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.

The new medium was introduced by Bruce Gyngell with the words "Good evening, and welcome to television". 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.

1920s-30s

Experimental TV broadcasts began as early as 1929 in Melbourne on stations 3DB and 3UZ using the Radiovision system by Gilbert Miles and Donal McDonald. Other experimental transmissions followed in other cities, such as Brisbane in 1934 by amateur station VK4CM.

1950s

1950

• June: Robert Menzies' government announces a gradual introduction of television in Australia, with plans to launch an 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".

1953

• January: The Menzies government amends the 1948 Broadcasting Act to provide legislative framework for commercial television licenses.

1954

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

1956

• 13 July: Test transmissions commence in Sydney on TCN-9 in monochome.
• 16 July: HSV-7 Melbourne commences test transmissions in monochrome.
• 16 September: TCN-9 Sydney launches at 7.00pm. Announcer John Godson is the first voice heard and Bruce Gyngell is the first person seen in-vision, introducing This is Television.
• 27 October: TCN-9 officially opens.
• 4 November: HSV-7 Melbourne officially launches.
• 5 November: The Australian Broadcasting Commission begins television broadcasting with ABN-2 Sydney.
• 19 November: Melbourne's ABV-2 launches.
• 22 November: 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne commence, televised by ABV-2 & HSV-7 and during GTV-9 test transmissions.

1957

• 19 January: Sir Dallas Brookes officially inaugurates GTV-9 Melbourne.
• 6 May: GTV-9 launches the nightly variety show In Melbourne Tonight with Graham Kennedy.

1959

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

1960s

1960

• 11 March: ABS-2 Adelaide launches.
• 7 May: ABW-2 Perth begins transmission.
• 23 May: TVT-6 Hobart opens, bringing television to Tasmania.
• 4 June: ABT-2 Hobart commences broadcasting.

1961

• 19 August: Current affairs program Four Corners begins on ABC.
• 9 December: GLV-10 Traralgon is the first regional station to open.
• 23 December: BCV-8 launches in Bendigo while GMV-6 began in Shepparton.

1962

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

1963

• 7 September: RTQ-7 Rockhampton begins broadcasting.

1964

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

1965

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

1966

• 25 March: SES-8 Mount Gambier officially launches.
• 18 July: Play School begins on ABC
• 27 May: ECN-8 Taree launches.
• 7 September: FNQ-10 begins transmission in and around Cairns.

1967

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

1968

• TVW-7 conducts its first Telethon.
• 1 March: GTS-4 Port Pirie launches.
• 9 August: MVQ-6 launches in Mackay.
• 16 August: BKN-7 Broken Hill opens.

1969

• 20 July: The Apollo 11 moon landing is televised live by television stations in Australia.
• undated: First fully colour capable production facility opened in Sydney (Video Tape Corp, in East Roseville). Used in 'monochrome mode' for four years, while government untangled colour transmission legislation! />

1970s

1971

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

1972

• 13 March: Soap opera Number 96 debuts, heralding the night 'Australian television lost its virginity'
• 20 March: Brisbane channel BTQ7 claims Australia's first one-hour news bulletin, The Big News

1974

• 29 August: GSW-9 Albany begins broadcasting as a relay of VEW-8 Kalgoorlie.
• October: Colour test transmissions begin on Australian television.
• 8 November: Countdown begins on ABC.

1975

• 1 March: At midnight, colour television is introduced across the country. The main networks celebrate with their own unique slogan - Come to Colour (ABC TV), Seven Colours Your World (Seven Network), Living Colour (Nine Network) and 0 - First in Colour (0-10 Network).

1976

• 26 November: RTS-5A Loxton launches in the Riverland district.

1977

• 21 January: GTW-11 Geraldton begins broadcasting, completing the roll-out of regional commercial television across Australia.
• 24 September: The Victorian Football League Grand Final is broadcast live to viewers in Melbourne for the first time.

1979

• 11 February: Current affairs program 60 Minutes debuts on the Nine Network.
• 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.

1980s

1980

• 20 January: Melbourne's ATV-0 converts to ATV-10; after nearby La Trobe Valley regional station GLV-10 converts to GLV-8 to facilitate this change, which concurrently frees up the frequency for Channel 0/28 later that same year.
• 14 July: Game show Sale Of The Century debuts on the Nine Network.
• 24 October: Channel 0/28 is launched by Bruce Gyngell in Sydney and Melbourne.

1982

• 28 June: The Nine Network Australia premieres Today.

1983

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

1985

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

1986

• 5 January: SBS Television phases out its second VHF 0 channel.
• 16 March: SBS launches in Perth and Hobart.
• 19 August: Treasurer Paul Keating, in his budget speech, announces the amalgamation of the ABC and SBS.

