|
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 to [[Gerald 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2006/1809849.htm |title=ABC Radio National – ''The Science Show'', 30 December 2006 – "Celebrating 50 years of television" |date=5 September 2006 |publisher=Abc.net.au |access-date=26 April 2010}}</ref>
Most programs in this early period were based on popular radio formats—musical variety and quiz formats were the most popular.<ref name="freetvaus-history">{{cite web
| title = Free TV Australia – History of TV
| publisher = [[FreeTV Australia]]
| url = http://www.freetv.com.au/Content_Common/pg-History-of-TV.seo
| year = 2005
| access-date = 28 July 2007
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070831035110/http://www.freetv.com.au/Content_Common/pg-History-of-TV.seo |archive-date = 31 August 2007}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.skwirk.com.au/p-c_s-14_u-189_t-507_c-1880/american-and-british-cultural-influence-1960s/nsw/american-and-british-cultural-influence-1960s/australia-s-social-and-cultural-history-in-the-post-war-period/social-and-cultural-features-of-the-1960s |title=skwirk.com "American and British cultural influence 1960s" |publisher=Skwirk.com.au |date=26 March 1999 |access-date=26 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090923024050/http://www.skwirk.com.au/p-c_s-14_u-189_t-507_c-1880/american-and-british-cultural-influence-1960s/nsw/american-and-british-cultural-influence-1960s/australia-s-social-and-cultural-history-in-the-post-war-period/social-and-cultural-features-of-the-1960s |archive-date=23 September 2009 |url-status=dead|df=dmy-all }}</ref>
These changes led to a significant concentration of cross-media ownership. By 1960, the [[Frank Packer|Packer]] family's Consolidated Press group controlled Channels 9 in Melbourne and Sydney (the flagship stations that formed the basis of the Nine Network), Melbourne's [[The Herald and Weekly Times|Herald and Weekly Times]] group owned HSV-7, and the [[Fairfax Media|Fairfax]] 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 of ''regulatory capture'', or over-identification with the industry it regulated".<ref>Stuart Cunningham & Graeme Turner, ''The media and communications in Australia'', (Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2006) pp.177–178</ref>
In 1963, the Senate Select Committee on the Encouragement of Australian Productions for Television, chaired by Senator [[Seddon 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.<ref name="Stuart Cunningham 2001, p.175">Stuart Cunningham et al., ''The Media and Communications in Australia'' (Allen & Unwin, 2001, {{ISBN|978-1-86508-674-3}}), p.175</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://dl.screenaustralia.gov.au/module/645/ |title=Screen Australia Digital Learning – ''From Wireless to Web'' – "TV and Family Life" |publisher=Dl.screenaustralia.gov.au |access-date=26 April 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090917134837/http://dl.screenaustralia.gov.au/module/645/ |archive-date=17 September 2009 }}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wwwmcc.murdoch.edu.au/ReadingRoom/film/AFTV.html |title=Tom O'Regan, 1999, "Film & its nearest neighbour: the Australian film & television interface" (Murdoch Reading Room) |publisher=Cc.murdoch.edu.au |access-date=26 April 2010}}</ref>
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 series ''[[Laugh-In]]'' reportedly cost about US$200,000.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2007/jun/20/local/me-friendly20 |title=Ed Friendly, 85; helped bring 'Laugh-In' and 'Little House' to TV |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date= 20 June 2007|access-date=26 April 2010 | first=Valerie J. | last=Nelson}}</ref>At the top end of the scale, in 1966 [[Desilu Studios]] spent almost US$1 million on the two pilot episodes for the renowned science fiction series ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'' – the first pilot "The Cage" (which was rejected by [[NBC]]) cost more than US$600,000 and the set for the bridge of the ''Enterprise'' 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 series ''[[The Mavis Bramston Show]]'' was just AU£1500.<ref>Rob Johnson & David Smiedt, Boom-Boom: A Century of Australian Comedy (Hodder & Stoughton, Sydney, 1999, {{ISBN|0-7336-0938-4}}), pp.160–161</ref> 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 than ''Laugh-In''.
