Timeline of Australian television

This timeline of Australian television lists important station launches, programs, major television events, and technological advancements that have significantly changed the forms of broadcasting available to viewers of television in Australia. The history of television in Australia can be traced back to an announcement from the Menzies' government concerning plans for television services in Sydney and Melbourne.^[1]

The new medium was introduced by Bruce Gyngell with the words "Good evening, and welcome to television".^[2] Colour television was introduced in 1975, while subscription television, initially on the Galaxy platform, began in the mid 1990s. Digital terrestrial television was introduced on 1 January 2001 in Australia's five largest capital cities, later to be expanded to smaller cities and regional areas.

1950s

1950

• June – Robert Menzies' government announces a gradual introduction of television in Australia, with plans to launch a ABC Television station in Sydney and other areas subject to funding approval. As well as this, commercial television services in Sydney and Melbourne are planned with "any other capital city where it is felt that the applicant's capacity to provide a service justifies the issue of a licence".^[3]

1953

• January – The Menzies government amends the 1948 Broadcasting Act to provide legislative framework for commercial television licenses.^[4]

1954

• The Royal Commission on television affirms the need to introduce television under a dual system of ownership, similarly to the Menzies plan.^[5]

1956

• 13 July – Test transmissions commence in Sydney on TCN-9 in monochome.^[6]
• 16 July – HSV-7 commences test transmissions in monochrome.
• 16 September – TCN-9 Sydney launches at 7.00 pm.^[7]
• 27 October – TCN-9 officially opens.^[6]
• 4 November – HSV-7 Melbourne officially launches.^[1]
• 5 November – The Australian Broadcasting Commission begins television broadcasting with ABN-2 Sydney.^[7]
• 19 November – Melbourne counterpart ABV-2 launches.^[1]
• 22 November – 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne commence, televised by ABV-2, HSV-7 and in testing GTV-9.^[8]

1957

• 19 January – Sir Dallas Brookes officially inaugurates GTV-9 Melbourne.^[1]

1959

• 9 January – Melbourne and Sydney are linked by microwave for the first time, allowing programs to be broadcast live to both cities concurrently.^[8]
• 16 August – QTQ-9 Brisbane begins transmission.^[9]
• 5 September – NWS-9 officially launches.^[9]
• 16 October – TVW-7 Perth launches.^[10]
• 1 November – BTQ-7 Brisbane launches.^[10]
• 2 November – ABQ-2 Brisbane launches.^[11]

1960s

1960

• 11 March – ABS-2 Adelaide launches.^[11]
• 7 May – ABW-2 Perth begins transmission.^[11]
• 23 May – TVT-6 Hobart opens.^[11]
• 4 June – ABT-2 Hobart commences broadcasting.^[11]

1961

• 9 December – GLV-10 Traralgon is the first regional station to open.^[12]
• 23 December – BCV-8 launches in Bendigo while GMV-6 began in Shepparton.^[12][13]

1962

• 27 April – BTV-6 Ballarat begins transmission.^[13]
• 4 March – NBN-3 Newcastle begins broadcasting.^[14]
• 17 March – CBN-8 Orange launches.^[15]
• 18 March – WIN-4 Wollongong begins.^[16]
• 26 May – TNT-9 begins transmission to Launceston and northern Tasmania.^[17]
• 2 June – CTC-7 Canberra officially commences transmissions.^[18]
• 1 July – Frank Packer (owner of TCN-9 Sydney) buys GTV-9 Melbourne, forming the National Television Network, the first in the country.^[19]
• 13 July – DDQ-10 Toowoomba begins transmission.^[20]
• 1 November – TNQ-7 launches in Townsville.^[21]
• 18 December – ABC-3 Canberra launches.^[11]

1964

• 19 June – RVN-2 Wagga launches.^[15]
• 1 August – ATV-0, Melbourne's third commercial station, launches.^[19]
• 7 September – AMV-4 Albury commences broadcasting.^[15]

