TLDR
WIN Television ends free-to-air Network 10, 10 Drama and 10 Comedy in Griffith, the South Australian Riverland and Mount Gambier on 9 October 2026. High transmission costs and falling advertising revenue made the three licence areas unviable, and no regulatory intervention has been announced. Affected viewers are directed to the 10 app and 10.com.au.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Three markets, three channels, one date
WIN Television will cease broadcast transmission of Network 10, 10 Drama and 10 Comedy in Griffith (NSW), the South Australian Riverland and Mount Gambier on Friday 9 October 2026.[1] The announcement landed on 2 October, leaving affected viewers fewer than two weeks to find an alternative.
WIN holds the commercial television licences for all three areas: Griffith and the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, Mount Gambier/South East, and the Riverland.[2] Under Australian broadcasting arrangements, those licences sit with the regional affiliate. When the affiliate decides a network's channels cost more to carry than they earn, the network loses its terrestrial footprint in that market regardless of its own commercial intentions.
Why WIN and 10 walked away
WIN and Network 10's owner framed the closure as a shared commercial conclusion. WIN said the short-term agreement with the network had concluded, and that both parties recognised providing these Network 10 services in these markets was no longer viable, describing it as a business decision that reflects the realities of regional broadcasting.[1]
WIN was more direct about the cost structure. "Regional markets carry high transmission and infrastructure costs, while digital disruption continues to erode audiences and advertising revenue," the company said. "These economics will continue to make it challenging to maintain services across regional Australia."[1] "Will continue" is the operative phrase: WIN described a worsening trend, not a one-off pricing dispute.
Network 10 acknowledged the gap its affiliate's exit creates. "We know this change is a real and unfair disruption for many regional viewers, especially those with limited internet access or less familiarity with streaming technology," the network said. "While aerial transmission in these areas is outside our control, viewers can still find us on the 10 app on connected TVs and mobile devices, or at 10.com.au."[1]
What advertisers lose
Free-to-air television in regional markets gives advertisers something streaming does not: passive reach into households that are not actively searching for content and carry no subscription. Once the transmitter goes dark in Griffith, the Riverland or Mount Gambier, a local or national advertiser buying Network 10 inventory for those markets loses that in-home presence entirely. The 10 app can replace programming for viewers who choose to seek it out, but it cannot replicate the broadcast schedule's ability to place an ad in front of someone who simply left the television on.
Network 10 has directed affected viewers to the 10 app and 10.com.au, but acknowledged that some viewers have limited internet access, meaning the streaming alternative does not cover the full audience lost from free-to-air.[1] Media buyers planning regional campaigns should treat these three markets as effectively without a Network 10 buy from 9 October 2026.
A pattern of retreats
WIN moved its main affiliation from 10 back to Nine in 2021, and Mildura Digital Television, the joint venture that carried 10 in Mildura, closed in 2024; each step has narrowed where 10's programming can be received over the air in regional Australia. The current exit follows the same logic: a short-term arrangement, concluded when the economics could not be extended.
WIN informed the Communications Minister and the Department of Communications of its intention to exit when the original supply agreement ended on 30 June 2026.[3] The government had more than three months between that notification and the October closure date. Neither the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) nor the federal Communications Minister has announced emergency measures or any regulatory response to the withdrawal.
ACMA's own licence records confirm WIN holds the commercial television licences for all three affected areas.[2] Holding a licence obligates a broadcaster to operate a service, but it does not compel an affiliate to carry a particular network's programming under any cost structure. The absence of a mandatory carriage regime for regional affiliates is the gap through which this closure passes. WIN described the economics as an ongoing challenge rather than a resolved one, so the question for the remaining markets it serves is when, not whether, similar calculations produce similar outcomes.
SOURCES & CITATIONS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Which channels are affected by the WIN shutdown on 9 October 2026?
Can viewers still watch Network 10 in these areas after the shutdown?
Why did WIN and Network 10 agree to end the service?
Has the government or ACMA intervened?
Xaviery Malinao writes for Prompt the Market on how brands and agencies are adapting to answer engines, drawing on Bushnote's work with clients across search, AI search and content.
