Television in Australia began experimentally as early as 1929 inMelbourne with radio stations3DB and3UZ, and2UE inSydney, using theRadiovision system by Gilbert Miles and Donald McDonald,[1][2][3] and later from other locations, such asBrisbane in 1934.[4][5]
Mainstream television was launched on 16 September 1956 inWilloughby, New South Wales, withNine Network stationTCN-9 Sydney. The newmedium was introduced by advertising executiveBruce Gyngell with the words "Good evening, and welcome to television",[6] and has since seen the transition tocolour anddigital television.[7]
Local programs, over the years, have included a broad range ofcomedy, sport, and in particulardrama series, in addition to news andcurrent affairs. The industry is regulated by theAustralian Communications and Media Authority, through various legislation, regulations, standards and codes of practice, which also regulates radio and in recent years has attempted to regulate the Internet.
In 1885,Henry Sutton developed aTelephane for closed circuit transmission of pictures via telegraph wires, based on theNipkow spinning disk system, so that theMelbourne Cup could be seen inBallarat. Reports differ on whether theTelephane was successfully implemented.[8][9][10][11]
The first television broadcast in Australia took place on 30 September 1929 at the Menzies Hotel inMelbourne, using the electro-mechanicalRadiovision system.[12] Other transmissions took place in the city over the next few weeks. Also in 1929, the Baird system was used on 3DB, 3UZ and 2UE.[5][13]
After 18 months of test transmissions, regular broadcasts began in Brisbane on 6 May 1934 using a 30-line system, to an estimated 18 receivers around Brisbane. The test transmissions, which were of 1-hour duration each day, were made by Thomas M. B. Elliott and Dr Val McDowall from theWickham Terrace Observatory Tower.[14][15][16] The programs included news headlines, still pictures and silent movies such as the temperance filmHorrors of Drink. The Commonwealth Government granted a special licence and permission to conduct experimental television by VK4CM, in July 1934. By 1935, it expanded to 180 lines.[14][17][18][19][20][21] Other experimental transmissions followed in other cities.
Television commenced in the United States and in the United Kingdom beforeWorld War II. The two countries developed radically different industry models, which were based on the models each used for radio broadcasting. British broadcasting was entirely controlled by the government-created broadcasting corporation, theBBC, which derived its revenue from compulsory viewer licence fees. The United States adopted a commercial model, based on privately owned stations and networks that earned revenue by charging for advertising time, with public broadcasting forming only a minor component of the larger system.
In June 1948, theAustralian Labor Government underBen Chifley, opted to follow the British model, on the advice from thePostmaster-General's Department. It decided to establish a government-controlled TV station in each capital city and called for tenders for the building of the six TV transmitters. TheBroadcasting Act 1948 specifically prohibited the granting of commercial TV licences, a decision that theLiberal-Country Party opposition criticised as "authoritarian and socialistic". This policy was never put into practice, however, because the Labor government did not have the opportunity to establish the TV network before it was defeated in December 1949. The incomingRobert Menzies-led Liberal-Country Party coalition, which was to hold power for the next 23 years, changed the industry structure by also permitting the establishment of American-style commercial stations.[22]
The economic situation at the time that TV was established in Australia exerted a pivotal influence on the foundation and subsequent history of the industry. When the decision was made to go ahead with granting the first licences for broadcast TV in the early 1950s, Australia was in a recession,[23] with severe shortages of labour and materials and an underdeveloped heavy industrial base, and in this context TV was seen as a drain away from more fundamental projects.[22]
The Menzies government was concerned about the long-term viability of the new industry and worried that it might be called on to bail out struggling stations and networks if the economy deteriorated. Consequently, it decided to grant the initial commercial TV licences to established print media proprietors, with the expectation that these companies would, if necessary, be able to subsidize the new TV stations from their existing (and highly profitable) press operations.[citation needed]
Meanwhile, in 1949, the first large-scale public demonstrations of the medium took place when theShell company sponsored a series of closed-circuit broadcasts in capital cities produced by Frank Cave.[24] These broadcasts were elaborate, usually opened by a local politician, and featured many people appearing on camera – singing, playing instruments, and giving demonstrations of cooking, sport, and magic tricks.
Buoyed by the success of these tests, in March 1950, theAstor Radio Corporation embarked upon a tour of 200 regional towns with a mobile broadcast unit, giving a series of 45-minute demonstration programs, allowing local performers and members of the public to appear on camera.[25]
In January 1953, in response to increasing pressure from the commercial lobby, the Menzies government amended theBroadcasting Act 1948 to allow for the granting of commercial licences, thus providing the legislative framework for a dual system of TV ownership.[22] This structure was directly modeled on the long-established two-tiered structure of Australian broadcast radio—one tier being the stations in a new national, government-funded TV network run by theAustralian Broadcasting Commission (ABC), and the other tier being privately owned commercial stations that drew their income from advertising revenue.
Commercial TV licences were nominally overseen by theAustralian Broadcasting Control Board (ABCB), a government agency responsible for the regulation of broadcasting standards and practices, while technical standards (such as broadcast frequencies) were administered by thePostmaster-General's Department. The ABC, as an independent government authority, was not subject to the regulation of the ABCB and instead answered directly to the Postmaster-General and ultimately to the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs (a situation that provoked bitter complaints from commercial radio in the mid-1970s when the ABC established its controversial youth stationDouble Jay).
In 1954, theMenzies Government formally announced the introduction of the new two-tiered TV system—a government-funded service run by the ABC, and two commercial services inSydney andMelbourne, with the1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne being a major driving force behind the introduction of television to Australia.[26]
TCN-9 Sydney began test transmissions on 16 September 1956 and officially commenced broadcasting on 27 October.[27]HSV7 Melbourne became the first television station to broadcast to viewers in Melbourne on 4 November, soon followed byABV-2 thenGTV9 on 19 January 1957. Sydney stationABN-2 also started broadcasting in November. All of these stations were operational in time for the 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics opening ceremony, on 22 November 1956.[28]ATN-7 started in December.[29]
An interview with MrsEdna Everage (a comic creation of performing artistBarry Humphries) was one of the programmes screened onHSV-7's first day of programming in 1956. The character went on to great success in the United Kingdom and later, the United States.
Videotape technology was still in its infancy when Australian television was launched in 1956 and video recorders did not become widely available to Australian TV stations until the 1960s. For the first few years, the only available method for capturing TV programs was thekinescope process, in which a fixed movie camera filmed broadcasts screened on a specially adjusted TV monitor. Similarly, the playback of pre-recorded programs to air was only possible at this stage through thetelecine process, in which films or kinescoped TV recordings were played back on a movie screen which was monitored by a TV camera.
