ICTV Mid-year Update 2026

Welcome ICTV members, contributors, supporters, sponsors and partners to our September update!

Welcome to the latest edition of ICTV’s newsletter, where we share our latest stories, achievements, and exciting updates. As our new CEO, Josh Tranter, settled in this past quarter, we've been to FNMA's Converge, broadcast the CAFL Finals, and won some awards! Read on to find out what’s coming up on ICTV...

Some of the ICTV team recently travelled to Cairns for the First Nations Media Association's annual conference, Converge, joining sector leaders, partners, media organisations and friends old and new for a fantastic opportunity to (re)connect, share ideas and showcase the work we do.

CEO Josh Tranter, Business Development Manager Lisa McLean, Station Manager Vito Lucarelli, Senior Programmer Jason Matthews, and Community News Journalists Kayla Bathern and Aaliyah Anderson represented our team. Throughout the conference, we connected with colleagues and partners from across the media landscape, including ABC News, Imparja, NITV, NBNCo., the National Indigenous Australians Agency, the Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, the Community Media Training Organisation, the Community Broadcasting Foundation, and so many First Nations media organisations.

A highlight of the conference was being awarded the Best Culture/Language Production award for our work bringing the Barunga Festival to ICTV screens (see June's newsletter!). The award celebrates the ICTV's commitment to sharing events with our remote audiences, and acknowledges the hard work that goes into producing live events from remote locations. If you'd like to catch up on the Barunga live events, feel free to stream them on ICTV Play (Barunga live event Night 1 and Barunga live event Night 2).

ICTV also delivered a showcase highlighting the work we've been doing with our fabulous OB Truck. Aaliyah Anderson represented ICTV on the Youth Panel, sharing her perspective and contributing to important conversations about the future of media and young people’s involvement in storytelling.

Converge is always a great chance to come together, and this year was no different. We celebrated, danced, shared ideas, reflected on what we’ve achieved, met new people, danced some more, looked to the future, and bumped heads with others working across the sector. We came home feeling proud of our team and the important work we continue to do with and for our communities, and buzzing with ideas and hope for a strong future.

ICTV presented a Member Showcase at Converge, highlighting our history, the communities we come from, and the important role of remote media in connecting and sharing stories across Australia. We reflected on ICTV’s journey, the remote communities that have shaped us, and the work we continue to do in supporting remote voices, culture, and connection. The showcase received great feedback, recognising the importance of ICTV’s history and the ongoing contribution of remote media organisations and communities.

We also shared a behind-the-scenes video showcasing our OB Truck and the work that goes into bringing ICTV outside broadcasts to life. Click here to take a look.

ICTV was proud to bring the CAFL Finals season to audiences during August, capturing the excitement, skill and community spirit that make the finals such an important part of local footy. Through our broadcast coverage - live to ICTV and via AFLNT YouTube - our audience was able to experience the action from the field and share in the atmosphere of the games. ICTV Broadcast the Semi-Finals and Grand Final of the Community Competition, as well as the Semi-Finals and Grand Finals of the senior women's and senior men's Town Competition. The broadcasts were supported by our valued sponsors, Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, Central Australian Women's Legal Service, Amara Subtitling, Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education and the National Indigenous Australians Agency - all of whose contributions helped make the coverage possible and allowed us to continue showcasing community sport, train aspiring media professionals and do what we do best - broadcasting to mob, by mob, about mob.

Big thanks to the ICTV team, who worked weekends on the football broadcasts and then fronted up to do their 'real' jobs at ICTV on Mondays. Thank you to commentators Stan "Mr Football NT" Coombe, Sherallee Taylor, Joe Clarke, ICTV's Luke Cadden, Vito Lucarelli, Lekisha Lord, Aaliyah Anderson, Jacob Foster, Aras Petrasuinas, Kayla Bathern, Kim Hodder, and Jason Matthews; and our reliable crew of camera operators and support team: Zakai, Device, Angelina, Jono, Josh, Maddy, Telayla, Damien, Levi, Norbert, Tyrone, and Jerry, as well as Kempton and Anton from PY Media!

Thanks to NIAA, at each game during the finals season - and two community games leading up to the finals in Ltyentye Apurte and Ntaria - ICTV were able to train and up-skill aspiring media professionals from communities to help strengthen our CAFL Crew and build a skilled production crew we can call on when needed for productions.

