SAS (TV station)
SAS is a television station in Adelaide, South Australia. It is part of the Australian Seven Network. SAS-7 is the home of the AFL coverage.
| Adelaide, South Australia | |
|---|---|
| Branding | Seven |
| Slogan | Gottaloveit |
| Channels | Digital: 6 (VHF) Virtual: 7 |
| Affiliations | Seven (1987-present, O&O) |
| Owner | Seven West Media Limited |
| Licensee | Channel Seven Adelaide Pty Ltd |
| First air date | 26 July 1965 |
| Call sign meaning | South Australian Telecasters South Australia |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 10 (1965–1987) Analog: 7 (1987–2013) |
| Former affiliations | Ten (1965–1987) |
| Transmitter power | 200 kW (analogue) 50 kW (digital) |
| Height | 487 m (analogue) 485 m (digital)[1] |
| Transmitter coordinates | 34°58′52″S 138°42′29″E |
| Website | 7plus |
SAS-7 was originally known as SAS-10, an affiliate of what became Network Ten. It commenced broadcasting on 26 July 1965, as South Australian Telecasters. In the early 1970s the station was bought out by Perth station TVW-7. On 27 December 1987, SAS-10 and ADS-7 switched broadcast channels, ADS moving to channel 10, SAS moving to channel 7. As the television industry was consolidating in Australia, these channels had each become associated by ownership with interstate stations bearing the opposite channel numbers, so to simplify network interaction, they agreed to swap channel assignments and network affiliations in Adelaide. ADS was owned by Kerry Stokes who also owned NEW-10 and Capital Television.[2][3] SAS was owned by TVW-7 starting from 1974 and thus, in 2 occasions, shared the same image campaigns as TVWs.
The station celebrated 40 years in 2005 with a special television program "Made in Adelaide 40 Years of Television".
Television shows made during the SAS-10 era include children's shows Fat Cat and Friends, The Early Birds, Crackerjack and Romper Room. Music shows included in Time, Trax and Simulrock. Variety talent shows included Adelaide's New Faces and Pot Luck. There was also the long running daytime show Touch of Elegance. SAS 10 employed actor Hedley Cullen as horror host Deadly Earnest, who was also seen in WA. From 1973 to 1989 the Christmas Appeal telethon was held each year.
The game show Wheel of Fortune originally commenced recordings in ADS-7 studios in July 1981 on the Seven Network. It moved to SAS with the 1987 switch, and continued there until July 1996 when the show moved to ATN-7 Sydney where it lasted to its cancellation in 2006.
Other shows after the change over included Fat Cat and Friends until 1992 and Trax until 1990.
Currently the station produces Discover and Seven News, while between 1995 and 2019, it produced a local edition of Today Tonight, which outrated the national A Current Affair.
The last edition of Seven News and Today Tonight was broadcast from the Gilberton studios in North Adelaide on 14 December 2007. The station then moved to new premises at Hindmarsh on the corner of Port Road and Adam Street, from where Adelaide versions of Seven News and Today Tonight are produced.
Programming
Current in-house productions
- Seven News (Adelaide edition)
- Seven Afternoon News (Adelaide edition)
Previous in-house productions
- The Book Place (1991–2003)
- Wheel of Fortune (1988–1996)
- Fat Cat and Friends (1972–1987 on SAS-10, 1988–1991 on SAS-7)
- Simulrock (1980s, with SAFM)
- Christmas Telethon
- You Don't Say (1982)
- The Today Show (1960s)
- Romper Room (1965–1974)
- Bobo The Clown (1960s)
- Earlybirds (1970s)
- Touch of Elegance (1968-1990s)
- AM Adelaide
- Today Tonight (1995–2019)
1987 affiliation swap quote
On 27 December 1987, Seven National News reporter Alan Murrell reported the following on ADS-7, hours before the switch to channel 10:
- "Tonight will mark the end of the callsigns ADS-7 and SAS-10. Tomorrow, it'll be ADS-10 and SAS-7. It's the first time such a change has been made. The switch follows a media shake-up earlier this year, which left ADS in the hands of the owners of the Ten network. Already, the cosmetic changes are being made at Strangways Terrace and Gilberton. But viewers will notice little difference. They'll still turn the knob to 10 for Channel Ten programs, and to 7 for Seven programs.
- "The only difference will be that the local personalities will be seen on different channels. So if you want to watch Steve Whitham and Caroline Ainslie reading the news tomorrow night, you simply turn the dial three positions, from 7 to ADS-10. And it’s as easy as that."
As a result, from the last days of 1987 up to 1988 the new SAS-7 adopted the On the Move slogan previously used by WLS-TV in Chicago, Illinois in 1984 to mark the change, with a music video made for this purpose.
AFL season
During the AFL season, Seven News does not air at its regular time on Saturdays or Sundays if there is a twilight match involving Adelaide and/or Port Adelaide, in which case, the bulletin is aired at half-time of the telecast, replacing match analysis. SAS also airs SANFL Matches during the Season.
News and current affairs
Seven News is presented by Jane Doyle, with Bruce Abernethy (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday) and Mark Soderstrom (weekends) presenting sport and Amelia Mulcahy as weather presenter. On weekends Jessica Adamson presents the news.
Previously, Graeme Goodings had been weeknight presenter and John Riddell the weekend reader, until it was found that Goodings had bowel cancer. Goodings and Riddell agreed to swap roles in 2004; both Goodings and Doyle had been presenting Seven News together since 1989, which had proven a success.
Prior to 27 December 1987, the presenters and crew behind Seven News broadcast as Ten News Adelaide. However, as the television industry was consolidating in Australia, these news services had each become associated by ownership with interstate news services being broadcast on opposite frequencies; therefore, to simplify network interaction, their respective networks agreed to swap channel assignments and network affiliations in Adelaide.
Local News updates for Adelaide are typically presented by reporters in the early afternoon, followed by news presenters Jane Doyle or Jessica Adamson in the late afternoon and evening. National News updates are presented from Sydney with Mark Ferguson (weeknights) and Michael Usher (extended updates on weekends) on Seven, 7TWO and 7mate.
7 News Anchors
| Anchor | Position | SAS Since |
|---|---|---|
| Jane Doyle | Seven News (Weeknights) | 1989 |
| Jessica Adamson | Seven News (Weekends) | 1997 |
| Mike Smithson | Secondary Fill-In Presenter/Chief Political Editor | 1984 |
7 News Sports
| Personality | Position | SAS Since |
|---|---|---|
| Bruce Abernethy | Seven News (Thurs-Mon) Sports Presenter | 1993 |
See also
References
- HAAT estimated from http://www.itu.int/SRTM3/ using EHAAT.
- "NETWORK TEN TURNS 40". Retrieved 2 December 2006.
- James Barrington (31 March 2006). "Switching Signals". Intertel. Transdiffusion Broadcasting System. Retrieved 2 December 2006.