Queer show takes top TV gong

A BALLARAT LGBTQIA+ variety show has taken the top spot in C31 Melbourne’s 2023 Antenna Awards.

LaNCE TV, beamed live from the region via community television broadcaster Channel 31 since 2020, won in the Best Live or Outside Broadcast category.

Show founder and executive producer Deb Lord said the award reflected effort.

“Each week I would do probably 97 per cent of putting that show together, so it was really quite a validating moment for the show and for regional LGBTIQA+ communities,” he said.

“We’re now a multi-award-winning show, and being in an industry that’s pretty reliant on winning awards, it gives us a bit of extra kudos and street cred. It’s an indicator we’re moving in the right direction.”

The win is the second Antenna Awards gong in a row for LaNCE TV, having previously received the accolade for Outstanding Technical and Creative Ingenuity in Lockdown in 2021, as well as three nominations.

That same year, the show was named GLOBE Victoria’s Victorian LGBTIQA+ Artist of the Year.

With no prior experience in broadcasting, Lord established the show in 2017 through Facebook Live out of a shed following a move from Daylesford to Ballarat.

“About six months into it, I suddenly realised we were collecting people’s stories,” Lord said. “There was actually merit in what we were doing.

“Collecting our queer history is super important and being the person who gets to do that is quite a responsible role and I’m quite aware of the position we’re in now.”

LaNCE TV recently expanded from its humble origins to a purpose-built studio facility at the Ballarat Arts Incubator.

As well as interviews, Lord points to streaming ChillOut Festival’s parade and hosting the 2022 Victorian Pride Awards as LaNCE TV highlights, the latter of which they will host again next year.