1987

• 26 March: Bob Hawke calls off the proposed amalgamation of the ABC and SBS.
• 17 April: Rage begins on ABC.
• 27 December: Adelaide stations SAS-10 and ADS-7 swap frequencies to become SAS-7 and ADS-10.

1988

• 2 January: Imparja Television launches in remote eastern and central Australia from studios in Alice Springs.
• 17 January: Home and Away premieres on the Seven Network as a two-hour pilot and begins as a regular weeknight soap opera the following evening.
• 20 May: NEW-10 launches in Perth.
• 10 September: TVQ-0 Brisbane becomes TVQ-10.

1989

• 31 March: Aggregation begins in southern New South Wales.

1990s

1990

• Imparja Television begins producing 15-minute local news bulletins inserted into its National Nine News simulcast, entitled Imparja Local News.
• 24 December: WIN Television purchases Network Ten affiliate-to-be Star Television and switches its affiliation to the Nine Network for Queensland.
• 31 December: Regional Queensland is aggregated.

1991

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

1992

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

1993

• 26 January: Early morning news program First Edition begins on the ABC.
• 17 February: The ABC's Australia Television International is launched by Prime Minister of Australia's Paul John Keating.
• September: The Victorian arm of the Southern Cross Network changes its name to SCN.

1994

• Southern Cross Broadcasting purchases Canberra-based station Capital Television.
• 20 May: Darwin is the last capital city to begin receiving SBS.
• 30 April: Tasmania is aggregated, as a two-station market.
• 31 July: Community station Briz 31 commences transmission.
• October: WIN Television expands into Victoria and Tasmania, purchasing ENT Limited, owners of TasTV and Vic Television.
• 6 October: Community station C31 Melbourne launches.

1995

• 26 January: Galaxy launches Australia's first subscription television service on MMDS.
• 19 September: Australia's first cable TV provider, Optus Vision, begins broadcasting.

• 22 October - Foxtel was founded and introduced into Australia.
• 4 December: State editions of The 7.30 Report are merged into a single national program, presented from Sydney by Kerry O'Brien.

1996

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

1997

• 8 July: Ownership of Australia Television International moves from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to the Seven Network.
• December: Prime Television Limited purchases Canal 9 in Argentina.

1998

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

1999

• 26 March: WOW, regional Western Australia's second commercial television network owned by WIN Television, launches.
• 18 June: Perth community station Access 31 officially commences transmission.
• 15 August: WIN South Australia is established following the buyout SES-8 Mount Gambier and RTS-5A Loxton by WIN Corporation.
• 31 December: ABC is the Australian broadcaster of the global television event 2000 Today.

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 is broadcast by the Seven Network - one of the highest-rating programs ever shown on Australian television.

2001

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

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.
• 1 April: Southern Cross Broadcasting acquires Spencer Gulf Telecasters, gaining control of Central GTS/BKN in parts of regional South Australia and Broken Hill.
• 22 June: The SBS World News Channel is officially launched by the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Richard Alston.
• 22 November: Ten Capital's local news bulletin, Ten Capital News, is axed.

2003

• 22 May: The Australian Broadcasting Corporation decides to close the ABC Kids Channel and Fly TV.
• 22 December: Tasmanian Digital Television, a Network Ten affiliate, launches.

2004

• 17 March: Trial datacast service Digital Forty Four begins in Sydney.
• 23 April: Community station C31 Adelaide launches.
• 18 July: Senator Helen Coonan becomes the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts.

2005

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

2006

• 1 January: Mildura Digital Television, a Network Ten affiliate, launches.
• 8 February: Prime Television Limited sells Prime Television New Zealand to Sky Television for NZ$30 million.
• 18 July: Play School celebrates 40 years
• 16 September: Australian Television's 50th anniversary.

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.
• 28 March: The Australian Communications and Media Authority extends Digital Forty Four's trial datacast license.
• 18 May: ACMA grants a license to Darwin Digital Television, owned by PBL Media and Southern Cross Broadcasting.
• 30 May: Southern Cross Broadcasting announces the sale of Adelaide station NWS-9 to WIN Television for $105 million.
• 8 June: WIN Television completes its takeover of STW-9 Perth for $163.1 million.
• 13 June: C31 Adelaide's trial license is extended for a further twelve months.
• 13 July: National Indigenous Television launches as Australia's 'third public broadcaster'.
• 14 September: Network Ten announces Ten HD.
• 15 September: The Seven Media Group announces a high definition multichannel, to be launched in December 2007.
• 23 September: The Australian Government proposes a relaunch of the ABC Kids Channel, to be called ABC3.
• 15 October: The Seven Media Group launch 7HD, a high definition multichannel.
• 16 December: Network Ten launch Ten HD, a high definition multichannel.
• 18 December: Minister for Communications, Stephen Conroy announces switch-off of analogue television signals will take place between 2010 and 2013.