Head to our socials for short clips and highlights from the footy, including a look behind the scenes of the Community Grand Final between the Western Aranda Bulldogs and Yuendumu Magpies. Check out this clip for a glimpse of the stories behind the game.

Big thanks to Charlie Lawson Photography for these great photos!

ICTV will now progress to the Northern Territory Chamber of Commerce Awards at the end of October, where we'll compete among other organisations from across the Territory. These awards are a great opportunity to showcase ICTV’s work to a wider audience and highlight the important role ICTV plays in supporting communities and sharing stories across the Northern Territory and beyond.

Congratulations to our Community News Journalist, Aaliyah Anderson, who has been successful in securing a place in the Early Childhood Journalism Institute facilitated by CJT — the Centre for Journalism and Trauma Asia Pacific — in collaboration with the Global Center for Journalism and Trauma.

The institute will take place in November in Melbourne and will provide an opportunity for Aaliyah to further develop her skills and knowledge in trauma-informed journalism.

Tjitji Kutjarra Tjukurrpa - Part 1- Tjilpi Warnampirringu
(The Two Boys Dreaming - Part One - The Old Man who Turned into a Watersnake)
Tjitji Kutjarra is a Tjukurrpa (Dreaming story) from Central Australia.
In this first part of three, presenter Lyall Giles tells the story in the Ngaanyatjarra (with English subtitles) of the old man who turned into a watersnake, with illustrations by Tom Hoskisson.

Part 2 and Part 3 are also available on ICTV Play

This episode of Way to Play, we take a look at the Adnymathanha culture.

We learn about animal footprints with Chevon, Buddy teaches us some words as he explores the beach, Tyson makes some yummy damper and we have special guest Kahran tell us a story.

The Ltyentyeies travel to Ntaria to play against Western Aranda on their home ground for this classic East v West clash in Round Five of the CAFL Community Senior Men's Competition!
Plus, The Ltyentye Life returns with a Finke Desert Race special, as we chat with some of the riders representing Ltyentye Apurte in this year's race!

Previous episodes are also available on ICTV Play, because too much footy is never enough.

As part of another yearly ICTV tradition, we live-streamed the 2026 Bush Bands Bash concert, direct from the Telegraph Station in Mparntwe/Alice Springs. Featuring performances by Alice Kings, Darma 87, Desert Water Band, Maggie, Malawurr, MB Reggae Band, Miway, N-Fejo & Tippa 44, Red Sand Beat Band, Shana Ray, and White Water Band. The entire concert will soon be available on ICTV Play.

IN the meantime, watch the 2025 Bush Bands Bash!

We’re always looking for stories that celebrate the people, places, culture, and experiences of remote Indigenous communities. Whether you’re producing local news, community updates, cultural content, events, or stories from your region. If you have video content you’d like to contribute, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact ICTV's Content & Acquisitions Coordinator, Jonas, jonas@ictv.com.au

... to be put away in the cupboard for that first cool night in March. Iconic in style, repping the ICTV colours, logo and programming widgets, this beanie comes complete with a pompom for that deadly football team look (just check out the ICTV team!). Head to the ICTV shop to purchase. While you're there, consider an Our Music T-shirt, which has short sleeves and is perfect for the summer months ahead!

🎥 We've created two dedicated donation funds to help support ICTV’s future: ICTV - Building for our Future: to help develop ICTV’s infrastructure and assets, enabling us to better serve our communities and remote audiences; and Keeping Community Stories on Air: to support us in continuing to share Indigenous community stories, producing and broadcasting local content that reflects culture, language, and life.

🗒️ Every donation — big or small — is deeply appreciated and will directly strengthen ICTV’s operations, expand our programs, and grow our capacity to share Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander history, culture, and storytelling.

💵 Donations over $2 are tax-deductible, head to our GiveNow platform to make a donation.

That’s a wrap on the latest ICTV news and updates. We love hearing from our contributors, supporters, and newsletter readers; share your stories, ideas, or feedback by contacting us at info@ictv.com.au.

Keep following along on ICTV and our socials for more stories, highlights, and what’s coming up next.

Kele Mwerre!