ABC2

ABC2
Launched	March 7, 2005
Network	ABC Television
Owned by	Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Picture format	576i (SDTV)
Slogan	More Choice, More Often
Website	abc.net.au/tv/abc2
Availability
Terrestrial
SD Digital	Channel 21
Satellite
Foxtel Digital	Channel 126
Austar Digital	Channel 126
Cable
Foxtel Digital	Channel 126
TransTV Digital	Channel 22

ABC2 is an Australian television channel broadcast by ABC Television that launched on March 7, 2005. The channel, available to digital television viewers in Australia, broadcasts a range of original content supplemented with repeats of popular ABC TV programs, notably children's programs, magazine shows, and sport.

History

Further information: History of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation

ABC2 launched on March 7, 2005, with an episode of Landline - although scheduled to begin at 6.25am, the program was delayed ten minutes. The channel was officially inaugurated by former Minister for Communications, Senator Helen Coonan, at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra on March 10, 2005.^[1] Unlike its predecessors the new service was not dependent on government funding, instead running on a budget of $3 million per year.^[2] Genre restrictions imposed by the Australian government on digital multichanneling were lifted along with the media ownership laws passed through the Australian parliament on October 18, 2006.^[3] Previously limited in the subjects it could cover, ABC2 was henceforth able to carry shows identified as comedy, drama, national news, sport or entertainment.

Programming

Further information: List of programs broadcast by ABC Television

ABC2's programming consists primarily of repeated shows from ABC TV, and classic content from the ABC archives, in addition to some original content such as Good Game and Australia Wide. ABC TV programs, such as At The Movies, The Chaser's War on Everything, The New Inventors, Gardening Australia, Catalyst, Spicks and Specks, Message Stick, The Cook And The Chef and Collectors are often repeated on ABC2. ABC2 debuted a range of new and older programs which included new series of Good Game, Short and Curly, dig tv and Late Night Legends as well as new shows jtv XL, Cowboy Bebop, London Live, Ergo Proxy, Peep Show and Talking Science.^[4]

News & Current Affairs

Further information: ABC News and Current Affairs, ABC News

Australia Wide presented by Emma Renwick.

In order to allow automated operation of the channel without the complications of variable length live news broadcasts, ABC2 shows news updates produced for ABC Online. In addition to these hourly updates, a number of other ABC TV programmes such as Lateline, Lateline Business, Four Corners, Australian Story, and Foreign Correspondent are shown. On 12 December 2006, ABC2 began showing news bulletins produced for the Australia Network, Australia Network News. Australia Wide is ABC2's public and current affairs program, with a strong focus on regional issues. It airs at 4.00pm and 7.00pm on weekdays. Each day of the week features a certain focus, with different segments including Earth Works on Mondays, Gen Next on Tuesdays, on Wednesday Video Lives, Thursdays Arts About, and on Fridays Outta Here. All eight editions of Stateline, which includes one for every state and territory in Australia, are shown throughout the week following their original Friday night broadcast, allowing national access to state-level current affairs.

Sport

ABC2 broadcasts coverage of many sporting competitions - including the NSWRU, QRL, VFL, SANFL, WAFL, NTAFL, Netball Live and WNBL. Each year it also broadcasts the Tiwi Islands Football League Grand Final. Late Night Legends, an exclusive program on ABC2, also shows major sporting events from the ABC archives. The program is hosted by Lex Marinos. Australian women's netball and basketball is shown live on ABC2 every week, the first time that domestic netball has been shown live on Australian television. ABC2 also shows 4 games of the Commonwealth Bank Trophy. ABC2 has also shown the Australian women's tennis team in the Fed Cup on Australian television for the first time.

Children

Further information: ABC Kids

Between 10am - 3pm weekdays, 9am - midday Saturday and 2.30pm - 5.00pm Sundays, ABC2 shows ABC Kids and Rollercoaster, allowing for uninterrupted children's programming across ABC2 and ABC TV for up to 13 hours a day. Most children's programming is time-shifted and archival programming, however exclusive children's programming such as 6Teen, Kaput and Zosky, and P.E.T detectives, have also been produced.

Current schedule

Note: News & Current Affairs are in Grey; Drama is in Blue; Sitcoms, Animation and Comedy are in Purple; Lifestyle programs are in Green; Factual programs and Documentaries are Yellow; Reality, Game shows and Talk shows are in Red; Sport is in Orange; Movies are in Pink. The above represents ABC2's usual primetime schedule. It does not reflect one-off events, and program starting times may vary from those shown. For up-to-date information, see the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's online television guide. (link)

Availability

Further information: ABC Television

ABC2 is available on all of ABC Television's digital television transmitters in 576i SD Digital, as well on most satellite and cable services. ABC2 does not broadcast 24 hours a day. ABC2 usually closes sometime between midnight and 3am and opens at 6am. During this time the ABC Guide is broadcast.

Identity

Port Jackson and its surroundings behind the Big 2, from a camera mounted atop a helicopter.

The channel's current idents were produced in part by Amanda Dennis (known for her work on Australia Wide, and Good Game), and have been used in some form since the channel's launch. All promos feature the "Big 2" placed in famous, and iconic Australian locations, such as Port Jackson, the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre and the Northern Territory. The "Big 2" is somewhat similar to the onair mascot of BBC Two in appearance. ABC2's logo was modified for the promotion of the channels launch, and for various sporting events, notably the channel's launch, where the logo appeared under-construction, and during the promotion of Australians Women's Netball where it took on the appearance of a netball.

Logos

ABC2 has only used one main logo throughout its history.

2005 - present

References

See also

Television in Australia Portal

• ABC Television (Australia)
• ABC TV
• ABC Kids Channel
• Fly TV

External links

• Official Site
• Corporate Site
• Australian Broadcasting Corporation