Because of these limitations, it was relatively difficult and expensive to record and distribute local programming, so the majority of locally produced content was broadcast live-to-air. Very little local programming from these first few years of Australian TV broadcasting was recorded and in the intervening years, the majority of that material has since been lost or destroyed. Even the footage of the 'first' Australian TV broadcast with Bruce Gyngell on Channel 9, Sydney (see image above) is a fabrication—according toGerald Stone the kinescope film of the actual September 1956 broadcast was lost and the footage that exists today is a considerably more polished re-enactment, made a year later.[30]
Most programs in this early period were based on popular radio formats—musical variety and quiz formats were the most popular.[31]
In the first decade after the first TV licences were granted, the federal government and the ABCB did not act to enforce local content quotas, and such measures were resisted by the commercial sector. As a result, Australian TV was soon dominated by material imported from the United States and (to a far smaller extent) Great Britain. In this period nearly every TV drama screened in Australia came from the US and the few programs that were made locally were almost all produced by the ABC. In other formats, the few locally produced programs made by or for commercial stations were typically low-cost copies of proven American talk/variety or quiz show formats. By the early 1960s, at least 80% of all Australian TV content was sourced from the US and not surprisingly American programs consistently topped the ratings.[32]
These changes led to a significant concentration of cross-media ownership. By 1960, thePacker family's Consolidated Press group controlled Channels 9 in Melbourne and Sydney (the flagship stations that formed the basis of the Nine Network), Melbourne'sHerald and Weekly Times group owned HSV-7, and theFairfax newspaper group controlled ATN-7 in Sydney. In the view of some media historians, these arrangements established a pattern of "high-level political allegiances between commercial broadcasters and Liberal-National Party governments" and that, as a result, the ABCB "was left very weak and uncertain in its capacity to control broadcaster conduct and exhibited strong symptoms ofregulatory capture, or over-identification with the industry it regulated".[33]
In 1963, the Senate Select Committee on the Encouragement of Australian Productions for Television, chaired by SenatorSeddon Vincent (known as the Vincent Committee) presented its report to federal parliament and its findings painted a bleak picture for local producers—the Committee found that 97% percent of all television drama shown on Australian TV between 1956 and 1963 was imported from the United States, and it criticised the ABCB for failing to use its powers to enforce local content standards on television broadcasters, particularly the commercial stations. The Vincent Report recommended a sweeping program of reforms but none were implemented by the Menzies Government at that time.[34][35]
The advent of TV effectively destroyed Australia's once thriving radio production industry within a few years, and the absence of local production quotas for TV in this formative period compounded the problem. Faced with almost unbeatable competition from American-made programming, local technical and creative professionals in radio were unable to make the transition to the new medium, as many of their American and British counterparts had done when TV was introduced there.
Those Australian producers who did try to break into TV faced almost insurmountable challenges. Imported American and British programs benefited from high budgets, an international talent pool, and huge economies of scale, thanks to their very large domestic markets (relative to Australia), established worldwide distribution networks; additionally, since most American production houses and networks were based in Los Angeles, they had access to resources and expertise built up over decades by the Hollywood movie studios. These disadvantages were further exacerbated by the fact that American producers and networks offered Australian channels significant discount rates on bundled programming. Taken as a whole, these factors meant that local producers were faced with a relative production-cost ratio on the order of 10:1 or more in favour of the imported product.[36]
Some sense of the scale of this "resource gap" can be gained by comparing the budgets of contemporary American and Australian TV programs. The pilot of the 1967 satirical sketch comedy seriesLaugh-In reportedly cost about US$200,000.[37] At the top end of the scale, in 1966Desilu Studios spent almost US$1 million on the two pilot episodes for the science fiction seriesStar Trek – the first pilot "The Cage" (which was rejected byNBC) cost more than US$600,000 and the set for the bridge of theEnterprise alone reportedly cost US$60,000; the second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before" cost around US$300,000.
By comparison, the budget for the pilot episode of the 1964 Australian topical revue seriesThe Mavis Bramston Show was just AU£1500.[38] Adjusted for inflation, this was around A$3500 in 1967 figures; given that US–Australian dollar exchange rate in 1967 was A$1.00 = US$1.12, this still would have only equated to around US$4,000—50 times less thanLaugh-In.
Although by the end of the 1950s television had expanded to also includeBrisbane,Adelaide andPerth, it was estimated that in 1956 less than 5% of the residents in Melbourne, and fewer than 1% in Sydney, owned a television set, which at the time cost, on average, six to ten weeks' wages.[39] During these early years, broadcast days were very short—all stations including the ABC-only broadcast programs for a few hours each day and broadcast thetest pattern for the rest of the time they were on air. Broadcast times were gradually increased over succeeding decades, although ABC did not commence 24-hour broadcasting until 1993.[40]
The TV seriesThe Adventures of Long John Silver was made in the Pagewood Studios, Sydney, for the American and British market; it was shown on the ABC in 1958. Local content was limited to talk shows, variety shows, and news & current affairs.[39] Notable programs of the 1950s includedTCN-9's long-running music variety programBandstand, (based on the US version of the same name) hosted by radio presenter and future newsreaderBrian Henderson;HSV-7's weekly sport program, (that would broadcast for the next 28 years)World of Sport; and the shorter-lived programs, including theABC'sSix O'Clock Rock, hosted byJohnny O'Keefe. The first Australian serial drama,Autumn Affair, ran for a 10-month run onATN-7. Programming also covered religion; for example,Discovering the Bible.[41] Several programs in the 1950s were simply adaptations of already established radio programs such asPick a Box.
The 1960s saw the continued growth of television in Australia, particularly into regional areas. The first regional TV services began inVictoria in 1961 with the first beingGippsland'sGLV-10 followed byShepparton'sGMV-6 andBendigo'sBCV-8.NBN-3 inNewcastle was the first regional service inNew South Wales commencing broadcast in 1962.
While the first television services were being established in regional areas, larger cities including Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane,Adelaide, andPerth began to receive their second and, in the mid-1960s, third stations. In order to reduce costs, networks began to merge – originally in 1957 betweenHSV-7 andTCN-9, but later between almost all the metropolitan stations of a certain frequency. This led to the formation of the National Television Network (forerunner to theNine Network) and Australian Television Network (later known as theSeven Network) in 1962. Not all stations became a part of their respective networks –TVW-7 in Perth remained independent for a number of years as the sole commercial station in the city. Throughout the decade theABC expanded transmissions to several major centres including Adelaide, Perth,Hobart, andCanberra.
Beginning in 1964, the federal government tried to address concerns about competition and local production by licensing a third station in major cities, beginning withChannel 0 in Melbourne andChannel 10 in Sydney. More third-licence stations were established in other capitals and regional cities[citation needed] over the next few years and by the late Sixties these stations joined forces to create Australia's third commercial network, originally known as the Independent Television System (ITS), then later changed to the 0–10 Network, and now calledNetwork 10.
