Joint media release - McIntosh and Webster - No Sunrise for regional communities in South Australia and NSW

Melissa McIntosh MP
Shadow Minister for Communications
Shadow Minister for Women
Federal Member for Lindsay

Dr Anne Webster MP
Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories
Shadow Minister for Regional Communications
Federal Member for Mallee

1 July 2025

No Sunrise for regional communities in South Australia and NSW

Today, parts of eastern South Australia and regional NSW will wake up without Sunrise or any other Channel 7 free-to-air programs.

WIN and Seven have failed to come to an agreement that would have ensured the Riverland, Mount Gambier and Griffith communities can continue to watch Channel 7 content beyond the 30 June deadline via WIN’s solus broadcasting licences in these areas.

The Coalition pushed for the networks to come to a deal so regional families could continue to access free-to-air which is how the majority of Australians view programming. The government must stop being on the sidelines and get the networks to figure this out. 

Shadow Minister for Communications, Melissa McIntosh MP said, “regional communities across eastern South Australia and New South Wales today will wake up to zero Channel 7 free-to-air television shows and be questioning what has happened.”

“The answer is WIN and Seven have not come to an agreement for parts of regional South Australia and New South Wales to view Channel 7 and its affiliates.

“It is going to be extremely disappointing for regional communities that are missing out.

“Many families in these communities will now be forced to purchase a device and make sure they have decent internet speeds to stream Channel 7 which should be available free-to-air.

“WIN and Seven should work together to form an agreement fast. The government needs to take a role in this and strongly urge both networks to find a viable and credible solution.”

Shadow Minister for Regional Communications Anne Webster said, “regional Australians rely on free-to-air television, with the inaugural Oztam Streamscape survey out this week showing 61.5 per cent of Australians watched broadcast TV across the nation.”

“Having lost channel 10 signal in Sunraysia in my own electorate a year ago, regional Australians get disheartened when they lose TV signals and feel like they are left behind the rest of the nation. Country people can also ill afford to reach into their pockets to keep watching their favourite sports or programs during a cost-of-living crisis.”