1965

• 5 April – TEN-10 Sydney begins transmission.^[22]
• 10 April – WBQ-8 Wide Bay/Maryborough launches.^[21]
• 12 May NRN-11 Coffs Harbour begins broadcasting.^[23]
• 12 June – STW-9 Perth opens.^[24]
• 1 July – TVQ-0 Brisbane launches.^[25]
• 26 July – SAS-10 Adelaide launches.^[25]
• 27 September – NEN-9 Tamworth begins transmission.^[15]
• 25 November – STV-8 Mildura launches.^[13]
• 1 December – Australia's first regional television network is formed when CWN-6 Dubbo opens as a direct relay of CBN-8 Orange.^[15]
• 15 December MTN-9 Griffith commences transmission.^[19]

1966

• 25 March – SES/RTS officially launches.^[19]
• 27 May – ECN-8 Taree launches.^[15]
• 7 September – FNQ-10 begins transmission in and around Cairns.^[26]

1967

• 10 March – BTW-3 Bunbury becomes the first regional television station in Western Australia.^[27]
• 10 April – ABC TV current affairs program This Day Tonight premieres.^[19]
• 15 June – Test colour television transmissions are made for the first time in Australia by ATV-0.^[19]

1968

• TVW-7 conducts its first Telethon.^[19]
• 1 March – BKN-7 Broken Hill opens.^[27]
• 9 August – MVQ-6 launches in Mackay.^[21]

1969

• 20 July – The Apollo 11 moon landing is televised live by television stations in Australia.^[6]

1970s

1971

• 18 June – VEW-8 Kalgoorlie launches.^[28]
• 13 August – ABD-6 is Darwin's first television station.^[19]
• 11 September – ITQ-8 Mount Isa begins broadcasting.^[29]
• 22 November – A Current Affair, hosted by Mike Willesee, makes its first appearance on the Nine Network.^[30]
• 11 November – NTD-8 is officially launched by Administrator of the Northern Territory, Fred Chaney.^[31]

1972

• 4 April – NBN is the first television station in Australia to move to a one-hour news format.^[30]

1974

• 19 October – Color test transmissions begin on Australian television.

1975

• 1 March – at 12am, Colour television is introduced across the country. The main networks celebrate with their own unique slogan - Come to Colour on ABC National Television (ABC TV), Seven Colors Your World (Seven Network), Living Color (Nine Network) and 0 - First in Color (0-10 Network).^[7]

1977

• 24 September – The Victorian Football League Grand Final is broadcast live to viewers in Melbourne for the first time.^[30]

1979

• 7 April – The Special Broadcasting Service begins test transmissions on ABV-2 Melbourne and ABN-2 Sydney, with foreign-language programming shown on Sunday mornings.^[30]

1980s

1980

• 24 October – Channel 0/28 is launched by Bruce Gyngell in Sydney and Melbourne.^[7]

1982

• 28 June – The Nine Network Australia premiers The National Today Show which has now been shortened to Today. In 2007, the program is celebrating 25 years of continuous broadcasting.

1983

• 1 July – The Australian Broadcasting Commission becomes the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.^[32]
• 16 October – Channel 0/28 expands into Canberra, Cooma and Goulburn, and changes its name to Network 0-28.^[33]

1985

• 18 February – Network 0-28 once again changes its name to SBS, and begins daytime transmissions.^[33]
• 4 March – The National, a one-hour national news and current affairs program shown from 6.30 pm, replaces ABC TV's half-hour 7.00 pm news bulletin.^[32]
• 30 June – SBS Television expands into Brisbane, Adelaide, Newcastle, Wollongong, and the Gold Coast.^[33]
• 24 October – The ABC Board elects to abandon The National.^[32]

1986

• 5 January – SBS Television phases out its second VHF0 channel.^[33]
• 16 March – SBS launches in Perth and Hobart.^[33]
• 19 August – Treasurer Paul Keating, in his budget speech, announces the amalgamation of the ABC and SBS.^[32]