Channel 0 in Melbourne took an early lead in catering to teenage viewers and quickly became the preeminent network in pop music programming, commissioning a sequence of popular and influential local pop shows includingThe Go!! Show andKommotion (1964–1967),Uptight (1968–70) andHappening '70 and its successors (1970–1972).
The establishment of theSydney–Melbourne co-axial cable link between Sydney and Melbourne in 1962 marked the first step in the establishment of effective national networking for Australian TV stations. The cable-supported the simultaneous live broadcast of the 5th test of the 1962–63 Ashes series to Sydney, Canberra, and Melbourne – a major milestone in Australian television history.[42]
The introduction ofsatellite broadcasting in the late 1960s allowed news stories and programs to be accessed from around the world. The first live satellite transmission occurred between Australia and the United Kingdom in 1966. The first direct telecast across the Pacific from North America to Australia took place on 6 June 1967 when "Australia Day" atExpo 67 inMontreal was broadcast live to Australia via a US satellite link. Prime MinisterHarold Holt officially opened the Australian pavilion and visitors watched events including boomerang throwing, sheep-dog trials, wood chopping contests and tennis matches with members of the AustralianDavis Cup team.[43]
In the afternoon a variety concert, 'Pop goes Australia', featured musiciansNormie Rowe,Bobby Limb,Rolf Harris andThe Seekers. The entire 10-hour program was televised live and several hundred thousand people across Australia sat up through the night to watch it. One newspaper reported that the picture was so clear that hundreds of viewers rang a Sydney television station to seek assurance that the pictures really were being broadcast live from Canada.[43]
Two weeks later, on 25 June 1967, Australia participated in the historic "Our World" broadcast, the first live global satellite television hookup involving fourteen countries. The event is now chiefly remembered for the participation ofThe Beatles, who performed their new song "All You Need Is Love" live from theAbbey Road Studios in London. Australia's contribution showed a Melbourne tram leaving the depot for its early morning run, which caused some controversy as people felt that it was not a very exciting image of Australia.[44] By 1970 as many as thirty-one programs were received via this manner.[45]GTV-9 in Melbourne broke records in 1969 for the world's longest scheduled live telecast with its coverage of theApollo 11 Moon landing, running for 163 hours, a record which has since been beaten.[45]
Even though the dominance of imported American and British programming continued, local production gradually increased in the 1960s and several important new Australian programs were launched.Crawford Productions' Melbourne-based police dramaHomicide premiered on 20 October 1964 onHSV-7, soon followed on 11 November by theATN-7 satirical sketch comedy seriesThe Mavis Bramston Show (which at its peak drew an unprecedented 59% of the audience), the rural soap operaBellbird on the ABC (1967), and for interstate viewersGraham Kennedy'sIn Melbourne Tonight or theGraham Kennedy Channel Nine Show.[39] In addition to these, many programs still seen today were launched at this time including theABC's acclaimed current affairs programFour Corners (1961) andPlay School – now the country's longest-running children's show—as well as theNine Network'sHere's Humphrey,[39] which both premiered in 1966.
Veteran actor-producerJohn McCallum and filmmakerLee Robinson created the children's adventure seriesSkippy the Bush Kangaroo which premiered in 1968 on the Nine Network. At a reported cost of A$6000 per episode it was said to have been the most expensive Australian TV series yet produced up to that time[46] (by comparison, the first series ofStar Trek reportedly cost around US$200,000 per episode). Although Australian TV was still in black-and-white at the time,Skippy was filmed in colour with a view to overseas sales and it was the first Australian-made series to achieve significant international success, with sales to more than 80 countries worldwide,[47] and it became the first Australian TV show to be widely screened in the USA.[46]
Winners of the first nationally shownTV WeekLogie Awards includedIn Melbourne Tonight hostGraham Kennedy – twice,Pick-a-box hostBob Dyer,Lorrae Desmond from ABC'sThe Lorrae Desmond Show,Four Corners reporterMichael Charlton,Bobby Limb,Jimmy Hannan,Gordon Chater,Brian Henderson andHazel Phillips.[45]
Numerous television stations were launched, mainly concentrated around the southern and eastern parts of the country. By the turn of the decade, the takeup of television had increased dramatically – by 1960 up to 70% of homes in Sydney and Melbourne had a television set. Following its introduction to regional centres and other capital cities through the late 1950s and 1960s over 90% of Australian homes in established markets had a television set.[31] The new medium had also become highly lucrative to advertisers.
In 1967 theNSWRFL grand final became the first football grand final of any code to be televised live in Australia. The Nine Network had paid $5,000 for the broadcasting rights.[48] That same year, ATV-0 telecast the Pakenham races in colour under the supervision of the Broadcasting Control Board.[49]
The first fully equipped – permanent – colour studios and post-production facilities were set up in 1969 at Video Tape Corporation in Sydney (VTC), by executives that decamped from TEN. Although the output was hobbled to monochrome until 1974, many original long and short-form productions were completed over the years until its closure and eventual absorption into other companies in the late 1980s.
Test broadcasting of colour began in the late 1960s.[50] The full changeover to colour transmission did not occur until 1975.
Following the new medium's establishment in most major metropolitan and regional centres, television continued to expand to remote areas, most notably those in the northern and western parts of Australia –Darwin, for example, did not receive television untilABD-6 andNTD-8 launched in 1971. Similarly,VEW-8 launched inKalgoorlie on 18 June 1971, andITQ-8 launched inMount Isa on 11 September 1971. The youngest network, the0/10 Network, as it was then known, launched the controversial sex-melodrama serialNumber 96 in March 1972.[39][51] The success of this program led to this third network becoming commercially viable.
In 1969, a group of ex-network executives pooled together to create Video-Tape Corporation (VTC) in East Roseville. This was to be the first end-to-end 'fully electronic' (no film) colour video facility in the region, intended to be up and running with studios, audio, OB and post-production facilities to feed the emerging colour broadcast industry. To accommodate producers and film aesthetics, VTC also installed comprehensive 'film-to-tape' (telecine) capabilities as they grew. However the networks and government were locked in their own battles, and despite being ready for full-colour operation from around 1971, VTC was hobbled until 1973–74 before the content would ever reach "the masses". Around that same time, Royce Smeale/ECV arrived to offer a complementary service with more emphasis on production and OB services.
In 1972 it was announced that all stations would move to colour on 1 March 1975, using the EuropeanPAL standard mandated in 1968.[45][51][52] The slogan used to sell colour television to the Australian public was 'March first into colour'. Australia was to have one of the fastest change-overs to colour television in the world – by 1978 over 64% of households in Sydney and Melbourne had colour television sets.[51]
Government subsidies provided for the production of local series led to a boom in Australian-produced content. Some of the most popular series includedCrawford Productions police dramasHomicide,Division 4 which started during the 1960s andMatlock Police which began in 1971; variety seriesYoung Talent Time; comedy/variety seriesHey Hey It's Saturday, which ran for 28 years until 1999, music showCountdown; soap operasBellbird which had started in late 1967,Number 96 andThe Box, and the World War II-themedThe Sullivans.[39]Against the Wind, the first major mini-series produced for commercial television, was shown on theSeven Network. Later hospital dramaThe Young Doctors ran for 1396 episodes between 1976 and 1983, becoming at the time it ended Australia's longest-running drama series.
