Aspire TV
Aspire TV is an Australian advertorial datacasting channel launched on 21 May 2013. The channel operates a 24-hour / day format of mostly US produced infomercial and, to a lesser extent, other paid program content including religious programming.
| Aspire TV | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Launched | 21 May 2013 |
| Network | Nine Network Seven Network |
| Owned by | Southern Cross Austereo |
| Picture format | 576i (SDTV) 16:9 |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Broadcast area | Regional QLD, Southern NSW/Canberra, Regional Victoria |
| Sister channel(s) | SC9 SC7 |
Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Freeview SC9 owned (virtual) | 56 |
| Freeview SC7 owned (virtual) | 66 |
When introduced, the "datacasting" concept was promoted (by the government of the day) to provide opportunity for the new services to broadcast information to schools, broadcast university lectures and other non traditional broadcast TV content.
However, without any legislative restriction on its use, the "datacasting" services have been solely used for advertising purposes, with airtime sold almost exclusively to "home shopping" companies.
Aspire TV ceased broadcasting in Tasmania and Darwin on 29 August 2015 in order to accommodate for the launch of Racing.com; and in Spencer Gulf, SA and Broken Hill, NSW via SGS/SCN on 1 July 2016. In Northern NSW, Aspire TV ceased broadcasting via Ten Northern NSW on 31 August 2017, due to rival WIN Television taking over ownership of NRN.