NITV to deliver targeted content and advertising into specific regions

The nation’s Indigenous channel is expanding its reach across Australia to deliver viewers with improved programming and more local advertising.

From left: NITV national sales manager Anna Dancey, SBS director of Indigenous content Tanya Denning-Orman, and NITV general manager, Peter Noble.

The nation’s premier Indigenous television channel is about to embark on one of its biggest challenges yet, by bolstering its reach from one signal nationally into a 12-market split transmission across the country.

National Indigenous Television (NITV) – which was taken over by SBS 10 years ago – will this week roll out its new split transmission broadcast across five metropolitan and seven regional markets and will feature more targeted programming and advertising to the different regions.

SBS Indigenous content director Tanya Denning-Orman, has been with NITV since its inception in 2007 and said the change from one signal to 12 makes it much more competitive against the major broadcasters.

“It means so much to our communities that we’re delivering the service we were set up to do and ensuring we could communicate effectively to the diversity of our audiences,” she said.

“The localised advertising is the biggest difference … most of our campaigns have been nationally focused and now we can target specifically to those audiences.”

Ms Denning-Orman said NITV has been able to secure advertising from well-known brands including Coles, Google, Audible, ANZ, Airbnb and Nike, and highlighted that the station has gone well beyond just broadcasting government advertising.

The split transmission will broadcast into the nation’s five major capital cities, with the remaining seven transmission signals to be aired across regional Australia and Darwin.

NITV reaches 1.8 million Australians each month and Ms ­Denning-Orman said the move would allow important events such as the Koori Rugby League Knockout Carnival, which begins in September, to be broadcast in different locations at the same time, rather than being shown on delay in some regions.

She also said viewers would be able to receive up-to-date news and information relevant to their areas.

“For example, if there’s a cyclone event and major events are happening, we’ll be able to break into those regions,” Ms ­Denning-Orman said.

“We can ensure we are delivering the appropriate weather warning and delivering that in various languages.”

NITV national sales manager Anna Dancey also said the 12- market broadcast signals, “will unlock opportunities for brands and organisations to reach Indigenous audiences with more relevant messaging, and also provide some new and exciting content opportunities NITV is exploring to better serve communities”.

The launch of “Beyond 3 per cent” by NITV in March last year, was an initiative to raise awareness of more investment by brands and companies in Australia’s Indigenous media platforms and in its first 12 months it doubled its growth on the previous year.