Graham Kennedy returned to theNine Network after his departure fromIn Melbourne Tonight withThe Graham Kennedy Show in 1973, but was banned from appearing on television in 1975 after an infamous 'crow-call' incident.[51] Kennedy subsequently returned in 1977 as the host ofBlankety Blanks. In 1979, commercial stations were mandated to provide 'C'-classified programming targeted at children between 4-5pm, and a minimum of 30 minutes of pre-school programming prior to that. These regulations saw the establishment of a number of children's series includingSimon Townsend's Wonder World andShirl's Neighbourhood.[51]
News and current affairs, particularly on commercial television, grew significantly – the Nine Network'sA Current Affair, hosted byMike Willesee began in November 1971, while60 Minutes, on the same network, began in 1979.[39][51] In March 1972, Brisbane stationBTQ-7 claimed the first one-hour newscast in Australia.[51] The one-hour newscast format was also later adopted by regional stationNBN,Newcastle, and capital city television stationsTEN-10 Sydney andATV-0 Melbourne.[51]
A specialGold Logie Award was awarded to theApollo 11 crew in 1970, alongside actorsBarry Crocker andMaggie Tabberer. Other Gold Logie winners includedGerard Kennedy,Tony Barber,Graham Kennedy,Pat McDonald,Ernie Sigley andDenise Drysdale in the first awards presentation shown in colour,Don Lane,Jeanne Little, andBert Newton.[51]
Sports broadcasting became increasingly sophisticated through the 1970s.ABC, the Seven Network and the Nine Network joined to broadcast the1976 Olympic Games inMontreal, with the opening and closing ceremonies telecast live, and highlights packages shown each night. During November of the same year,RTS-5a commenced transmissions inRiverland, withGTW-11 launching inGeraldton on 21 January 1977.
In 1977 theVictorian Football LeagueGrand Final was shown live to Melbourne viewers for the first time.[51] As with the Olympics, the 1978Commonwealth Games inEdmonton, Alberta, Canada were shown in the form of highlights packages on ABC TV.
TheSpecial Broadcasting Service, originally a group of radio stations broadcasting government information to ethnic minorities in Sydney and Melbourne, began test transmissions on ABC in the two cities – mainly showing foreign-language programming on Sunday mornings.[53]
The country's second national public broadcaster, theSpecial Broadcasting Service, launchedChannel 0/28 in Sydney and Melbourne in October 1980. The new station, aimed at Australia's growingmulticultural population, placed a much heavier emphasis on subtitled or foreign-language content. The network expanded to coverCanberra and Goulburn in 1983, followed byBrisbane,Adelaide,Newcastle,Wollongong and theGold Coast in June 1985. It is now available in most areas.
Although Australia had seen the introduction of thesatellite in the 1960s, 1986 saw the introduction of a new, domestic satellite calledAUSSAT. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation and other commercial broadcasters were able to broadcast to the more remote areas of Australia without needing to set up a new station, and by the end of 1986 the Australian Broadcasting Corporation were broadcasting both television and radio to remote areas of Australia.[54] By 1980, commercial television in Australia accounted for 33% of all mainstreamadvertising; this was a significant rise from the introduction of television in 1960 when it was accountable for only 15% of advertising revenue.[54]
The newly relaunched Network 10, withRupert Murdoch controlling the flagship stationsTEN-10 andATV-10, aggressively challenged the long-held dominance of the Seven and Nine networks with the commissioning of several large-budget mini-series, many produced by theKennedy-Miller partnership; the expansion of news and current affairs coverage; securing the exclusive Australian television rights to the 1984 and 1988Summer Olympic Games; and a strong line-up of Hollywood blockbuster movies and mini-series.[55] The 1980s were a huge step up for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, sealing the contracts for bothLive Aid and the1986 Commonwealth Games, live fromEdinburgh.[55]
In 1983 a two-hour experiment was conducted, in which theSeven Network televised a series of3D films.[55]
The Australiansoap operaNeighbours was first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. The show's storylines concern the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional suburb ofErinsborough, Melbourne. Seven decided to commission the show following the success of Watson's other soap opera,Sons and Daughters.Neighbours underperformed in the Sydney market and it struggled for four months before Seven cancelled it. The show was immediately bought by rival network,Ten. Ten began screeningNeighbours on 20 January 1986.Neighbours has since become the longest-running series in Australian television and attained great success in the United Kingdom and launched the careers of several international stars, includingKylie Minogue,Guy Pearce,Russell Crowe,Natalie Imbruglia andMargot Robbie to name a few.[56]
The soap operaHome and Away has been produced in Sydney by the Seven Network since July 1987. It premiered in January 1988 and is the second longest-running drama on Australian television, winning more than 30Logie Awards.[57] The show initially focused on the characters ofPippa andTom Fletcher who ran the Summer Bay Caravan Park and lived there with a succession of foster children, most notably their adopted daughterSally, played byKate Ritchie. Other notable actors who have starred in the series includeHeath Ledger,Julian McMahon andNaomi Watts.
The late 1980s saw the ownership changeover for many commercial and regional stations. Six main ownership groups emerged, three for commercial broadcasters and three for regional broadcasters[54] This was the beginning of aggregation for Australian television.[54]
The 1990s saw a boom in Australian-made drama, which includedHalifax f.p.,Stingers,Water Rats,SeaChange,All Saints, and the long running police dramaBlue Heelers which ran from 1993 to 2006, one of the longest running Australian programs, equalingHomicide's record of 510 episodes; a record set two decades earlier. A number of successful comedy programs also aired during the 1990s, includingFast Forward,Full Frontal,The Late Show andGood News Week.Hey Hey It's Saturday ended its 28-year run in November 1999. One of the most significant developments in terms of high-quality Australian programming was the establishment by the Federal Government of the Commercial Television Production Fund.One of the most significant changes forregional television in Australia began in the 1990s with the introduction ofaggregation. Instead of being covered by a single commercial channel, regional license areas would combine to provide two or three stations in line with metropolitan areas. As a result, most regional areas went from one to three channels, although some, particularly outside eastern statesNew South Wales,Victoria andQueensland, remained with two or even only one commercial station.[58]
The first license area to aggregate was that of southern New South Wales, on 31 March 1989, followed by Queensland on 31 December 1990, northern New South Wales on 31 December 1991, Victoria on 1 January 1992, and Tasmania in 1994 (two stations only). Some areas too small to be properly aggregated, such asDarwin,Mildura or rural South Australia, however, either applied for a second license or introduced a supplementary second service run by the existing local station. Following aggregation in 1995,Sunshine Television was purchased bySeven Network Limited.[58]
Community television was introduced to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth in 1994. The stations, which all broadcast on channel 31, were allocated long-term temporary licences until new legislation introduced in 1997 permitted permanent licences to be granted.Briz 31 was the first community television station to launch in Australia, on 31 July 1994.C31 Melbourne andAccess 31 in Perth followed in 1994 and 1999 respectively, along with a number of other stations in some capital and regional cities. The most recent to launch was Sydney'sTVS. Throughout the early 1990s,SBS TV coverage continued to expand to include theLatrobe Valley,Spencer Gulf,Darwin, northeastTasmania,Cairns andTownsville.
