Brisbane’s community TV channel 31 Digital is now off the air and has converted to online operation.
The station, which was operating on UHF Channel 28 from Mount Coot-tha, closed its free-to-air broadcast on 28 February at 11.59pm (AEST), even though the Federal Government had given the community TV sector a further six month reprieve after the previous December 2016 deadline for stations to convert to online broadcast.
The station debuted in 1994 as Briz31 (the number taken from the analogue broadcast frequency) and later identified as 31, QCTV and then 31 Digital. Digital transmission launched in 2010 following a campaign by the community TV stations to gain access to digital spectrum.
Some of the programs produced by the station were The Boat Show, Tamara Tonite, The Very Anne Show, Nicky Noo And The “oo” Crew, Meet The Ministers and The Late Nite Show.
YouTube: 31 Digital
31 Digital has re-launched as Q Online TV and can be found at www.qldonline.tv
Now only C31 in Melbourne, 44 in Adelaide and WTV in Perth are still on free-to-air television. (Sydney’s TVS went off-air in December 2015). Unless the Government grants another extension these stations will be off-air in a few months time.
So far there has been no announcement as to what the Government intends to do with the broadcast spectrum being handed back by the community television stations.
YouTube: Australian TV Fan
21 thoughts on “Brisbane’s 31 Digital goes off-air”
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What a shame.
I guess the Government needs the frequencies back for more home shopping channels.
I know my father and step-mother will miss it here in Melbourne along with a lot of other friends that don`t have the internet.
This along with the NBN joke makes me wonder who I`m going to vote for at the next election….
Might as well cop the fine.
My dad really enjoyed Art Studio and started painting as a hobby. Now he can no longer watch it to get tips! This is in Brisbane. He’s 70 years old. Does other things besides watch TV but not the point. Lost a valid viewer. Not everyone has the money like the politicians.
Perhaps so your Dad doesn’t miss out, you could find some of the Art Studio episodes on YouTube?
That is a real bummer and yet another act of destruction of our national fabric from this disgraceful government. Hope to see Briz 31 back on air in a better future.
We should hang our collective heads in shame for allowing this to happen
This is a disgrace…loved some of their programs and will miss it very much. ….good on the Govt. just another one of their cuts
My father (83) was asking me what he’d done wrong to the Tele. Online? Ha! He’s flat out turning on a smart phone. No broadband in that house. What a crying shame for community TV. He’s all gee’d up…Going to write a letter, get a stamp and send it to his local member. We both thought it was community television??
Not everyone can afford data to watch on line ..shame ..
Piss poor government. Close and Sell and then put the money into their own pockets, then Resell to their privileged business “partners ” and then put that money into their own pockets. In the end it will be their own loss, mainly respect from the people that they are supposed to represent. Next election let them know that if they are going to keep on stripping assets we can and will kick them back to the gutter that they crawled out of.
What a poor decision so many good things about 31 what a shame on the government ,as usual they think only of them selves
No, no, no!! We should be opening new Community stations, not closing the ones we already have!! Jesus…
Couldn’t agree more. It puzzles me how channel such as Spree TV and TVSN are allowed to broadcast, but community stations are forced off the air!
Not very good I’ve been wondering what I did wrong the past couple of weeks as I’ve not. Wen able to watch my favourite show ‘Art Studio’ I’m a pensioner a
D you e lost my vote you rotten govt,
Not very good I’ve been wondering what I did wrong the past couple of weeks as I’ve not. Wen able to watch my favourite show ‘Art Studio’ I’m a pensioner a
D you e lost my vote you rotten govt,i
Why were they forced off the air ?. Can anyone answer this ?. What harm were they doing ?. I thought they fostered youth and amateur productions with themes around local interests.
We knew closure was threatened but did not believe it would happen.
Did Malcolm Turnbull do this when he was Communications Minister ?
I wonder.
Yes, Malcolm did this when he was Communications Minister. Apparently the government thinks there are better uses for the broadcast spectrum that community TV uses. It’s still not clear what the government plans to do with this freed up spectrum.
We are really cranky at Briz 31 not being on air now. You rotten politicians will get your response from us at the next election. There can’t be too much left for politicians to take away from us now can there? What you haven’t taken away you’ve managed to stuff up!!
now retired use to watch the old movies plus whatever else they put on back to watching the other crap that’s on tv
I heard once that all politician’s are blood sucking parasites, this is a good example of their work. For many years it was the only station worth watching,
I re tuned my tv and got 23 stations , after I deleted the the infomercial crap
stations ‘I am left with 5 that are just watchable, and I use that term loosely.
The 5 that are left are just repeat after repeat after repeat garbage.!!!!
Simply bullshit govt
The Q Online VOD service failed a year after it began – just not a viable business model when you don’t have TV as your primary viewer interface for your content. If something like Roku existed in Australia, the community television channels might have had a fighting chance at survival as VOD services.
Briz 31 reattempted the online TV service once more as HitchHike TV in 2018. However there was no marketing, no awareness… nothing. It shut down in 2019 and nobody noticed. Such a sad, quiet death for a community television in Brisbane. R.I.P. Briz 31.