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Golden West Network
Launched	March 10, 1967
Owned by	Prime Television Limited
Picture format	576i (SDTV)
Audience share	65.3% (2006, [1])
Slogan	Bringing It Home
Broadcast area	Regional Western Australia
Website	gwn.com.au
Availability
Terrestrial
Analogue	Tuned to various frequencies
Satellite
Optus B3	Transponder 8U
Optus C1	Transponder 6
Optus D1	Transponder 3
Foxtel Digital	Channel 107

The Golden West Network, often abbreviated to GWN, is an Australian television network owned by Prime Television Limited that is based in Bunbury, Australia. The Golden West Network launched on March 10, 1967 as BTW-3 in Bunbury, and has since expanded to cover regional and remote Western Australia, servicing all areas except metropolitan Perth.

GWN is affiliated to the Seven Network, with the network's on-air schedule closely following that of TVW-7, its Perth counterpart - including its local editions of Seven News and Today Tonight. GWN also produces a weeknightly local news service, Golden West News, shown at 5:30pm, as well as its own edition of Prime Television's Saturday Club with GWN's mascot, Doopa Dog.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Origins 1.2 1990s to the 2000s 2 News 3 Availability 4 Logos 5 References 6 See also 7 External links

GWN began life as a group of smaller, independent stations - BTW-3 Bunbury, launched on 10 March 1967 (with a relay in Mount Barker commencing the next year), VEW-8 Kalgoorlie, which began on 18 June 1971, and relay station GSW-9 Albany, opened on 29 August 1974. GTW-11 Geraldton was the last station to launch, on 21 January 1977. Jack Bendat purchased South West Telecasters (owner of BTW/GSW) in the early 1980s, and changed the company’s name to Golden West Network.

GWN applied to broadcast an additional service on October 31, 1984, when the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal called for applications to broadcast to Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands via satellite as part of the Remote Commercial Television License (RCTS) scheme. GWN was granted the Remote Commercial Television License (RCTS) in June 1985^[1] and the service went to air on 18 October 1986 using the call-sign WAW.

Not long after, GWN continued to expand within Western Australia, acquiring Mid-Western Television (owner of VEW-8 Kalgoorlie) in December 1985 for AU$7 million,^[2] and Geraldton Telecasters (owner of GTW-11) in March 1987 for an undisclosed amount.^[3] The takeovers gave the network a monopoly over all commercial television services in regional Western Australia. In 1987, Bendat and Kerry Stokes merged their media interests into joint company BDC Investments.^[4] Later that year, Northern Star Holdings purchased BDC for AU$206 million.^[5] Northern Star were forced to sell GWN to satisfy existing media regulations. GWN was sold back to Stokes in December 1988 for AU$54 million,^[6] who upgraded equipment throughout the network. In April 1990, stations usign the callsigns BTW and GSW were merged, to become SSW.

Stokes gained control of the Seven Network in 1995, and attempted to sell GWN to Seven in return for more shares. Seven Network shareholders agreed to the trade in April, 1996, a deal which would see Seven acquire GWN for AU$72.8 million.^[7] The arrangement was called off when the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) found that a 15 year exclusive programming deal GWN made with the Nine Network was anti-competitive, and opposed the acquisition. The Seven subsequently dropped their plans to purchase GWN.^[8]

Prime Television purchased GWN in November 1996 from Stokes for AU$71 million.^[9] WIN Television was granted the rights to a second television licence in regional Western Australia in 1997, ending GWN's monopoly. In 1999, GWN switched their affiliation from the Nine Network to the Seven Network, in-line with Prime Television in the eastern states. As a result, WIN Television WA picked up both the Nine Network and Network Ten affiliations.^[10]

The network's broadcast operations were moved from Bunbury to Prime Television Limited's digital broadcast facility in Canberra in April, 2005. Programming is delivered to regional Western Australia via a satellite feed.^{[citation needed]}

A proposal for a third television station - a joint venture between GWN's parent company Prime Television Limited and WIN Corporation - was submitted to the Australian Communications and Media Authority in 2006. Similar to Mildura Digital Television or Tasmanian Digital Television, the new channel will operate under a Section 38B license.^[11]

Golden West News (or GWN News) is the network's local news service. Its main 30-minute bulletin, shown at 5:30 p.m. before Seven News Perth, deals primarily with local news and issues in direct competition with WIN News Western Australia. Until August, 2007 Golden West News competed with Ten News Perth^{[citation needed]}, with an audience share of up to 86%.^[12]

'The bulletin is currently presented by Shauna Willis, sport by Troy Hynam and weather presented by either Chris Mills or Shauna Willis. Noel Brunning was the main presenter until 2007, when he took long service leave to run for an independent seat in the Forrest electorate. Alex Cullen previously presented the sport segment for Golden West News, however he is now with Seven News Sydney. Reporters for the service are currently based in Bunbury, Albany, Kalgoorlie, Geraldton, Karratha and Broome, and Perth.

Golden West News updates are aired in conjunction with Seven News updates on weekdays until 8:30pm, after which time only Seven News updates are aired. GWN also show a repeat of their 5:30 p.m. bulletin later that night at 12:30am.

The Golden West Network broadcasts analogue transmissions in all areas of regional and remote Western Australia. Free-to-air transmissions are available from both terrestrial transmitters in major regional centres, and satellite transmissions on the free-to-view Optus Aurora platform. Standard definition and 1080i high definition digital terrestrial television transmissions are currently planned for January 2008.^[13]

GWN operates a number of stations throughout the state - GTW Geraldton, VEW Kalgoorlie, SSW South West and Great Southern, as well as WAW in other areas.

The Golden West Network has used many logos throughout its history. The Seven Network logo appears before the GWN logo briefly at the beginning of programmes, then disappears.

1986 - 1994	1995 - 2001	2001 - present

• Prime Television
• Seven Network
• Television broadcasting in Australia
• Regional television in Australia

• Golden West Network
• Golden West News
• Prime Television
• iPrime

v • d • e Prime Television Limited
Television	Prime Television Northern New South Wales · Southern New South Wales · Victoria · Mildura Golden West Network Western Australia Joint-venture Mildura Digital Television
Other	Radio stations 4CA-FM · Sea-FM · Mix-FM · 4RO-AM · 4CC-AM · 4MK-FM News services Prime News · GWN News Other assets Becker Entertainment · iPrime · Prime Digital Works

v • d • e Free-to-air television in Australia
ABC TV · ABC2 · Seven Network (HD) · Nine Network · Network Ten (HD) · SBS TV
Other services	Affiliates Prime Television (HD) · Golden West Network · Southern Cross Television · NBN Television · WIN Television · Imparja Television · Southern Cross Ten Other Access 31 · C31 Adelaide · C31 Brisbane · C31 Melbourne · Channel NSW · Digital Forty Four · National Indigenous Television · SBS World News Channel · TVS · Westlink Network Future ABC3 · Nine HD
Additional resources	Articles Television in Australia · Television broadcasting in Australia · Digital terrestrial television in Australia · Regional television in Australia · Television ratings in Australia Lists Timeline of Australian television · List of Australian television callsigns · List of Australian television series (long running) · List of Australian television presenters
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