During the 1990s the firstsubscription television services were introduced to Australia. The first license was issued toGalaxy Television, which started in 1993, providing services to most metropolitan areas by 1995. Other major providers includeFoxtel,Optus Television, andAustar, all of which were introduced in 1995.
Subscription television allowed customers to have access to more channels. For example, PSN (laterFox Sports) was launched in 1995 andESPN in 1996, featuringSuper 12 (rugby union),NFL (American football) andNBA (basketball).
The advent of pay television in Australia resulted in theSuper League war which was fought in and out of court during the mid-1990s by theNews Ltd-backedSuper League andKerry Packer-backedAustralian Rugby League organisations over broadcasting rights, and ultimately control of the top-level professionalrugby league football competition of Australasia.[59] This resulted in the greatest and most costly set-piece confrontation to shake the corporate landscape of Australia.[60]
Galaxy folded in 1998 and was subsequently absorbed by Foxtel.[61][62] Despite recent growth,[when?] subscription television in Australia still has relatively few subscribers.[citation needed]
The2000 Summer Olympics resulted in huge ratings for its broadcaster (the event was hosted in Sydney) for theSeven Network – over 6.5 million Australians watched the telecast of opening and closing ceremonies, which were amongst the most-watched programs in television history and helped Seven defeat theNine Network in ratings terms for the first time in more than two decades. The broadcast also ran on the short-livedC7 Sport subscription channel.The Dream with Roy and HG was a sports/comedy talk show, broadcast every night during the Sydney 2000 (and subsequent Salt Lake 2002 and Athens 2004 Olympics) presented by Australian comedy duoRoy and HG which achieved great popularity during the Games.
The turn of the millennium introduceddigital television to Australia, as well as the transition towidescreenstandard-definition andhigh-definition television production. Community stations also began to receive permanent transmitter licences, replacing temporary licences that were renewed yearly. At this time it was thought that allowing Commercial Multicasting would be detrimental so the publicly owned networks (ABC and SBS) were the only networks that were allowed to create new digital SD Channels. This was only revised after Digital Television Uptake was not as high as expected in many areas, and from 1 January 2009, Network 10, Nine and Seven were allowed to create alternative SD channels.
Many successful Australian shows were created during the 2000s, includingABC comedies likeKath & Kim,CNNNN,Summer Heights High,Spicks and Specks andThe Chaser's War on Everything,Network 10'sSkithouse,Russell Coight's All Aussie Adventures,Thank God You're Here,H2O: Just Add Water &The Secret Life of Us, which led to the creation of many local versions throughout the world, and the growth ofreality television, especiallyBig Brother Australia andAustralian Idol. Australian content on subscription television also grew, with shows such as theLogie Award winningLove My Way.Enough Rope with Andrew Denton, a television interview show broadcast on ABC, aired from 2003 to 2008.
Amongst the new digital 'multichannels', one of the earliest was theSBS World News Channel in 2002, providing news bulletins in languages other than English. In 2003Tasmanian Digital Television launched, providingTasmanian viewers a third commercial station, and nationally available stationsFly TV and theABC Kids launched, later to be eventually shut down due to funding issues and replaced in 2005 byABC TV Plus.Mildura Digital Television, similar to TDT, launched at the start of 2006. Sydney also began testingdatacasting transmissions withDigital 44 in 2003. While digital television boomed in areas that received a third channel and with the subscription television services, growth in other areas has been slow, with analogue shut-down dates pushed back several times. A number of new community stations were also opened, includingC31 Adelaide in April 2004 andTelevision Sydney in February 2006.[63][64]
In October 2005,Network 10 announced that themorning show entitledGood Morning Australia would be cancelled at the end of the year, after a 14-year run. AlthoughBert Newton was offered ongoing employment atNetwork 10, he joined theNine Network to host the short-lived game showBert's Family Feud, until 23 May 2007 when the program was axed.[65]
The Nine Network, the traditional ratings leader, suffered ratings losses by the mid-2000s, losing out to the Seven Network, which became the most popular Australian network by early 2007, thanks to its "Seven in '07" campaign.[66] This was not the only loss by the network: the death of itsCEOKerry Packer in late 2005 led to network personalityEddie McGuire becoming the head of the network,[67] and the network lostAFL broadcast rights to the Seven and Ten networks in the largest Australian television rights deal in history, worthA$780 million.[68] In mid-2007,National Indigenous Television launched as Australia's 'third public broadcaster', after theABC andSBS, replacingIndigenous Community Television on theOptus Aurora remote satellite service.[69]
The move tohigh-definition television broadcasting came to the forefront when Network 10 announced its intentions to create the first dedicated HD multichannel10 HD on 14 September 2007 with a December 2007 Launch date.[70]
Although10 HD was initially expected to be the first new commercial television channel in metropolitan areas of Australia since 1988, it was instead beaten to the punch by7HD. Following the announcement by the Ten Network, Network Seven also announced its previously hidden plans to launch a dedicated HD channel on 15 September 2007 and pushed the launch date forward to 10 October.7HD was the first dedicated HD multichannel launched, 2 months earlier than the Channel 10 equivalent. The Nine Network's move to a HD channel was considered sluggish by industry insiders, taking until March 2008. The Network was more excited by its plans to introduce a new SD channel in 2009 called 9Go!, which is when digital multicasting restrictions were scheduled to be lifted from the commercial stations. 9Go! was released to the public on 9 August, spelling the end of 9HD which was replaced by the previous HD version of Nine.[71]
2009 also saw the launch of four other channels,7two, a general entertainment channel,SBS Viceland available in SD,ABC Me, a dedicated children's television channel available in SD, and10 Bold, a dedicated 24-hour sport channel and a subsidiary of Network 10 available in both HD and SD, replacing Ten HD. ABC Me, unlike commercial channels, is not constrained by local content quotas.[72]
In the early stages of the 2010s, several governmental analysts observed that commercial networks were having trouble making the transition to digital television and subsequently, a $250m rebate was implemented on their licensing fees. The government-funded stations, ABC and SBS, received increased funding in the closing stages of the 2000s to enable them to make the transition to digital TV. Meanwhile, the community stationC31 received no government assistance or funding to make the transition; this still remains a source of controversy.[citation needed]
Other issues were noted such as the increased cost of producing local content on commercial networks. For example: it costs roughly $800,000 to produce one hour of local content such asUnderbelly andPacked to the Rafters, in comparison to a mere $100,000 to purchase one hour of the US producedTwo and a Half Men, the former example screening very often during the off ratings period 2009–10. The cost disparity has led many to question the viability of commercial networks in the future of delivering and investing in locally produced content and has also brought their financial arrangements with business and industry groups into question. Meanwhile, ABC and SBS quickly began producing very successful local content with shows such asReview,Lawrence Leung's Choose Your Own Adventure,Hungry Beast and many more publicly funded local programs, produced in Australia, with Australian cast and crews, adding to the increasing health of Australian film and television industries.
