting for more than 40 years, is owned by PBL Media and holds an audience share of 22.6 percent nationally. WIN Television is also an affiliate of Seven Network (Channel Seven), owned by Sydneybased Seven Media group, broadcasting to South Australia and holding an audience share of 23.9 percent nationally, making it the leading network in Australia. In addition, WIN Television, an affiliate of Network Ten (Channel Ten), which is owned by Ten Network holdings, serves Western Australia and purports a 17.1 audience share nationally, making it third in the ratings. All three networks produce and import their shows, allowing WIN Television to fill its schedule with shows that are not part of their normal business deals. WIN Television is involved in several joint partnerships, including Tasmanian Digital Television with Southern Cross Broadcasting since 2003, and Mildura Digital Television with Prime Television Limited since 2006. WIN is part owner of both joint venture broadcast licenses where Channel Ten is offering free-toair digital programming. WIN, which refers to its original WIN-4 station and is an acronym for Wollongong Illawarra New South Wales, was purchased in 1979 from V I D E O • A G E SE P T E M B E R/ OC T O B E R 2 0 0 9 48 (Continued on Page 50) Bruce Gordon with Silvio Berlusconi in 1997 Bruce Gordon at a gala event Gordon delivering the commemoratve speech Bruce Gordon by Al Hirschfeld Australia’s WIN Television Celebrate Its 30th Anniversary
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