Although by the end of the 1950s television had expanded to also include [[QTQ|Brisbane]], [[NWS (TV station)|Adelaide]] and [[TVW|Perth]], 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.<ref name="culturegov-history">{{cite web
|title = Popular Australian Television
|publisher = culture.gov.au
|url = http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/populartelevision/
|year = 2007
|access-date = 28 July 2007
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070829102757/http://cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/populartelevision/
|archive-date = 29 August 2007
|url-status=dead
|df = dmy-all
}}</ref> 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 the [[Test card|test 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/tv/50years/didyouknow/facts.htm |title=ABC website – ''50 Years of TV'' – Historical Facts |publisher=Abc.net.au |date=5 November 1956 |access-date=26 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100121113207/http://www.abc.net.au/tv/50years/didyouknow/facts.htm |archive-date=21 January 2010 |url-status=dead|df=dmy-all }}</ref>
===Early programmes===
The TV series ''[[The 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.<ref name="culturegov-history" /> Notable programs of the 1950s included [[TCN|TCN-9]]'s long-running music variety program ''[[Bandstand (Australia)|Bandstand]]'', (based on the US version of the same name) hosted by radio presenter and future newsreader [[Brian Henderson (television presenter)|Brian Henderson]]; [[HSV (TV station)|HSV-7]]'s weekly sport program, (that would broadcast for the next 28 years) ''[[World of Sport (Australian TV series)|World of Sport]]''; and the shorter-lived programs, including the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]]'s ''[[Six O'Clock Rock]]'', hosted by [[Johnny O'Keefe]]. The first Australian serial drama, ''[[Autumn Affair]]'', ran for a 10-month run on [[ATN|ATN-7]]. Programming also covered religion; for example, ''[[Discovering the Bible]]''.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GEkRAAAAIBAJ&pg=4011%2C583218 |title = The Age |date=4 July 1958}}</ref> Several programs in the 1950s were simply adaptations of already established radio programs such as ''[[Pick a Box]]''.
===Television and programming in the 1960s===
The 1960s saw the continued growth of television in Australia, particularly into regional areas. The first regional TV services began in [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] in 1961 with the first being [[Gippsland]]'s [[GLV/BCV|GLV-10]] followed by [[Shepparton]]'s [[VTV (TV station)|GMV-6]] and [[Bendigo]]'s [[GLV/BCV|BCV-8]]. [[NBN Television|NBN-3]] in [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]] was the first regional service in [[New South Wales]] commencing broadcast in 1962.
While the first television services were being established in regional areas, larger cities including Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, [[Adelaide]], and [[Perth]] began to receive their second and, in the mid-1960s, third stations. In order to reduce costs, networks began to merge – originally in 1957 between [[HSV (TV station)|HSV-7]] and [[TCN|TCN-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 the [[Nine Network]]) and Australian Television Network (later known as the [[Seven Network]]) in 1962. Not all stations became a part of their respective networks – [[TVW|TVW-7]] in Perth remained independent for a number of years as the sole commercial station in the city. Throughout the decade the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]] expanded transmissions to several major centres including Adelaide, Perth, [[Hobart]], and [[Canberra]].
Beginning in 1964, the federal government tried to address concerns about competition and local production by licensing a third station in major cities, beginning with [[ATV (Australia)|Channel 0]] in Melbourne and [[TEN (TV station)|Channel 10]] in Sydney. More third-licence stations were established in other capitals and regional cities{{citation needed|date=December 2011}} 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 called [[Network Ten|Network 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 including ''[[The Go!! Show]]'' and ''[[Kommotion]]'' (1964–1967), ''[[Uptight (TV show)|Uptight]]'' (1968–70) and ''[[Happening '70]]'' and its successors (1970–1972).
[[Image:Lane and Kennedy split screen.jpg|thumb|right|[[Don Lane]] appearing split-screen with [[Graham Kennedy]] via co-axial cable in 1963, live on ''[[In Melbourne Tonight]]''.]]
