, better known as '''Seven Melbourne''' or '''HSV-7''', is a television station in
Melbourne ,
Australia . It is part of the
Seven Network , one of the three main commercial television networks in Australia.
The station began broadcasting on
4 November 1956 , soon after the
Commonwealth Government started issuing television licences. HSV-7 and rival station
GTV-9 were formed in time to broadcast the
Melbourne Olympics , while
Sydney stations
TCN-9 and
ATN-7 in
Sydney relayed the Melbourne coverage. HSV-7 was originally owned by
The Herald And Weekly Times Ltd , owners of
The Herald and
The Sun (now merged as the
Herald Sun ). These papers gave rise to the callsign ''HSV'' (the 'V' stands for
Victoria , as is the normal protocol for commercial television callsigns to have the third letter indicate the state where the station is licenced.)
.]]
In
March ,
1960 , the station converted an old cinema in
Fitzroy into the
Southern Hemisphere 's first fully remote studio, fully equipped with RCA TRT video tape recorders, cameras and vision mixing equipment, as well as major stage and artist areas and audience seating. It was connected back to the station's main Dorcas Street studios by multiple microwave links. The studios were opened with a major live show featuring Bob Crosby and his band and Jimmy Edwards, amongst others.
The station began to identify as ''Channel Seven'' in the early
1970s . Since then, it has used the national
Seven Network logos, and has followed the network's on-air presentation and programming. In
1979 ,
Fairfax bought a substantial share of HSV-7 after many failed bids for the entire station. In December
1986 the station was purchased in its entirety by
Rupert Murdoch 's
News Limited . In February
1987 HSV-7 was sold back to
Fairfax , along with
Brisbane station
BTQ-7 .
In late
1987 , the government introduced cross-media ownership laws which forced Fairfax to choose between its print and broadcast operations. It chose print, and HSV-7 was sold to
Christopher Skase 's
Qintex , which already owned Seven stations in
Sydney ,
Adelaide and
Perth . In
1990 Qintex was sent into damage control after Skase escaped extradition proceedings, and the Seven Network became a discreet company. Entrepreneur
Kerry Stokes bought the network in
1995 .
and the headquarters for Seven Melbourne.]]
Seven Melbourne's main studios, ''Dorcas Street Studios'', are located in
South Melbourne . Until
December ,
2002 the studios were home to playout for news, current affairs, and sport, when they were moved, along with ''
Seven News Melbourne '' to new headquarters in the
Docklands precinct.
The new facilities, known as ''Broadcast Centre Melbourne'' or ''BCM'', are adjoined to the formerly Seven-owned
Telstra Dome . The office is used to control news bulletins and playout all programs for
Melbourne ,
Brisbane ,
Adelaide (excluding news),
Sydney (excluding news) and
Perth . Approximately 200 full-time employees work at the BCM, with an additional 100 hired as casual or part-time. BCM experienced a major power failure which resulted in a total blackout across the whole
Seven Network as well as all regional affiliates during the program
Blue Heelers , in April
2005 .
Dorcas Street remains home to the network's Melbourne-based entertainment, drama, and reality programmes (prior to its cancellation, the studios housed the police station, pub, and bedroom set used in ''
Blue Heelers ''). As part of a joint venture with
Global Television in
2006 , the network sold a 50% share of the Dorcas Street site, handing over management to Global. Consquently, a number of shows from other networks, such as
Network Ten 's
Rove are now produced there, alongside other Seven shows such as
It Takes Two and
The Rich List .
''Seven News Melbourne'' is presented by
Peter Mitchell (weekdays) from ''BCM''. Weekday sport and weather are presented by
Sandy Roberts and
David Brown , with
Tim Watson and
Rob Gell presenting on weekends alongside
Jennifer Keyte (news).
''Seven News Melbourne'' saw the end of the two presenter format in
2000 when David Johnston and
Anne Fulwood were replaced with Peter Mitchell. Peter Mitchell had previously held the role of the weekend news presenter for over thirteen years. Jennifer Keyte was appointed as the weekday news presenter in
1990 , becoming Australia's first solo female primetime commercial news presenter. In a network reshuffle in
1996 , Jennifer Keyte terminated her employment after the Seven Network attempted to pair her with David Johnston. She returned in
2003 , assuming the role as the weekend news presenter, succeeding
Jennifer Adams .
's longest running news presenters, Peter Mitchell has presented ''Seven News Melbourne'' in differing roles since
1987 .]]
News updates for Melbourne are presented by either Peter Mitchell or Jennifer Keyte throughout the afternoon and the early evening. Jennifer Keyte and
Rebecca Maddern are fill-in presenters for the Melbourne news service, with
Michael Felgate or
Dylan Howard presenting sport, and
Rob Gell presenting the weather.
used many logos throughout its pre-network history.
: ''Post-network logos can be found at the following article; Seven Network .''