1987

• 26 March – Bob Hawke calls off the proposed amalgamation of the ABC and SBS.^[32]
• 27 December – Adelaide stations SAS-10 and ADS-7 swap frequencies to become SAS-7 and ADS-10.^[33]

1988

• 20 May – NEW-10 launches.^[33]
• 10 September – TVQ-0 becomes TVQ-10.^[33]

1989

• 31 March – Aggregation begins to take place in southern New South Wales.^[34]

1990s

1990

• Imparja Television begins producing 15-minute local news bulletins inserted into its broadcast of National Nine News, named Imparja Local News.^[35]
• 24 December – WIN Television purchases Network Ten affiliate-to-be Star Television and switches its affiliation to the Nine Network for Queensland.^[34]
• 31 December – Regional Queensland is aggregated.^[34]

1991

• 14 June – SBS TV is permitted by the government to broadcast five minutes of advertising per hour, as a form of additional funding.^[36]
• 31 December – Northern New South Wales is aggregated.^[34]

1992

• 1 January – Aggregation begins to take place in Victoria.^[34]
• 3 February – Midday news program The World at Noon is launched on ABC TV.^[32]
• 27 November – Parliament passes a bill permitting the ABC to provide subscription television services.^[32]

1993

• 26 January – Early morning news program First Edition begins on the ABC.^[32]
• 7 February – Australia Television International is launched by Prime Minister Paul Keating.^[32]
• September – The Victorian arm of the Southern Cross Network changes its name to SCN.^[12]

1994

• Southern Cross Broadcasting purchases Canberra-based station Capital Television.^[18]
• 20 May – Darwin is the last capital city to begin receiving SBS.^[34]
• 30 April – Tasmania is aggregated, as a two-station market.^[34]
• 31 July – Briz 31 commences transmission.^[37]
• October – WIN Television expands into Victoria and Tasmania, purchasing ENT Limited.^[13]
• 6 October – C31 Melbourne launches.^[38]

1995

• 4 December – State editions of The 7.30 Report are combined into a single national program presented from Sydney by Kerry O'Brien.^[32]

1996

• Prime Television expands into Mildura as PTV-31, after being granted the area's second commercial license.^[39]
• December – Prime Television purchases the Golden West Network for $71 million.^[39]

1997

• 1 July – Ownership of Australia Television International moves from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to the Seven Network.^[32]
• December – Prime Television Limited purchases Canal 9 in Argentina.^[39]

1998

• 27 March – TND-34 Darwin is officially inaugurated by Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, Shane Stone.^[40]
• 1 July – The WIN Corporation acquires MTN-9 Griffith and supplementary license AMN-31.^[41]
• 30 August – Prime Television New Zealand is launched, owned by Prime Television's parent company Prime Television Limited.^[39]

1999

• 26 March – WOW, regional Western Australia's second commercial television network owned by WIN Television, launches.^[42]
• 18 June – Access 31 officially commences transmission.^[43]
• 15 August – WIN South Australia is established when SES-8 and RTS-5A were bought out by WIN Corporation.^[41]

2000s

2000

The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics' opening ceremony becomes one of the highest-rating programs in Australian television history.

• 15 September – The 2000 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony, broadcast by the Seven Network, is one of the highest-rating programs ever shown on Australian television.^[44]

2001

• 1 January – Digital terrestrial television is introduced to audiences in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.^[45]
• 8 June – Prime Television axes local news services in Canberra, Wollongong and Newcastle.^[44]
• 4 September – Southern Cross Broadcasting acquires Telecasters Australia, gaining control of Ten Queensland, Ten Northern NSW, Seven Darwin and Seven Central.^[46]
• 1 August – ABC Television launches its first digital-only mulitchannel, the ABC Kids Channel.^[32]
• 1 November – Fly TV, sister channel to ABC Kids, launches.^[32]