The establishment of the [[Sydney–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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/tv/50years/didyouknow/firsts.htm|title=ABC TV Firsts|publisher=ABC|date=9 April 2012|access-date= 14 September 2013}}</ref>
The introduction of [[satellite television|satellite 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" at [[Expo 67]] in [[Montreal]] was broadcast live to Australia via a US satellite link. Prime Minister [[Harold 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 Australian [[Davis Cup]] team.<ref name="National Museum of Australia">{{cite web|url=http://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/australia_at_expo_67/pop_goes_australia/ |title=Australia at Expo 67: Pop goes Australia |publisher=[[National Museum of Australia]] |date=6 June 1967 |access-date=26 April 2010}}</ref>
In the afternoon a variety concert, 'Pop goes Australia', featured musicians [[Normie Rowe]], [[Bobby Limb]], [[Rolf Harris]] and [[The 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.<ref name="National Museum of Australia"/>
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 of [[The Beatles]], who performed their new song "[[All You Need Is Love]]" live from the [[Abbey 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/tv/50years/didyouknow/firsts.htm |title=%0 Years of ABC TV – ABC TV Firsts |publisher=Abc.net.au |date=1 March 1975 |access-date=26 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100107135512/http://www.abc.net.au/tv/50years/didyouknow/firsts.htm |archive-date=7 January 2010 |url-status=dead|df=dmy-all }}</ref> By 1970 as many as thirty-one programs were received via this manner.<ref name="His60"/> [[GTV (Australia)|GTV-9]] in Melbourne broke records in 1969 for the world's longest scheduled live telecast with its coverage of the [[Apollo 11|Apollo 11 Moon landing]], running for 163 hours, a record which has since been beaten.<ref name="His60" />
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 drama ''[[Homicide (Australian TV series)|Homicide]]'' premiered on 20 October 1964 on [[HSV (TV station)|HSV-7]], soon followed on 11 November by the [[ATN-7]] satirical sketch comedy series ''[[The Mavis Bramston Show]]'' (which at its peak drew an unprecedented 59% of the audience), the rural soap opera ''[[Bellbird (TV series)|Bellbird]]'' on the ABC (1967), and for interstate viewers [[Graham Kennedy]]'s ''[[In Melbourne Tonight]]'' or the ''Graham Kennedy Channel Nine Show''.<ref name="culturegov-history" /> In addition to these, many programs still seen today were launched at this time including the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]]'s acclaimed current affairs program ''[[Four Corners (Australian TV program)|Four Corners]]'' (1961) and ''[[Play School (Australian TV series)|Play School]]'' – now the country's longest-running children's show—as well as the [[Nine Network]]'s ''[[Here's Humphrey]]'',<ref name="culturegov-history" /> which both premiered in 1966.
Veteran actor-producer [[John McCallum (actor)|John McCallum]] and filmmaker [[Lee Robinson (director)|Lee Robinson]] created the children's adventure series ''[[Skippy 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<ref name="Classic Australian TV – Skippy">{{cite web|url=http://www.classicaustraliantv.com/Skippy.htm |title=''Skippy'' |publisher=Classic Australian TV |access-date=26 April 2010}}</ref> (by comparison, the first series of ''Star 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,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.australiantelevision.net/skippy.html |title=Australian Television Information Archive – ''Skippy'' |publisher=Australiantelevision.net |access-date=26 April 2010}}</ref> and it became the first Australian TV show to be widely screened in the USA.<ref name="Classic Australian TV – Skippy"/>
Winners of the first nationally shown ''[[TV Week]]'' [[Logie Awards]] included ''[[In Melbourne Tonight]]'' host [[Graham Kennedy]] – twice, ''Pick-a-box'' host [[Bob Dyer]], [[Lorrae Desmond]] from ABC's ''The Lorrae Desmond Show'', ''[[Four Corners]]'' reporter [[Michael Charlton]], [[Bobby Limb]], [[Jimmy Hannan]], [[Gordon Chater]], [[Brian Henderson (television presenter)|Brian Henderson]] and [[Hazel Phillips]].<ref name="His60" />
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.<ref name="freetvaus-history" /> The new medium had also become highly lucrative to advertisers.
