NEW10 Perth Launch ~ 5:59pm, May 20, 1988

Television Station NEW10 Perth was launched at 6pm on Friday 20th May 1988. The station was the first new TV facility in a capital city in 14 years and was the culmination of a substantial legal wrangle that ended the court based TV licence selection system in Australia. Channels Nine (STW) and Seven (TVW) made a considerable windfall profit by delaying the commencement of a new TV station in "their" Perth market.
Before the launch fanfare the station licence owned by Kerry Stokes was sold in conjunction with CTCTV Canberra and ADS10 Adelaide to Network Ten, which subsequently went into liquidation. Network Ten was then picked up by Frank Lowy's Northern Star Group.
Frank Lowy funded the NEW10 Perth startup in new studio facilities at Dianella, and a new transmitter facility at Carmel. NEW10 Perth commenced test pattern transmission from Carmel in February 1988.
Northern Star sold Network Ten back to the banks for a $300 million loss in about 1989 then Canadian company Canwest picked it up for a song. Australian Capital Equity in a complex deal with Ten, independently advanced NEW10, ADS10 & CTCTV fortunes until 1995 when Charles Curran returned NEW10 Perth (West Coast Telecasters Ltd) back to Network Ten Australia.
Ten news was very successful on NEW10 until the hosts were shifted to read news for Perth from Sydney studios in 1998. This Canwest initiative to save money backfired when discerning Perth viewers went elsewhere.
This video is an historical piece that remembers the people who contributed their talent and time to the fast start of the new TV station in Perth Western Australia. cheers