During January 2010, the ABC announced its long-awaited 24-hour news channel,ABC News to launch in July 2010.[73] It will broadcast on the current ABC HD channel and according to the ABC, "Australia's first free-to-air 24-hour television news channel". Following technical issues at ABC's new playout facility MediaHub, theABC News launch date was pushed to 22 July 2010.[74]ABC News began to broadcast a three-minute loop promo on Channel 24 on 6 July 2010.
On 19 August 2010, the Seven Network announced their third digital channel,7mate, which replaced 7HD. 7mate is aimed at males between 16 and 49, and launched with the AFL Grand Final on 25 September.[75] The Nine Network has also launched a third digital channel called9Gem, broadcasting only in HD and replacing 9HD. 9Gem is targeted at middle-aged women. On 26 August, Network 10 announced their plans for a channel to replace One SD. The new channel,10 Peach, is aimed at a youth audience and carries flagship TEN programming including Neighbours. Eleven launched on 11 January 2011.[76]
In 2011, the Seven Network created history by winning all 40 weeks of a television ratings season for the first time sinceOzTAM was established in 2001.[77]
On 12 December 2012,NITV started its free-to-air broadcasts under new ownership of SBS.[citation needed]
On 10 December 2013, the analogue TV shutdown completed all around Australia.[78]
On 19 August 2015, then Communications MinisterMalcolm Turnbull introduced a bill retracting the legal obligation for broadcasters to broadcast their primary channel in standard definition.[79]
On 29 August 2015,Racing.com was launched owned by Racing Victoria and Seven West Media.
In October 2015, the Nine Network announced their fourth digital channel,9Life. Launching on 26 November, 9Life is a dedicated lifestyle and reality channel on Channel 94. Around the same time,9HD was relaunched on Channel 90.
On 28 February 2016, the Seven Network launched a fifth digital channel,7flix, which is a dedicated movie and entertainment channel on Channel 76.
On 2 March 2016, Network 10 relaunched10 HD on Channel 13.
On 10 May 2016, the Seven Network relaunched7HD in Melbourne and Adelaide on Channel 70. On 16 December of the same year, it was relaunched on the same channel in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.
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With the rapid spread ofCOVID-19 in the early months of 2020, television production in Australia (as it did worldwide) suffered greatly due to health requirements; many programs such asNeighbours andHome and Away were forced to suspend filming in an effort to keep their respective cast and crews safe from infection. From the first (of many) 'healthlockdowns' until the later months of 2021, many studios were closed or reorganised to suit the legal requirements for spread prevention. As vaccination rates against the virus increased, many of the studios began to reopen and production rates have increased, withNeighbours andHome and Away restarting production in October/November 2021.
Television broadcasting in Australia is currently available asdigital,colour television, via a range of means includingterrestrial,satellite, andcable television services. Bothfree-to-air andsubscription channels/networks are available.Analogue television has been phased out, with the last service being switched off in December 2013.[78]
In most areas, there is a choice of threefree-to-air commercial broadcasters as well as two national public broadcasters, theAustralian Broadcasting Corporation and theSpecial Broadcasting Service. A third, recently established,National Indigenous Television service is available in many remote areas.[80]
Commercial television is dominated by three major metropolitan-based networks, theSeven Network,Network 10, which own stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, and theNine Network which owns stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Darwin, Adelaide and Perth. In addition to its metropolitan assets, Seven owns regional stations in New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, the ACT,Queensland andTasmania, and Nine owns and operates its regional stationNBN in Northern NSW and the Gold Coast.
Regional television in Australia consists of independently owned networks 'affiliated' to metropolitan stations.WIN Television is the country's largest regional broadcaster in terms of population reach, followed byImparja Television.[81] Previously,Southern Cross Austereo and thePrime Media Group operated regional affiliate stations throughout the county.[82][83] Some regional centres have three commercial broadcasters, while others — such as regionalWestern Australia and remote central & eastern Australia — have two, and others — such asMount Gambier andBroken Hill — have only one commercial broadcaster. In two-broadcaster markets, the two incumbent commercial broadcasters applied for and were granted a third,[clarification needed]digital-only license. In single-broadcaster markets, each incumbent commercial broadcaster was granted a second, and later a third license, to provide additional programming. This has resulted in the establishment of a number of channels includingTasmanian Digital Television,Mildura Digital Television,Darwin Digital Television andWest Digital Television.[84]
Subscription television in Australia is provided in most areas byFoxtel withOptus Television also serving Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. A number of smaller operators includingSelecTV,TransACT,UBI World TV, andNeighbourhood Cable provide niche or local services. Most operators provide the same or similar channels. There are few genuine local channels and few independent channels. One exception is theWorld Movies channel owned by a consortium includingSBS Television and companies owned byKerry Stokes and theAustralian Radio Network.
Community television progressively launched between the 1980s to the 2000s. The sector is represented nationally by theCommunity Broadcasting Association of Australia.[85] Community stations includeTVS,C31 Melbourne,31 Brisbane,C31 Adelaide andAccess 31; many recognisable mainstream personalities originated from community television, includingRove McManus andWil Anderson andKayne Tremills
Cable television has been available in Australia since the mid-1990s, withGalaxy TV being the first. It became insolvent in 1998, due to decreasing popularity after the launch ofFoxtel andAustar in May 1995, two cable services that offered more variety than Galaxy TV. Foxtel commenced by supplying programs to Galaxy's subscribers on an interim basis. In 1999 Foxtel was able to significantly boost its customer base by acquiring Galaxy TV's subscribers from the Australis Media liquidator and commenced offering its services on a satellite television platform. There is currently one major subscription television provider in Australia, Foxtel. Foxtel bought Austar in 2012 and has now completed the merger of its operations. Other minor providers includeTransACT,Neighbourhood Cable, andSelecTV.
In the capital cities, cable is the more predominant form of pay television distribution. In regional areas or in new or outskirted areas of cities, satellite is far more common.