In 1967 the [[NSWRFL]] 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.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Masters
| first = Roy
| author-link = Roy Masters (sport)
| title = Messenger can watch a better league broadcast in the US than south of the border
| work = [[The Sydney Morning Herald]]
| publisher = Fairfax Digital
| date = 4 October 2009
| url = http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/messenger-can-watch-a-better-league-broadcast-in-the-us-than-south-of-the-border-20091004-ghve.html
| access-date = 10 May 2009}}</ref> That same year, ATV-0 telecast the Pakenham races in colour under the supervision of the Broadcasting Control Board.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.televisionau.com/tv150667.htm |title=TV Times 28 June 1967 – Victorian edition |publisher=Televisionau.com |access-date=26 April 2010}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Musgrove
| first = Nan
| title = Did You See Red on TV?
| work = [[The Australian Women's Weekly]]
| publisher = Australian Consolidated Press Ltd.
| date = 12 November 1969
| url = https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/5343532
| access-date = 13 May 2018}}</ref> The full changeover to colour transmission did not occur until 1975.
===Television and programming in the 1970s===
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, Northern Territory|Darwin]], for example, did not receive television until [[ABD (TV station)|ABD-6]] and [[NTD (Australian TV station)|NTD-8]] launched in 1971. Similarly, [[Golden West Network|VEW-8]] launched in [[Kalgoorlie]] on 18 June 1971, and [[QQQ|ITQ-8]] launched in [[Mount Isa]] on 11 September 1971. The youngest network, the [[Network Ten|0/10 Network]], as it was then known, launched the controversial sex-melodrama serial ''[[Number 96 (TV series)|Number 96]]'' in March 1972.<ref name="culturegov-history" /><ref name="His70" /> 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 European [[PAL]] standard mandated in 1968.<ref name="His60">{{cite web
| title = History of Australian Television – 1960–1969
| website = televisionau.com
| url = https://televisionau.com/timeline/1960-1969
| year = 2006
| access-date = 20 July 2022
}}</ref><ref name="His70">{{cite web
| title = The History of Australian Television – The Seventies
| publisher = television.au
| url = http://www.televisionau.com/seventies.htm
| year = 2006
| access-date = 28 July 2007
}}</ref><ref name="nc">{{cite news
| title = Newcastle Calling
| work = [[TV Week]]
| page = 27
| date = 24 February 1962
}}</ref> 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.<ref name="His70" />
Government subsidies provided for the production of local series led to a boom in Australian-produced content. Some of the most popular series included [[Crawford Productions]] police dramas ''[[Homicide (Australian TV series)|Homicide]]'', ''[[Division 4]]'' which started during the 1960s and ''[[Matlock Police]]'' which began in 1971; variety series ''[[Young Talent Time]]''; comedy/variety series ''[[Hey Hey It's Saturday]]'', which ran for 28 years until 1999, music show ''[[Countdown (Australian TV program)|Countdown]]''; soap operas ''[[Bellbird (TV series)|Bellbird]]'' which had started in late 1967, ''Number 96'' and ''[[The Box (Australian TV series)|The Box]]'', and the World War II-themed ''[[The Sullivans]]''.<ref name="culturegov-history" /> ''[[Against the Wind (miniseries)|Against the Wind]]'', the first major mini-series produced for commercial television, was shown on the [[Seven Network]]. Later hospital drama ''[[The 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 the [[Nine Network]] after his departure from ''[[In Melbourne Tonight]]'' with ''[[The Graham Kennedy Show]]'' in 1973, but was banned from appearing on television in 1975 after an infamous 'crow-call' incident.<ref name="His70" /> Kennedy subsequently returned in 1977 as the host of ''[[Blankety Blanks (Australian game show)|Blankety 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 including ''Simon Townsend's Wonder World'' and ''Shirl's Neighbourhood''.<ref name="His70" />
News and current affairs, particularly on commercial television, grew significantly – the Nine Network's ''[[A Current Affair (Australian TV program)|A Current Affair]]'', hosted by [[Mike Willesee]] began in November 1971, while ''[[60 Minutes (Australian TV program)|60 Minutes]]'', on the same network, began in 1979.<ref name="culturegov-history" /><ref name="His70" /> In March 1972, Brisbane station [[BTQ-7]] claimed the first one-hour newscast in Australia.<ref name="His70" /> The one-hour newscast format was also later adopted by regional station [[NBN Television|NBN]], [[Newcastle, Australia|Newcastle]], and capital city television stations [[TEN (TV station)|TEN-10]] Sydney and [[ATV 10|ATV-0]] Melbourne.<ref name="His70" />
