The North Queensland Toyota Cowboys have strengthened their partnership with broadcaster Southern Cross Austereo after the media company announced that from today it will be broadcasting Channel 9HD into regional Queensland, southern New South Wales and regional Victoria.
The Cowboys have had a long-standing media partnership with SCA through its Hot FM and 4TO FM radio stations in North Queensland.
Now that partnership has expanded into television, with SCA picking up the Channel 9HD signal from 1 July 2016.
“For the past 30 years, SCA has held a program supply agreement with the TEN Network for TEN to supply SCA with programming to be broadcast into regional areas,” said SCA Townsville General Manager Rob Aumend.
“This agreement has now expired and SCA has entered into a new alternative agreement with the Nine Network.
“From 1 July, the Nine Network channels and their programs like NRL, The Block, A Current Affair, the Voice, State of Origin, 60 Minutes and Today will be broadcast by Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) on channels 5, 50, 51, 52, 53 and 54.”
The new arrangement was launched in Townsville, Cairns and Mackay this week with Cowboys co-captain Johnathan Thurston and head coach Paul Green attending the launch in Townsville with Mr Aumend, Cowboys CEO Greg Tonner and Brent Tate attending in Cairns and the NRL Telstra Premiership and World Club Challenge trophies in Mackay.
Cowboys CEO Greg Tonner said having SCA as both the Cowboys’ radio and TV partner meant mutually beneficial projects and special events could now be more efficiently held across both media platforms.
“We see this as being a strategic, mutually beneficial arrangement where the Cowboys can leverage off the broad reach of SCA and the Nine network to more effectively spread our key messages at the Cowboys,” Mr Tonner said.
“We look forward to collaborating closely with SCA through TV, radio and their digital platform.”
Mr Aumend said the long relationship through the radio assets of Southern Cross Austereo would only get stronger with the Nine Television affiliation.
“ To see all NRL games on Thursday and Friday night, Sunday afternoons as well as the Footy Show just go to channel 5 on the remote,” he said.
“It’s great news to hear that SCA have so quickly invested in the equipment and got it up and running to ensure that Channel 9 programs like State of Origin 3 will continue to be seen in High Definition.
“At SCA we will now be able to deliver larger television audiences to our advertisers. Combine the Nine Television programming with our market leading radio and digital brands, and advertisers can feel very confident that SCA will deliver the advertising results that they need.”
Main image: Cowboys head coach Paul Green, SCA Townsville General Manager Rob Aumend, Cowboys sponsorship account manager Rachel Britton, Johnathan Thurston