2008

• 1 January: ABC TV becomes ABC1 and changes its logo along with ABC2.
• 7 March: The Nine Network launches its new high definition multichannel, 9HD.
• 28 April: Darwin Digital Television, a Network Ten affiliate, is launched.
• 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.
• 3 August: Nine airs the last ever edition of long-running Canberra-based political program, Sunday after 27 years.
• 8 – 24 August: SBS TV partners up with the Seven Network for joint coverage of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
• 20 October: Nine relaunches National Nine News as Nine News.
• 24 November: Freeview Australia is launched across Australia at 6:29pm

2009

• 26 March: Ten's sports channel ONE HD launches - the first commercial digital-only network in Australia.
• 3 May: Nine launches The Morning News Hour and The Late News (renamed Nightline)
• 1 June: SBS TV becomes SBS ONE and SBS TWO launches on digital television.
• 9 August: Nine's first general entertainment digital channel GO! launches on Channel 99 in Metro and Channel 88 in Regional.
• 1 November: Seven's first general entertainment digital channel 7TWO launches on Channel 72 in Metro and Channel 62 in Regional.
• 4 December: ABC3 launches.

2010s

2010

• 1 March: Television Sydney commences digital broadcasting on Channel 44.
• 10 April: Digital-only community station West TV launches in Perth, replacing Access 31.
• 28 May: C31 Melbourne commences digital broadcasting on Channel 44.
• 7 June: 31 Brisbane commences digital broadcasting on Channel 44.
• 10 June: Ten West commences digital broadcasting in Western Australia.
• 22 July: ABC News 24 launches on channel 24 by the ABC as Australia's first free-to-air English news channel. (SBS originally had an international news channel)
• 25 September: 7mate launches on Channel 73 by the Seven Network, replacing 7HD on Channel 73 in Metro, 70 in Darwin and 60 in Tasmania, 63 in Prime/Queensland areas. 7TWO changed to Best of British-oriented format.
• 26 September: GEM launches on Channel 90 by the Nine Network and Channel 80 in WIN/NBN areas replacing 9HD, two days late due to technical issues.
• 5 November: C31 Adelaide to launch digital broadcasting on Channel 44 is 44 Adelaide, as allocated to all metropolitan community television services.
• 1 December: WIN Television commences broadcast of Network TEN in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA).

2011

• 11 January: ELEVEN launches on Channel 11 in Metro and Channel 55 in Regional areas.
• 16 January: The Big Red "7" logo expands to Prime & GWN as names Prime7 and GWN7
• 2 May: Ten Central commences digital broadcasting in remote areas
• 8 May: ONE HD rebrands as ONE, launching the format with entertainment targeting 25- to 54-year-old men.
• 18 July: Play School celebrates 45 years
• 28 July: 7TWO, GO!, GEM, ONE, ELEVEN & 7mate in Albany/Bunbury.
• 16 September: Australian Television's 55th anniversary.
• 18 September: Television 4 launches on Channel 64
• December: Television 4 rebrands as TV4ME launches on Channel 64 and Channel 74 in metropolitan areas via Seven Network.
• 11 November - February 2012: 7TWO, GO!, GEM, ONE, ELEVEN & 7mate in Mount Gambier/Riverland.

2012

• 13 January: WIN Television commenced broadcasting of GEM, GO!, ONE, and ELEVEN in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA).
• 13 March: Number 96 celebrates 40 years
• 26 March: eXtra launches on Channel 94 in Eastern Seaboard Metro Markets and Channel 84 in Nthn NSW market.
• 20 April: WIN Television commenced broadcasting of 7mate in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA) on LCN 60.
• 1 May: WIN GOLD launches on Channel 84 and Channel 94 in metropolitan areas Perth and Adelaide.
• 5 May: WIN GOLD rebrands as GOLD.
• 5 June: WIN Television commenced broadcasting of 7Two in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA) on LCN 66.
• 24 September: Network Ten to commence broadcasting of datacasting channel TVSN on LCN 14.
• 27 November: Shutdown of analogue television services: Northern NSW
• 12 December: NITV commences free-to-air broadcast via SBS

2013

• Conversion from analogue to digital television is completed: Shutdown of analogue television services: Adelaide SA (2 April); Tasmania (9 April); Perth WA (16 April); Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast QLD (28 May); Regional and Remote WA (25 June); Darwin NT (30 July); Sydney, Central Coast NSW (3 December); Melbourne VIC, Remote Central and Eastern Australia (10 December).
• April 1: SBS relaunches digital channel SBS TWO (SBS 2) with a focus on the under-40 age group.
• Channel 31 Melbourne, C31 Adelaide, C31 Perth, C31 Brisbane, and TVS C31 Sydney goes to Digital 44.

External links

• Free TV Australia
• National Film and Sound Archive homepage