A special [[Logie Awards|Gold Logie Award]] was awarded to the [[Apollo 11]] crew in 1970, alongside actors [[Barry Crocker]] and [[Maggie Tabberer]]. Other Gold Logie winners included [[Gerard Kennedy (actor)|Gerard Kennedy]], [[Tony Barber]], [[Graham Kennedy]], [[Pat McDonald (actress)|Pat McDonald]], [[Ernie Sigley]] and [[Denise Drysdale]] in the first awards presentation shown in colour, [[Don Lane]], [[Jeanne Little]], and [[Bert Newton]].<ref name="His70" />
Sports broadcasting became increasingly sophisticated through the 1970s. [[ABC TV (Australian TV channel)|ABC]], the Seven Network and the Nine Network joined to broadcast the [[1976 Summer Olympics|1976 Olympic Games]] in [[Montreal]], with the opening and closing ceremonies telecast live, and highlights packages shown each night. During November of the same year, [[WIN Television|RTS-5a]] commenced transmissions in [[Riverland]], with [[Golden West Network|GTW-11]] launching in [[Geraldton, Western Australia|Geraldton]] on 21 January 1977.
In 1977 the [[Victorian Football League (1897–1989)|Victorian Football League]] [[AFL Grand Final|Grand Final]] was shown live to Melbourne viewers for the first time.<ref name="His70" /> As with the Olympics, the 1978 [[Commonwealth Games]] in [[Edmonton]], Alberta, Canada were shown in the form of highlights packages on ABC TV.
The [[Special 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.<ref name="sbs-timeline">{{cite web
| title = SBS Corporation – History
| publisher = [[Special Broadcasting Service]]
| url = http://www20.sbs.com.au/sbscorporate/index.php?id=1201
| year = 2002
| access-date = 28 July 2007
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070614105346/http://www20.sbs.com.au/sbscorporate/index.php?id=1201 |archive-date = 14 June 2007}}</ref>
===Television and programming in the 1980s===
The country's second national public broadcaster, the [[Special Broadcasting Service]], launched [[SBS One|Channel 0/28]] in Sydney and Melbourne in October 1980. The new station, aimed at Australia's growing [[multicultural]] population, placed a much heavier emphasis on subtitled or foreign-language content. The network expanded to cover [[Canberra]] and Goulburn in 1983, followed by [[Brisbane]], [[Adelaide]], [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]], [[Wollongong]] and the [[Gold Coast, Queensland|Gold Coast]] in June 1985. It is now available in most areas.
Although Australia had seen the introduction of the [[satellite]] in the 1960s, 1986 saw the introduction of a new, domestic satellite called [[AUSSAT]]. 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.<ref name="freetv">{{cite web
| url=http://www.freetv.com.au/Content_Common/pg-History-of-TV.seo
| title=Free TV Australia – History of TV
| access-date=4 August 2007
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070831035110/http://www.freetv.com.au/Content_Common/pg-History-of-TV.seo |archive-date = 31 August 2007}}</ref> By 1980, commercial television in Australia accounted for 33% of all mainstream [[advertising]]; this was a significant rise from the introduction of television in 1960 when it was accountable for only 15% of advertising revenue.<ref name="freetv" />
The newly relaunched Network 10, with [[Rupert Murdoch]] controlling the flagship stations [[TEN (TV station)|TEN-10]] and [[ATV-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 the [[Kennedy Miller Mitchell|Kennedy-Miller]] partnership; the expansion of news and current affairs coverage; securing the exclusive Australian television rights to the 1984 and 1988 [[Summer Olympic Games]]; and a strong line-up of Hollywood blockbuster movies and mini-series.<ref name="His80">{{cite web
| title=Television AU – The Eighties
| url=http://www.televisionau.com/eighties.htm
| access-date=4 August 2007
}}</ref> The 1980s were a huge step up for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, sealing the contracts for both ''[[Live Aid]]'' and the [[1986 Commonwealth Games]], live from [[Edinburgh]].<ref name="His80" />
In 1983 a two-hour experiment was conducted, in which the [[Seven Network]] televised a series of [[3D film]]s.<ref name="His80" />
