Imparja
| Imparja Television | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Launched | 2 January 1988 |
| Owned by | Imparja Television Pty Ltd |
| Picture format | 576i (SDTV) 16:9 |
| Slogan | Imparja |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Broadcast area | Remote Central and Eastern |
| Affiliates | Nine Network |
| Headquarters | Alice Springs, Northern Territory |
| Website | imparja.com |
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Availability
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| Terrestrial | |
| Freeview Imparja owned (virtual) | 9 |
| Satellite | |
| Optus C1 | Transponder 6 |
| Optus D1 | Transponder 15 |
| HiTRON (Papua New Guinea) (virtual) | 5 |
Imparja Television is an Australian television network servicing remote eastern and central Australia, that began broadcasting on 2 January 1988. It is based in Alice Springs, where it has a studio and satellite uplink facility. Notably, it is controlled by Australian Aboriginals through ownership by Imparja Television Pty Ltd, and is widely regarded as a symbol of Aboriginal Australia. Most viewers receive Imparja via free to view satellite transmission, whilst a smaller proportion receive the network via analogue terrestrial transmission.
Imparja is an Arrernte word meaning footprints. The word is used to represent that Imparja Television aims to service Arrente people wherever they may live, from Mutitjulu to King's Canyon to Alice Springs to Tennant Creek and beyond. They describe their range as a footprint.
In 2008, Imparja Television was identified on-air and in print as Nine Imparja. In 2009, the station again identifies as simply "Imparja", although the Nine Network's nine dots seen in the logo still remain.
The then Australian Broadcasting Tribunal was asked by the Federal Minister for Communications in October 1984 to inquire into the allocation of commercial television licences for a number of remote areas. Licences were granted in 1985 to the Golden West Network, which broadcast to Western Australia, and QSTV in north-eastern Australia.
In 1986 hearings for the allocation of the licence began, and the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA), which began providing Central Australian radio programs in local languages in 1980, formed Imparja Television Pty Ltd as a company. Soon after, the Government of the Northern Territory announced support to underpin the viability of the Central Zone Remote Television Service (RCTS) by offering to purchase an estimated $2 million package of services from the successful applicant. The Government of South Australia undertook a similar promise, offering loans of $1 million to Imparja if they were successful. An extraordinary saga of political, legal and commercial intrigue then ensued during the protracted Australian Broadcasting Tribunal (ABT) hearing process, pitching Federal, State and Territory Governments against one another with loan promises being substantially watered down or withdrawn as it became apparent the CAAMA application may prevail. Windfall funding from the Australian Bicentennial Authority and the Aboriginal Development Commission ultimately underpinned the feasibility of the CAAMA bid and they were successfully allocated the licence. However subsequent Federal Administrative Tribunal court proceedings brought about by the unsuccessful applicant, Darwin based Territory Television Ltd., attempting to overturn the ABT's decision delayed construction commencement of the new service until May 1987.
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