Nine unveils new digital channel GO!
Channel Nine’s long-anticipated digital spin-off channel GO! will launch on Freeview next month, the network has announced.
Nine CEO David Gyngell said GO! – which will be available on Freeview – will focus on the 14 to 39-year-old audience.
Programs on the GO! showreel, which come primarily from Nine’s warner deal, include:
- Survivor
- The Bachelor
- The Hills
- Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
- Dog the Bounty Hunter
- Gossip Girl
- CSI
- Seinfeld
- Curb Your Enthusiasm
- Wipeout
- Big Bang Theory
- Moonlight
- Neighbours At War
- Bad Lads Army
- The Wire
- Entertainment Tonight
- Weeds
- Just Shoot me
- Little Britain
- Aliens In America
- Eleventh Hour
- Privileged
- Fringe
And the network is talking up the forthcoming US show The Vampire Diaries, which is about a high school girl torn between two rival vampire brothers.
Let’s hope the programmes on the channel last longer than the ones on the main Channel Nine channel.
Nine. News Is Not Entertainment.
The good news is that Go! doesn’t tie up the HD channel like Ten’s One does. I don’t see the point in running low-rent American sports like rodeo or NASCAR in HD during prime time, while more popular shows are only available in SD. MasterChef was watched by 2.2 million people last night but was only available in SD. Networks should be running their best programming on their HD channels, not fillers.
Looks like a good channel. I’ll be watching. What would be great is another sports channel as well to compete with One HD only this time make it a channel with sports that people want to watch that nine has the coverage rights of like Rugby League.
link doesn’t work Tim.
Hi The J,
It may be a local issue – it still seems okay for me. Anyone else struggling?
Cheers,
Tim
I wonder if it a good sign or a bad sign that some of the headline shows they are promoting have already been axed by their makers
GO?
Not too sure on the name. A bit magazine mast-head perhaps? And a nice ad campaign for Visa.
But great to see another channel join ONE HD at last!
Yes it is an odd name… I was thinking they could fill the new channel with all the axed shows from the past few years and call it “Gone!”
Go! Where we repackage the shows we slaughtered on the main channel by moving the timeslot every week, and call it ‘new’!
Available on Freeview?
Does that mean it won’t be available on standard TV’s using a normal digital tuner?
If it’s not available by standard digital tuners (as per the govt. switchover), then how can it still be counted as “Free-to-air” ?
Hi Damian,
This is where I risk getting it wrong (and it is a slightly confusing proposition) but my understanding is that Freeview refers to the suite of digital channels available via any digital tuner, as well as the Freeview-badged boxes.
But to answer your question directly, my understanding is that yes it will be available so long as you’gve got a digital tuner, regardless of whetehr it’s labelled Freeview or not.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
Freeview digital channels are available on any digital tv tuner.
You may not be able to receive a certain digital channel because of location or it may be a HD channel. HD Channel requires a High Def tuner.
The freeview-badging of digital tuners is a useless exercise i believe to be (on the surface) run by the gov’t so that they can appear to be helping the people.
J
Actually, from what I’ve read of the Freeview implementation, most Freeview devices (while a subset of standard digital tuners) may infact be feature locked for the moment (i.e. cannot skip ads, record certain programs), whereas in the future, the aim is to introduce new compression layers into the Freeview boxes, specific to Freeview requirements, that have not been standardised in normal digital tuners.
Although, I am glad to hear that this channel will be available to be received on any digital tuner, not just freeview ones.
The J – I totally agree that freeview badging is absolutely useless, but it most certainly is not run by the government.
Freeview = Television Network funded
Digital Ready = Government
*Full Disclosure – My employer works on the Digital Ready campaign*
….WOOOOO HOOOOO……………… about time……. we need more….
We need another station, one thats not sport.
BRING IT ON..!!!
a very good decision from nine not to tie up its hd channel with its new offerings, So it can put its movies and prime time shows in HD. much better thought has been put into it than one hd where 80% of the shows are SD anyway and now none of their prime time stuff can be HD.
I am a bit confused, is the new channel digital only or is it also HD? Will need a set top box if it is HD, not missing out on survivor (at last!!)
How will this extra channel be any better than what we had before, they are already talking about advertisers. I am heartily sick of so many adverts in the programs.
I hour programs that are really only 35 mins whilst 9 and 10 ads are played every 5 mins!
Pathetic repeats of the same ads constantly like that idiot walking on the spiked Graph I just wish he woulod impale himself!
and of course there are all the repeats of repeats hailed as Premiers that have already been done to death on other channels!
The shifting of any good program off the network to play endless hours of cricket or tennis or some other mind numbing sport. Nope i can’t see it sparking up my entertainment , does a leopard change its spots?
Woot!
Finally a HD channel that not about sports… Theres already enough sports on the SD channels – Every channel!!!
Its a shame that Ten HD (which had a pretty decent Sci-Fi night among other theme nights) was removed in place of One HD.
Lets see if GO! can keep the standards up, and maybe even bring some really good new lifestyle and feature programs.
Kev
Dear Kev, Ten HD is still on air alongside ONE HD, Ten operates 3 channels (Ten SD, Ten HD, One).
@Tim – I don’t believe that is correct.
Channel 10 has three channels in total (as you said), but only one of them is HD.
They operate:
Ten SD (LCN 10)
One HD (LCN 1)
One SD (LCN 12)
At least this is the case in metropolitan areas.
In regional areas they do operate SC TEN HD (LCN 50).
Cheers,
D
We paid thousands for HD TV and have to watch this crap picture…I don’t think we will be endorsing this channel, obviously channel 9’s way of making extra money. I will continue to watch HD much better viewing experience