The Australian [[soap opera]] ''[[Neighbours]]'' 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 of [[Erinsborough]], Melbourne. Seven decided to commission the show following the success of Watson's other soap opera, ''[[Sons and Daughters (Australian TV series)|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, [[Network Ten|Ten]]. Ten began screening ''Neighbours'' 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, including [[Kylie Minogue]], [[Guy Pearce]], [[Russell Crowe]], [[Natalie Imbruglia]] and [[Margot Robbie]] to name a few.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-31905932|title=Proof Neighbours is good for your career|date=18 March 2015|work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref>
The soap opera ''[[Home 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 30 [[Logie Awards]].<ref name="Birthday">{{cite news |last=Field |first=Katherine |work=[[The Australian]] |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/happy-birthday-for-home-and-away/story-fn3dxity-1225754170129 |title=Happy birthday for Home and Away |date=23 July 2009 |access-date=27 January 2010}}</ref> The show initially focused on the characters of [[Pippa Ross|Pippa]] and [[Tom Fletcher (Home and Away)|Tom Fletcher]] who ran the Summer Bay Caravan Park and lived there with a succession of foster children, most notably their adopted daughter [[Sally Fletcher|Sally]], played by [[Kate Ritchie]]. Other notable actors who have starred in the series include [[Heath Ledger]], [[Julian McMahon]] and [[Naomi 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<ref name="freetv" /> This was the beginning of aggregation for Australian television.<ref name="freetv" />
===Television and programming in the 1990s===
The 1990s saw a boom in Australian-made drama, which included ''[[Halifax f.p.]]'', ''[[Stingers (TV series)|Stingers]]'', ''[[Water Rats (TV series)|Water Rats]]'', ''[[SeaChange]]'', ''[[All Saints (TV series)|All Saints]]'', and the long running police drama ''[[Blue Heelers]]'' which ran from 1993 to 2006, one of the longest running Australian programs, equaling ''[[Homicide (Australian TV series)|Homicide's]]'' record of 510 episodes; a record set two decades earlier. A number of successful comedy programs also aired during the 1990s, including ''[[Fast Forward (Australian TV series)|Fast Forward]]'', ''[[Full Frontal (Australian TV series)|Full Frontal]]'', ''[[The Late Show (1992 TV series)|The Late Show]]'' and ''[[Good 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.
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:PrimeTelevisionident.jpg|thumb|[[Prime Television]] was one of the first television networks to be aggregated.{{deletable image-caption|Thursday, 14 February 2019|PROD}}]] -->
One of the most significant changes for [[regional television in Australia]] began in the 1990s with the introduction of ''[[regional television in Australia#Aggregation|aggregation]]''. 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 states [[New South Wales]], [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] and [[Queensland]], remained with two or even only one commercial station.<ref name="Brooklyn Ross-Hulands">{{cite web|url= http://www.austvhistory.com/7qld/index.htm|title= Sunshine Television History|access-date= 27 June 2007|author= Brooklyn Ross-Hulands|publisher= AusTVHistory|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070928004033/http://www.austvhistory.com/7qld/index.htm|archive-date= 28 September 2007|url-status=dead|df= dmy-all}}</ref>
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 as [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]], [[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, [[STQ|Sunshine Television]] was purchased by [[Seven Network Limited]].<ref name="Brooklyn Ross-Hulands"/>
[[Community television in Australia|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. [[31 Digital|Briz 31]] was the first community television station to launch in Australia, on 31 July 1994. [[C31 Melbourne]] and [[Access 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's [[Television Sydney|TVS]]. Throughout the early 1990s, [[SBS (Australian TV channel)|SBS TV]] coverage continued to expand to include the [[Latrobe Valley]], [[Spencer Gulf]], [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]], northeast [[Tasmania]], [[Cairns]] and [[Townsville]].
During the 1990s the first [[subscription television]] services were introduced to Australia. The first license was issued to [[Galaxy (Australian television)|Galaxy Television]], which started in 1993, providing services to most metropolitan areas by 1995. Other major providers include [[Foxtel]], [[Optus Television]], and [[AUSTAR]], all of which were introduced in 1995.
