ABC Audio
 |
|
| Type | Statutory corporation |
|---|---|
| Availability | Worldwide |
| Founded | 23 June 1929 |
| Headquarters | ABC Ultimo Centre 700 Harris Street Ultimo 2007, Sydney |
|
Broadcast area
|
Australia |
| Owner | Government of Australia |
|
Key people
|
James Spigelman AC, QC (Chairman) Michelle Guthrie (Managing director) |
| Established | 1 July 1932 |
|
Launch date
|
23 November 1923 (radio) 5 November 1956 (television) |
|
Former names
|
Australian Broadcasting Company (1929–1932) Australian Broadcasting Commission (1932–1983) |
| Channel 2, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 | |
|
Television
|
ABC, ABC HD, ABC2, ABC ME, ABC Kids, ABC News |
| Callsigns | ABC |
|
Callsign meaning
|
Australian Broadcasting Corporation |
|
Official website
|
abc |
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia's national broadcaster, funded by Australian taxpayers but specifically independent of Government and politics in the Commonwealth. The ABC plays a leading role in journalistic independence and is fundamental in the history of broadcasting in Australia, its model based on - but not restricted to - the BBC in the United Kingdom. Originally financed in a similar method to the British model using consumer licence fees on broadcasting receivers, its funding evolved to a projected model approved by the Australian Parliament. In recent times, the Corporation provides television, radio, online and mobile services throughout metropolitan and regional Australia, as well as overseas through Australia Plus and Radio Australia.
Founded in 1929 as the Australian Broadcasting Company, the ABC was a Government licensed consortium of private entertainment and content providers, authorised under supervision to broadcast on the airwaves using a two-tiered system. The "A" system derived its funds primarily from the licence fees levied on the purchasers of the radio receivers, with an emphasis on building the radio wave infrastructure into regional and remote areas, whilst the "B" system relied on privateers and their capacity to establish viable enterprises using the new technology. Following the general downward economic trends of the era, as entrepreneurial ventures in National infrastructure struggled with viability, the "Company" was subsequently acquired to become a fully state-owned corporation on 1 July 1932 and renamed as Australian Broadcasting Commission, re-aligning more closely to the British, BBC model.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983 changed the name of the organisation to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, effective 1 July 1983. Although funded and owned by the government, the ABC remains editorially independent as ensured through the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983.
The ABC is sometimes informally referred to as "Aunty", originally in imitation of the British Broadcasting Corporation's nickname.
The first public radio station in Australia opened in Sydney on 23 November 1923 under the call sign 2SB with other stations in Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Hobart following. A licensing scheme, administered by the Postmaster-General's Department, was soon established allowing certain stations government funding, albeit with restrictions placed on their advertising content.
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