1994–2017: Brisbane community television Brisbane's first community television channel was formed by Wes Tatters, Ric Adams, Simon Bunker, Ben Morrisson and Cait Spreadborough. The station began broadcasting a two-week test transmission in 1992 during the opening of
South Bank Parklands, under the name
Briz TV. During the broadcast week many different formats produced by the members went to air. Along with live footage from the opening of South Bank, member-produced formats included a variety show
On the Bed with Simon and Karen where guests were invited to a studio in their
pyjamas and be interviewed by the hosts. The following two years were spent lobbying the
Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) for permission to broadcast on a full-time basis and developing a draft funding model for the organisation. At that time, there were no licence categories available except the experimental broadcasting category. The station began broadcasting in the Brisbane area from Vulture Street Studios on 31 July 1994 as
Briz 31 on
analogue channel 31 (callsign CTQ-31) after an arrangement was struck with
Telstra to provide broadcasting facilities at the
ABQ-2 transmitter tower on
Mount Coot-tha. With the lack of a marketing campaign to drive brand awareness at the time, many people confusingly called it "Bruce 31". During Briz 31's early years daily programming consisted of
Community Billboard, a text-based information service consisting of weather, local news and classifieds. Regular programming would begin from 4pm usually consisting of locally produced content and public domain films. Notable programmes from this era included
Crazy Crosswords, a crossword puzzle game show interlaced with self-aware humour and
Tamara Tonite, a long-running variety show hosted by titular Brisbane drag queen which continued into 2004. As Briz 31 moved into the 2000s, regular programming eventually took up the channel's daytime slot and the station was successfully given a permanent broadcasting license by the ABA in 2004. A nightly news bulletin produced by the
Queensland University of Technology's journalism school was broadcast on the channel, as well as current affairs programmes by
Deutsche Welle. To reflect its expansion into other parts of Queensland outside of Brisbane, the station was renamed
Channel 31 in October 2006. In 2007 the station had a major transmitter upgrade, which allowed it to reach another 40% of viewers mainly in
Ipswich and the surrounding areas. In July 2008 the station was renamed
QCTV for "Queensland Community Television". The station had announced in March 2010 that after a long period of uncertainty it would begin broadcasting in
digital by 7 June 2010, and upon launching on digital channel 44 (broadcast on 529.500 MH) on 7 June 2010, the station was renamed
31 Digital. The station's analogue broadcast later ceased on 15 May 2011. In September 2014, Australian federal communications minister
Malcolm Turnbull announced that licensing for community television stations would end in December 2015. In September 2015, Turnbull, now
Prime Minister, announced an extension of the deadline to 31 December 2016. The deadline was again extended to 30 June 2017 by Minister for Communications Mitch Fifield in December 2016. Leading up to the various deadlines, 31 Digital, like other community television stations, moved operations online, and streamed its channel live on their website which allows access to viewers outside of its traditional broadcast area. 31 Digital ceased broadcasting on television at 11:59 pm on 28 February 2017. Days before 30 June 2017, the deadline was again extended to 31 December 2017 by Fifield, but 31 Digital had already ceased broadcasting.
2017–2019: Online service With the close of terrestrial broadcasting, the channel shifted its focus to online
video on demand and reinvented itself as
Queensland Online TV (also known as
Q Online TV). Sports discussion program
The Commentary Box was released via Facebook on 27 February 2017 as the inaugural show under the new re-branding. The show featured three fans discussing the highlights of the previous week, with a Queensland focus. In June 2018, the service was rebranded as
Hitchhike TV, returning to a linear streaming service with the video on demand element removed. Hitchhike TV streamed legacy 31 Digital content from their website in short two-hour programming blocks with an announcement it would eventually become a 24-hour streaming service. However, the service was discontinued in 2019 with no official statement. ==Legacy==