Subscription television allowed customers to have access to more channels. For example, PSN (later [[Fox Sports (Australia)|Fox Sports]]) was launched in 1995 and [[ESPN Australia|ESPN]] in 1996, featuring [[Super 12]] (rugby union), [[National Football League|NFL]] (American football) and [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] (basketball).
The advent of pay television in Australia resulted in the [[Super League war]] which was fought in and out of court during the mid-1990s by the [[News Ltd]]-backed [[Super League (Australia)|Super League]] and [[Kerry Packer]]-backed [[Australian Rugby League]] organisations over broadcasting rights, and ultimately control of the top-level professional [[rugby league]] football competition of Australasia.<ref>{{cite book
| last = Maquire, Joseph and Possami
| first = Catherine
| title = Power and global sport: zones of prestige, emulation and resistance
| publisher = Routledge
| year = 2005
| page = 87
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=RmYP0_YE3DIC
| isbn = 9780415252799}}
</ref> This resulted in the greatest and most costly set-piece confrontation to shake the corporate landscape of Australia.<ref>{{cite book
| last = Westfield
| first =Mark
| title = The gatekeepers: the global media battle to control Australia's pay TV
| publisher = Pluto Press
| year = 2000
| location = Australia
| pages = xxvi
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=nuAKFQ5BV84C
| isbn = 9781871204193}}
</ref>
Galaxy folded in 1998 and was subsequently absorbed by Foxtel.<ref>{{cite news| title = Rupert's killer of a deal| work = [[The Sydney Morning Herald]]| url = http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/01/31/1043804519651.html| date = 1 February 2003| access-date = 1 August 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title = The Demise of Australis| work = [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]| url = http://www.abc.net.au/http/sfist/astralis.htm| date = 18 November 1997| access-date = 1 August 2007| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070911220552/http://www.abc.net.au/http/sfist/astralis.htm| archive-date = 11 September 2007|url-status=dead| df = dmy-all}}</ref> Despite recent growth,{{when|date=July 2022}} subscription television in Australia still has relatively few subscribers.{{cn|date=July 2022}}
=== Television and programming in the 2000s ===
[[File:Fireworks, Sydney Harbour Bridge, 2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Seven Network]]'s telecast of the [[2000 Summer Olympics|Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics]]' opening ceremony was one of the highest-rating programs in Australian television history.]]
The [[2000 Summer Olympics]] resulted in huge ratings for its broadcaster (the event was hosted in Sydney) for the [[Seven 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 the [[Nine Network]] in ratings terms for the first time in more than two decades. The broadcast also ran on the short-lived [[C7 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 duo [[Roy and HG]] which achieved great popularity during the Games.
The turn of the millennium introduced [[Digital television in Australia|digital television to Australia]], as well as the transition to [[widescreen]] [[standard-definition television|standard-definition]] and [[high-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, including [[ABC TV (Australian TV channel)|ABC]] comedies like ''[[Kath & Kim]]'', ''[[CNNNN]]'', ''[[Summer Heights High]]'', ''[[Spicks and Specks (TV series)|Spicks and Specks]]'' and ''[[The Chaser's War on Everything]]'', [[Network Ten|Network 10]]'s ''[[Skithouse]]'', ''[[All Aussie Adventures|Russell Coight's All Aussie Adventures]]'', ''[[Thank God You're Here]]'', ''[[{{as written|H|2O}}: Just Add Water|H<sub>2</sub>O: Just Add Water]]'' & ''[[The Secret Life of Us]]'', which led to the creation of many local versions throughout the world, and the growth of [[reality television]], especially ''[[Big Brother Australia]]'' and ''[[Australian Idol]]''. Australian content on subscription television also grew, with shows such as the [[Logie Award]] winning ''[[Love 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 the [[SBS World News Channel]] in 2002, providing news bulletins in languages other than English. In 2003 [[TDT (TV station)|Tasmanian Digital Television]] launched, providing [[Tasmania]]n viewers a third commercial station, and nationally available stations [[Fly TV]] and the [[ABC Kids (Australia)|ABC Kids]] launched, later to be eventually shut down due to funding issues and replaced in 2005 by [[ABC TV Plus]]. [[Mildura Digital Television]], similar to TDT, launched at the start of 2006. Sydney also began testing [[datacasting]] transmissions with [[Digital 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, including [[C31 Adelaide]] in April 2004 and [[Television Sydney]] in February 2006.<ref name="c31adelaide">{{cite web