Due to its history, financial backing, and market dominance, most local versions of channels are either owned directly by Foxtel or through related companies.
In terms of coverage, Foxtel's cable network covers parts of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth.Optus's network covers small parts of Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, though its restrictive subscription rules mean that many people living in apartments or confined living areas may be unable to connect.
Austar (now Foxtel) is available by satellite in most of regional and rural Australia, but does have a small cable network in the city ofDarwin. TransACT is only available inCanberra, where a custom cable network was developed. A similar situation used to exist in Perth where a small area was covered by Bright Telecommunications (though they closed down after lack of funding) as well in parts ofGeelong,Ballarat andMildura that are reached byNeighbourhood Cable.
Satellite television in Australia has proven to be a far more feasible option than cable television, perhaps due to the vast distances between population centres, (although Canada, which also has large distances between population centres, has a relatively high cable television penetration rate). The first service to come online in Australia wasGalaxy, which was later taken over by cable television giantFoxtel, which now operates both cable and satellite services to all state capital cities (except Darwin and Hobart) and the whole of Western Australia. Its main metropolitan rival wasOptus Vision, while rural areas are served byAustar, both of which just rebroadcast Foxtel as of 2005. In 2006SelecTV began operating, aiming at providing comparatively low-cost packages and catering to specialised market segments.
Internet television in Australia is the digital distribution of movies and television content via the Internet. InAustralia,internet television is provided by a number of generalist, subscription-basedstreaming service providers, in addition to several niche providers that focus on specific genres. Australia's five majorfree-to-air television networks also all offercatch up TV of previously broadcast content to watch via their webpages and apps, and a number of ISPs and other companies offer IPTV – the live streaming of television channels sourced from Australia and elsewhere.
Australia has produced numerous notable television series and miniseries, with the most prominent programs coming from the comedy, police, and medical dramagenres.
One of the earliest Australian police drama series wasHomicide, produced in Melbourne byCrawford Productions, widely viewed as having revolutionised Australian television drama production. It was followed byDivision 4 andMatlock Police, which also enjoyed great popularity and long runs both locally and overseas. Other successful police drama series have includedCop Shop,Police Rescue,Blue Heelers,Water Rats andStingers. Medical dramas have also proved popular with audiences, including series such asA Country Practice,The Flying Doctors,GP andAll Saints.
Notable miniseries have includedAgainst the Wind,All the Rivers Run,Bodyline,Brides of Christ,The Dismissal andThe Timeless Land, and in more recent timesCurtin,Bastard Boys andThe Slap.
Australian soap opera success began withBellbird in 1967 which was a moderate but consistent success. Following this the huge success ofNumber 96 in 1972 prompted creation of the similarThe Box in 1974. These serials were all cancelled in 1977. Following this successful serials includedThe Young Doctors,The Sullivans,Prisoner,Sons and Daughters,Neighbours andHome and Away. This later group were also screened internationally, finding particular success in the United Kingdom.
Comedy series have includedThe Aunty Jack Show,The Paul Hogan Show,The Norman Gunston Show, and more recentlyThe D-Generation,Frontline,The Glass House,Bogan Hunters,Summer Heights High,Please Like Me and popular seriesThank God You're Here, which has since been adapted to a number of countries around the world, and already several of them have brought in creators and stars of shows likeKath & Kim to help produce, direct, star, or serve as consultants on their versions.
The scheduling for each network is quite diverse: while theSeven Network,Nine Network, and affiliates have an hour of news and current affairs at 6:00 pm,Network 10 has news at 5:00 pm whileABC has news at 7:00 pm andSBS has world news at 6:30 pm. Theprimetime slot in Australia runs from 6:00 pm to midnight, with the most popular programming shown from around 7:30 pm to 10:30 pm.
Many programs shown in these times on commercial networks are taken from American television, while ABC has a mixture of Australian and British productions. SBS, as a multicultural broadcaster, shows a range of programs produced locally and overseas in a number of languages. Imported programming has typically been shown months after its debut in the United States or the United Kingdom, however, in recent times networks have begun to air programs within hours or days of their overseas counterparts.
Seven and Nine have rival breakfast shows that run from 5:30–9:00 am while10 airs repeated shows from the previous day at 6:00 am–8:30 am, followed by morning shows on all three networks until midday. ABC now broadcasts a breakfast news show (ABC News Breakfast) while onABC TV Plus andABC Me there are children's programming, also on9Go! andNickelodeon, Australian children's programming currently airs on7flix,9Go! andNickelodeon, meanwhile on SBS foreign-language bulletins are shown for most of the morning, followed by foreign-language films and documentaries.
Most scheduling is consistent across Australia's three time zones – this means thatSouth Australia and theNorthern Territory sees programming half an hour behindAustralian Eastern Time, while inWestern Australia programs are seen two hours behind. When daylight saving is in effect, because it is only partially observed,Queensland gets programming one hour later, Northern Territory sees it 90 minutes behind and Western Australia receives its shows three hours behind. Consequently, many national news bulletins shown live to eastern states are seen on considerable delay inWestern Australia (with the notable exception ofThe Midday Report, of which a second edition is produced for WA). The time delay can often deny viewers in central and western areas the opportunity to participate in interactive shows such asThe Voice.
One exception to this rule are subscription channels, which always run onAustralian Eastern Time regardless of the local service or time zone. The recent introduction of timeshift channels delayed two hours for all viewers, particularly onFoxtel, allowed WA viewers to see programs in sync with other states during standard time (although due to WA's non-observance of daylight saving, programs air one hour ahead during this time). However,ABC News is live across the nation with no delay, the only free-to-air television channel to do this.
Both national public broadcasters, theABC andSBS, produce news services. The ABC provides both local and national news bulletins in the form ofABC News at 5:30pm, 7pm andThe Midday Report, presented from Sydney and state capitals.SBS broadcasts a nightly hour-longWorld News Australia bulletin at 6.30pm, followed by a later, half-hour edition at 10.30pm.
Higher ratings for earlier bulletins from commercial broadcasters including theSeven Network andNine Network have prompted fierce ratings competition.[86] For most years up until the mid-1990'sNine News was traditionally the highest-rating news service in Australia, but in 2005 it was overtaken bySeven News before it regained the lead on a national basis in 2013.[87][88]
Seven News producesSeven Early News, Seven Morning News, Seven News at 4 andSeven News local bulletins in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth.The network's news bulletins and breakfast programSunrise compete directly with the Nine Network's offerings, which includeToday andNine Morning News,Nine Afternoon News andNine News local bulletins.10 News currently produces a local hour-long weeknight bulletin of10 News and on weekends it airs a national hour-long bulletin.
