9Go!


9Go! is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Nine Network on 9 August 2009. It is a youthful channel that offers a mix of comedy, reality, general entertainment, movies, animation and drama aimed at people between the ages of 4 to 18.

History

2009: Origins and launch

The general concept for GO! was revealed on 23 March 2009, with the Nine Network announcing their intention to start a standard definition variety-based multichannel, launched midway through 2009. The channel's name and branding was first revealed as GO!99 on 14 April 2009 by TV Tonight, a blog dedicated to Australian television.
The channel's final name was confirmed by the Nine Network via A Current Affair as GO! on 15 July 2009, as well as multi-coloured logo variations.
The channel went to air at on 5 August 2009, broadcasting a promo loop. GO! officially began broadcasting scheduled programming from 9 August 2009 at with a 1-minute promo featuring the song "Go!" by Sydney based sound house group Noise International featuring vocals by Sharon Muscat. It was then followed by an episode of Wipeout, the first programme to air on the new channel.
Darwin received the channel in October 2010. From December 2010, Nine Network affiliate Imparja Television commenced transmission of the GO! channel to viewers in remote areas of Central, Northern and Eastern Australia,
before expanding to Eastern South Australia on 11 November 2011.
There have been reports that GO!'s technical launch had caused a significant number of digital TV receivers to no longer pick up Nine's digital channels. In response, Nine established a helpline for viewers experiencing problems or requiring assistance to tune in to the new channel.
On 24 November 2009, the channel launched via Foxtel Cable on channel 129.
After major demands for the channel's theme song, it was released independently by Noise International on 4 December 2009, having promised a month earlier. A music video was also produced, which was regularly shown as a filler on the channel.

2010–2014

GO! celebrated its first birthday in 2010 by playing movies every night at 10pm during the month of August 2010. GO! also played a mini clip during the commercial breaks thanking everyone for watching GO!.
In September 2010, GO! aired a promo promoting new shows using the song All Eyes on Me by Sammy Small, licensed from Extreme Music.
GO! introduced Newsbursts, a news-break filler program in 2010. Presented by Sophie Walsh, these would usually feature a few breaking news stories and the weather. These were later dropped in 2011, replaced by repeats of Nine Newsbreak.
GO! received a new on-air presentation for 2011. GO! also played a mini clip after programs during Summer 2010/2011, featuring the song "Hello" by The Potbelleez, using the slogan "Let's GO! 2011" to promote new shows airing on the channel. This presentation remained unchanged for the next few years.

2014–2016: Rebrand and refocus

On 26 November 2015, the Nine Network introduced a network-wide rebrand of all of its digital channels with GO! being renamed 9Go!. Additionally, 9Go! was moved to channel 93, but a simulcast currently remains available on channel 99. Later, 9Go!'s on-air theme was changed for a continuous design across all of its channels. This included a new look for program listings, program advertisements and promos.

2016–present: Regional media shakeup and beyond

Nine announced that it had signed a new affiliation deal with Southern Cross Austereo on 29 April 2016, replacing WIN Television as the primary Nine affiliate starting 1 July 2016. Consequently, 9Go! was broadcast by Southern Cross into Regional Queensland, Southern NSW/ACT and Regional Victoria on channel 53.
On 12 December 2016, 9Go!'s daytime schedule was mostly reformatted into a children's programming block branded Go! Kids. Children's programming aired from 6am to 6pm on 9Go! in addition to being available via streaming on the 9Now service, with regular programming broadcast outside of those hours. In late 2019, the Go! Kids block was no longer in this network because the cancellation of Kids' WB and their long-running output deal with Warner Bros, but remained online instead and continue revived their rights for Warner Bros.

Programming

Original plans for 9Go! suggested it would consist of a mix of entertainment and lifestyle programming. However, this branding was replaced by a youth-orientated light-entertainment channel instead. 9Go!'s programming is generally structured under nightly themed blocks, which consists of comedy on Sunday, all new reality shows on Tuesday, sci-fi on Wednesday, female-skewed drama on Thursday, and movies on Friday. Movies screen with "limited and brief commercial breaks". The schedule is designed not to cannibalise viewers from the main Nine channel.
It was announced in June 2009 that the Nine Network had signed a $500 million deal with Warner Bros. to continue its current output deal for another five years from 2011 to 2015. The deal helped Nine retain existing content, as well as providing new content for both its primary channel, 9Gem and 9Go!. The network also has ongoing content new and classic television and film deals with Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, Village Roadshow Pictures, Cartoon Network Studios, Columbia Pictures, Tristar Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Sony Pictures Entertainment, StudioCanal, Lionsgate, Summit Entertainment, The Weinstein Company, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 20th Century Fox, Regency Enterprises, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, Miramax Films, Universal Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Pictures, CBS, MTV Networks, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon Studios, and has also secured a new content partnership with ViacomCBS.

Current programming

Adult Animation

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matches were shown on 9Go! on Friday nights if the cricket was scheduled on 9Gem in Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia. 9Go! also broadcast the 2015 Liverpool FC tour matches against Brisbane Roar and Adelaide United. The NBL was broadcast on 9Go! on Sundays if the cricket was scheduled on 9Gem. On 16 August 2017 it was announced that WWE programming including Monday Night Raw and Smackdown Live would air every week on the channel in a reduced 1 hour format. Raw airs on Thursdays at 11PM and Smackdown Live airs following the Friday Night Movie.

Availability

9Go! is available in standard definition in metropolitan areas through Nine Network owned-and-operated stations: TCN Sydney, GTV Melbourne, QTQ Brisbane, NWS Adelaide, STW Perth and NTD Darwin, as well as NBN Northern New South Wales and other stations CTC Southern NSW/ACT, GTS/BKN Broken Hill NSW, MTN Griffith NSW, GLV/BCV Regional VIC, MDV Mildura, TNQ Regional QLD, TDT Tasmania, GTS/BKN Spencer Gulf SA, SES/RTS Eastern SA, WDT Regional WA and Remote Central & Eastern.

Logo and identity history

When GO! was in development stages, the concept name was revealed as GO!99 on 14 April 2009 with a black and white concept logo. On 15 July 2009, news program A Current Affair confirmed the name as GO! along with a scheme of multi-coloured logos based on the original concept logo. On 2 February 2014, the channel's branding was refreshed with a new, 3D glossy logo with multi-coloured gradient variants. Following the network-wide rebrand on 26 November 2015, the channel was renamed 9Go! with the famous "nine dots" from Nine's logo integrated into then-current logo, but with the O in lowercase.

Identity history