Free-to-air television services across the Bendigo region will be temporarily switched off to allow critical repair works at the Mount Alexander transmission site.
Free-to-air Television services across Victoria’s Bendigo region will be taken off-air overnight from 10.00pm tonight, Monday, 2 February, until 6.00am tomorrow, Tuesday, 3 February, as part of ongoing repair works at the Mount Alexander transmission site.
The planned outage will affect all free-to-air television services in the Bendigo market during the eight-hour window, with broadcasters advising the interruption is necessary to allow crews to complete infrastructure works that cannot be carried out while radio frequency systems remain operational.
– Advertisement –
The outage forms part of continuing restoration efforts at the Mount Alexander facility, which was significantly damaged during bushfires on 9 January 2026. The site is used by all commercial and national broadcasters servicing the region.
The Mount Alexander site was significantly damaged during bushfires on 9 January 2026, causing widespread disruption to television broadcasts across the region. Services were partially restored on Wednesday, 21 January, following the installation of temporary transmission facilities and equipment.
Under those temporary arrangements, viewers regained access to a limited selection of channels, including Seven and 7mate from the Seven Network, 9 and Gem from WIN Network, and 10 and 10 Drama from Network 10, along with services from ABC and SBS.
However, the temporary broadcasts are operating on an alternative frequency of 557.5MHz, requiring viewers to perform a re-scan of their television equipment to receive the available channels. The interim setup is also transmitting at reduced power, meaning some households—particularly those further from the transmission tower—may continue to experience reception difficulties.
Broadcasters have previously advised that the reduced service configuration will remain in place while rebuilding works continue at the Mount Alexander facility. Due to the extent of the bushfire damage, the restoration of permanent infrastructure is expected to take a considerable amount of time, and there is still no confirmed date for when full broadcast services will be fully restored.
Planned Outage – Bendigo Market: All free-to-air television services will be off-air from 10.00pm Monday, 2 February until 6.00am Tuesday, 3 February, across the Bendigo region.
– Advertisement –
