Network History
WIN TV Queensland started out as Darling Downs Television Limited in 1959, and was launched as a television network in 1962, with Queensland's first regional TV station, DDQ-10, being broadcast to the Darling Downs area for the first time. SDQ-4 for the Southern Downs soon launched in 1964, and DDQ 5 was next to air later (it would later be renamed as DDQ 5a) for Toowoomba viewers. The main Rockhampton station, RTQ-7, was launched in 1963 to serve viewers in Rockhampton and its suburbs.
Until the 1980s, Darling Downs TV was sometimes supporting the Nine Network and QTQ-9, its Brisbane station, by broadcasting its newscasts on relay before switching sympathies to Network Ten and TVQ-0 in the early part of the decade, supporting its programs and broadcasting TVQ-0's Channel 0 Eyewitness News (later TV0 Eyewitness News until 1988) on relay. It was part of the short-lived Great Eastland Television system in 1974-1980, together with NRN NRTV 11-8 Television and NEN 9-10 Television (both in New South Wales) as GET 10-4-5a.
Due to its purchase of Ten Brisbane (TVQ-0) in 1987 and its move to Channel 0 the next year (as Vision TV 0-4-5a) to give way to the new Brisbane Ten (TVQ-10), it suddenly became Queensland's strongest regional TV network, even after its TVQ selloff, bringing Ten programs and Brisbane Ten Eyewitness News (later Brisbane Ten News) to the Darling Downs and Southern Downs. RTQ-7 also by then began broadcasting Ten programs in Rockhampton, after its previous commitment to BTQ-7's programs, Seven National News and State Affair.
By 1990, DDQ/SDQ and RTQ joined the aggregation race, merging and becoming Star Television in 1990. It was then purchased by Win Television, then as a Ten affiliate for the state (the Nine affiliation was then by TNQ/FNQ QTV 7-10). But before aggregation would begin, Star TV joined Nine instead (due to WIN being the 9 affiliate for NSW), and QTV joined Ten as its affiliate in its place, reflecting the "affiliation wars" 9 and 10 fought for regional network affiliation in Queensland.
On New Year's Eve 1990, it became Win Television Queensland on the first day of statewide aggregation, with Toowomba and Rockhampton facilities to air statewide WIN News newscasts everyday. New transmitting stations were also built in Townsville, Mt. Stuart, Cairns, Mackay and Maryborough in time for statewide broadcasts even before Star TV turned to the Nine Network as its affiliate.
On May 12, 2012, regional news programs broadcast from the Rockhampton studios moved production to WIN's facilities at Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast. The Toowoomba studios continue to produce news bulletins for southern parts of regional Queensland.
Read more about this topic: RTQ
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