With the current debates on Community TV and it’s future in the capital cities, it might be a good time to look back on what happened to try and get a regional based Community TV Station on air in Bendigo.
“CTV In Bendigo” was a special program I produced and had aired on C31 Melbourne in 1999, looking at the attempt by Bendigo Community Television Inc to start a Community TV Trial in Bendigo, Central Victoria. The group managed to get a Test Pattern on air, but were shut down before programs commenced.
Andrew Azzopardi, a director of BCTV, interviews his fellow board members Russell Castley (Chairman) & Wendy McKillop (Secretary) about the steps the group took to get the trial going, and why it was stopped before broadcasting programs.
The licence for the station was never returned, so the group folded.