In Australia, there are two local 24-hour news channels. TheABC News channel is Australia's only free-to-air news channel. ABC News launched on 22 July 2010 as ABC News 24 and it features all of ABCs news and current affairs programs. ABC News is available on digital channel 24.Sky News Australia is Australia's second news channel that is only available onFoxtel,Optus TV andBINGE. The subscription based television channel draws on the resources of its shareholders news services, using content fromSeven News,Nine News andSky News from the United Kingdom, as well as reporters based in Sydney,Canberra, and Melbourne.
A number of regional television networks produce news services.WIN Television producesWIN News bulletins for 14 regional markets in parts ofNew South Wales,Victoria,Queensland,South Australia,Tasmania andWestern Australia.NBN produces a bulletin on both weeknights and weekends, in an hour-long format presented fromNewcastle and seen across northernNew South Wales.Seven produces local 30 minute news bulletins in regional New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia.Seven Tasmania produces a local hour long bulletin of7NEWS forTasmania from the stationsLaunceston studios, airing 7 nights a week.
In additionSky News Australia has a regional free-to-air news channel calledSky News Regional on digital channels 53 and 56 in partnership withNetwork 10 andAustralian News Channel on their TV stations. Viewer Access Satellite Television launched 14 bulletin channels with over 30 bulletins and a regional news menu on channel 4 showing all the channels on WIN, NBN, 7 regional and 10 regional.
Current affairs programming is shown in a broad range of formats, ranging betweentabloid-style current affairs shows to investigative programs such asFour Corners.
ABC has had a long history of producing current affairs programs, including the award-winningThis Day Tonight, the first regular current affairs program to be shown on Australian television and a training ground for many of Australia's best-known journalists.This Day Tonight was axed in 1978, however in the mid-1980sThe 7.30 Report was launched in state-based editions (these were combined into a national program hosted byKerry O'Brien in 1995).Four Corners, first seen in 1961, an investigative documentary series modelled on theBBC'sPanorama, has also won many awards and broken stories previously not covered by other media outlets.
Other current affairs programs include news and analysis programLateline,7.30,Foreign Correspondent,Insiders andOffsiders.
SBS also shows a number of current affairs programs, such asDateline, the country's longest-running international current affairs program, launched in 1984.Insight, originally conceived in 1999 as a domestic current affairs program, is a discussion forum focussing on a single issue. SBS's Indigenous Media Unit produces another program titledLiving Black, which covers issues relevant to Australia'sindigenous community.
On theNine Network,A Current Affair, first shown in 1971 airs Monday — Saturday is the networks flagship current affairs program. On Sundays,60 Minutes features a number of stories produced both locally and from itsUS counterpart.
Channel 10 launched10 News+ in 2025, as an hour long current affairs programme to replace long running panel showThe Project.10 News+ was reduced to an air time of 30 minutes in 2026.[89][90]
Onsubscription television,Sky News Australia airs a number of news commentary and analysis shows such asAgenda, Sportsline, Sky Business Report, and Sky News Eco Report. A local version ofSky News Weather Channel was launched in 1999, joined in 2006 byFox Sports News, a 24-hour sports news channel.Squawk Australia, a business news program shown from 6.00am, is seen onCNBC Asia.
In the 21st century, and especially the 2010s, programmes and series by and aboutIndigenous Australians proliferated.The Circuit (2007) was an early example;Redfern Now,8MMM Aboriginal Radio,The Gods of Wheat Street (2014),Ready for This,Cleverman,Black Comedy,The Warriors,Kiki & Kitty,Total Control,KGB,Little J & Big Cuz,Mystery Road were all well received.Shari Sebbens commented that a "golden age" of Indigenous television is here.[91]
The last episode of the second series ofGet Krack!n, featuringMiranda Tapsell andNakkiah Lui and co-written by Lui, trended onTwitter, outraged right wing commentatorAndrew Bolt, and was widely lauded as hilarious, ground-breaking, hard-hitting satire.[92][93][94]
National Indigenous Television (NITV) is (since 2012) a national, free-to-air channel dedicated to Indigenous stories, news, films and issues, with programming produced largely by Indigenous people, funded through SBS. In early 2016, it refreshed its brand and revamped its schedule, with an increased focus on its central charter, Indigenous news and current affairs.[95]
| Network | 2008[96] | 2009[97] | 2010[98] | 2014[99] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | 14.2% | 14.0% | 13.8% | 14.2% |
| Seven | 24.2% | 23.0% | 23.5% | 24.8% |
| Nine | 21.9% | 21.9% | 22.7% | 23.8% |
| Ten | 17.0% | 18.4% | 17.3% | 14.6% |
| SBS | 4.6% | 4.8% | 4.6% | 4.2% |
| Foxtel | 15.5% | 15.9% | 15.5% | 16.1% |
Television ratings in Australia are collected by three main organisations:OzTAM in metropolitan areas, Regional TAM in regional areas serviced by three commercialtelevision networks, and in areas with two commercial networks,Nielsen Media Research Australia.
Ratings are collected for 40 weeks during the year, excluding a two-week break duringEaster and ten weeks over summer. The majority of locally produced comedy and drama on commercial networks is shown during the ratings period.
For many years up until the mid-nineties, the Nine Network had been the ratings leader in Australia, typically followed by theSeven Network andNetwork 10. Subscription television and the two national broadcasters, ABC and in particular SBS, due to its special-interest nature, typically attract fewer viewers than the three commercial networks. Network 10, due to its programming line-up, has traditionally been the market leader for younger viewers.
In 2007, the Seven Network overtook its rival Nine Network in terms of average viewers,[100] and in 2011, it became the first television network sinceOzTam's launch in 2001 to win all 40 weeks in a ratings season.[77] As of 2016, it has won the last ten ratings seasons consecutively.[101] ABC has also, since the early 2000s, seen ratings (as well as audience reach) as a major performance indicator. The Nine Network has, in the past, aggressively marketed its long-time ratings dominance through its promotional campaign "Still the One", which they no longer use.
Content on Australian television is regulated by theAustralian Communications and Media Authority. All codes of practice submitted to the Australian Communications and Media Authority are reviewed by the public prior to acceptance.[102] There are different regulations for different types of content, and the main categories are divided up into Australian content, children's content,commercial broadcasting, community broadcasting,public broadcasting, andsubscription television.[103]
The regulations in place define what a broadcaster may put on-air, the time(s) of day they are allowed to broadcast specific material, and what advertisements are shown in relation to these criteria. In essence, the Australian Communications and Media Authority controls what content is shown, what time(s) of day it is shown, and who controls what is shown (i.e.: international media as opposed toAustralian media).[104]
Genre restrictions imposed by the Australiangovernment on digital multi-channeling were lifted along with the media ownership laws passed through theParliament of Australia on 18 October 2006.[105] Digital-only multichannels in Australia were previously limited in the subjects they could cover, with programming identified as comedy, drama, national news, sport or entertainment, prohibited from broadcast.
