Jemma Gibson concedes that her grandmother Jean Dooley, who is in her mid-80s and lives with dementia, is far from being digitally savvy.

But her grandmother has been taught by family members how to surf through channels on her digital television.

"Basic, basic, basic is what she needs," Ms Gibson said.

"She has a routine every morning [to] mark in her TV guide what she wants to watch."

But this week, her grandmother noticed that Channel 10 and affiliate channels such as Bold and Peach were not working.

Fearing her TV had broken down, Ms Dooley called her granddaughter, who explained that Channel 10 programs were no longer available on free-to-air TV in the Mildura region where they both live.

Mildura Digital Television (MDV), which is owned by the Seven Network and WIN, ceased operating the Channel 10 signal on July 1 because it did "not make commercial sense", according to a statement from WIN.

"Over its entire history it has been unprofitable," the statement read.

Ms Gibson said this did not seem fair for elderly audiences who were not accustomed to new technology and who, in her grandmother's case, did not even have the internet.

"It's meant to be a free-to-air channel," she said.

Cost-shifting to consumers

According to the federal government's latest media and television survey, free-to-air commercial TV consumption continues to decline, with just over half of Australians surveyed saying they watched television in the past week.

Conversely, the number of survey respondents watching content from paid online subscriptions over the same period was 65 per cent. 

Victoria University senior lecturer in screen media Marc C-Scott said a strong, stable internet connection was needed to stream content online.

He said cost-of-living pressure could result in people reviewing their internet and subscription plans.

"We're having financial issues at the moment in terms of affordability," Dr C-Scott said.

"There may be some families looking at basically getting rid of some of their streaming services, but also looking at the plans that they are on for mobile phones or for internet."

Dr C-Scott said not having free-to-air services in regional areas was bad for local audiences, who at times also dealt with patchy internet connection.

"There's been plenty of people complaining about the Kayo stream, and the Stan streams and Optus streams," he said.

"It's not fit for purpose at the moment." 

Fears more signal shutdowns could follow

Free TV Australia chief executive Bridget Fair said regional television was at a critical point.

"Long-term structural measures are now urgently needed to ensure the future viability of regional commercial television services in Australia," she said.

Mallee MP Anne Webster told the federal parliament this week that Mildura and the Sunraysia region were "ground zero" for vanishing regional free-to-air television, and many people in her electorate were disappointed with the decision.

"One constituent who rang my office was quite emotional," she said.

"Sunraysia residents are now the first in the country to cease having access to one of the nation's five major television channels."

Senate inquiry to examine broadcasting services

Late last week, the Broadcasting Services Act was amended through the Regional Broadcasting Continuity Bill (RCB) to allow TV viewers in Mildura to access the government-funded viewer access satellite television (VAST) service.

But households are required to buy a satellite dish and get it professionally installed.