2002

• 18 February – Prime Television New Zealand and Publishing and Broadcasting Limited form a partnership for the supply of Nine Network programming to the New Zealand network.^[47]
• 1 April – Southern Cross Broadcasting acquires Spencer Gulf Telecasters, gaining control of Central GTS/BKN in parts of regional South Australia and Broken Hill.^[48]
• 22 June – The SBS World News Channel is officially launched by the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Richard Alston.^[49]
• 22 November – Ten Capital's local news bulletin, Ten Capital News, is axed.^[50]

2003

• 22 May – The Australian Broadcasting Corporation chooses to close the ABC Kids Channel and Fly TV.^[32]
• 22 December – Tasmanian Digital Television launches.^[51]

2004

• 17 March – Trial datacast service Digital Forty Four begins.^[52]
• 23 April – C31 Adelaide launches.^[53]
• 18 July – Senator Helen Coonan becomes the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts.^[54]

2005

• 7 March – ABC2 launches with an episode of Landline at 6.35 am.^[55]
• 10 March – ABC2 is officially inaugurated by Senator Helen Coonan, at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra.^[55]
• 1 July – The Australian Broadcasting Authority and Australian Communications Authority are replaced by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.^[56]
• 21 November – Television Sydney commences broadcasting.^[57]
• 12 December – The Australian Government renews ABC Television's contract to manage the Asia Pacific television service for five years, providing AU$100 million in funding.^[58]

2006

• 1 January – Mildura Digital Television launches.^[59]
• 8 February – Prime Television Limited sells Prime Television New Zealand to Sky Television for NZ$30 million.^[44]
• 16 September – Australian Television turns 50.

2007

• 13 March – Channels are reserved for the introduction of digital television to remote areas such as Alice Springs, Mount Isa, and regional Western Australia.^[60]
• 28 March – The Australian Communications and Media Authority extends Digital Forty Four's trial datacast license.^[52]
• 18 May – ACMA grants a license to Darwin Digital Television, owned by PBL Media and Southern Cross Broadcasting.^[61]
• 30 May – Southern Cross Broadcasting announces the sale of Adelaide station NWS-9 to WIN Television for $105 million.^[62]
• 8 June – WIN Television completes its takeover of STW-9 Perth for $163.1 million.^[63]
• 13 June – C31 Adelaide's trial license is extended for a further twelve months.^[64]
• 13 July – National Indigenous Television launches as Australia's 'third public broadcaster'.^[65]
• 14 September – Network Ten announces Ten HD.^[66]
• 15 September – The Seven Media Group announces a high definition multichannel, to be launched in December 2007.^[67]
• 23 September – The Australian Government proposes a relaunch of the ABC Kids Channel, to be called ABC3.^[68]
• 15 October – The Seven Media Group launch Seven HD, a high definition multichannel.^[69]
• 16 December – Network Ten launch Ten HD, a high definition multichannel.
• 18 December – Minister for Communications, Stephen Conroy announces switch-off of analogue Television will be from 2010 completed by 2013 at 12.00pm ^[70]

2008

• 8 February – ABC TV becomes ABC1 and changes its logo along with ABC2.^[71]
• 11 February– ABC Digital Changed Channels ABC1, ABC2 and Added ABC3
• 7 March – The Nine Network launches its new high definition multichannel, Nine HD.
• 28 April–Darwin Digital Television, opens in Darwin, Digital only TV
• 7 May – SBS TV changes its logo and its on-air look and along with it comes a new slogan - "Six Billion Stories and Counting" and SBS HD become 720p.
• 8 August-24 August – SBS TV partners up with the Seven Network to do joint broadcasts of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
• 24 November – Freeview Australia is Launched on every Free-to-air Channel across the Country at 6:29p.m.

References

External links

• Free TV Australia
• National Film and Sound Archive homepage