|title = C31 Adelaide licence application
|publisher = [[Australian Communications and Media Authority]]
|url = http://www.acma.gov.au/webwr/_assets/main/lib100036/c31application.pdf
|date = January 2003
|access-date = 22 September 2007
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080216031927/http://www.acma.gov.au/webwr/_assets/main/lib100036/c31application.pdf
|archive-date = 16 February 2008
|url-status=dead
|df = dmy-all
}}</ref><ref name="tvs">{{cite web
|title = Television Sydney History
|publisher = [[University of Western Sydney]]
|url = http://www.uws.edu.au/download.php?file_id=14340&filename=1.5mins_30nov05.pdf&mimetype=application/pdf
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060828135629/http://www.uws.edu.au/download.php?file_id=14340&filename=1.5mins_30nov05.pdf&mimetype=application/pdf
|url-status=dead
|archive-date = 28 August 2006
|date = 30 November 2005
|access-date = 23 July 2007
}}</ref>
In October 2005, [[Network Ten|Network 10]] announced that the [[morning show]] entitled ''[[Good Morning Australia (1992–2005)|Good Morning Australia]]'' would be cancelled at the end of the year, after a 14-year run. Although [[Bert Newton]] was offered ongoing employment at [[Network Ten|Network 10]], he joined the [[Nine Network]] to host the short-lived game show ''[[Bert's Family Feud]]'', until 23 May 2007 when the program was axed.<ref>{{cite news
| title = Bert's Family Feud axed
| newspaper = [[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)|The Sunday Telegraph]]
| url = http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21702024-5006009,00.html
| date = 9 May 2007
| access-date = 29 July 2007
| first=Marcus
| last=Casey
}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/the-men-who-can-save-ten/news-story/a65a8646f4f34896df2274f5e06c32ce|title=The men who can save Ten|newspaper=The Sunday Telegraph|first=Richard|last=Clune|date=25 February 2007|access-date=30 January 2017}}</ref> This was not the only loss by the network: the death of its [[CEO]] [[Kerry Packer]] in late 2005 led to network personality [[Eddie McGuire]] becoming the head of the network,<ref>{{cite web| title = Small funeral for a giant of a man| work = [[ninemsn]]| url = http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=79417| date = 30 December 2005| access-date = 1 August 2007|url-status=dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110605102001/http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=79417| archive-date = 5 June 2011| df = dmy-all}}</ref> and the network lost [[Australian Football League|AFL]] broadcast rights to the Seven and Ten networks in the largest Australian television rights deal in history, worth [[Australian dollar|A$]]780 million.<ref>{{cite web
| title = Seven and Ten win 5-year AFL broadcasting deal
| publisher = [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]
| url = http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2006/s1542686.htm
| date = 6 January 2006
| access-date = 31 July 2007
}}</ref>In mid-2007, [[National Indigenous Television]] launched as Australia's 'third public broadcaster', after the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]] and [[Special Broadcasting Service|SBS]], replacing [[Indigenous Community Television]] on the [[Optus fleet of satellites|Optus Aurora]] remote satellite service.<ref>{{cite web
| title = New Indigenous TV station turns on
| publisher = [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]
| url = http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/13/1977687.htm
| date = 14 July 2007
| access-date = 13 July 2007
}}</ref>
====High-definition TV====
The move to [[high-definition television]] broadcasting came to the forefront when Network 10 announced its intentions to create the first dedicated HD multichannel [[10 HD]] on 14 September 2007 with a December 2007 Launch date.<ref name="launch">{{cite news
|title = New channel, new era: Introducing TEN HD
|publisher = [[Ten Network Holdings Limited]]
|date = 14 September 2007
|url = http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/enews/ten-hd-140907.html
|access-date = 14 September 2007
|url-status=dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070919015139/http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/enews/ten-hd-140907.html
|archive-date = 19 September 2007
|df = dmy-all
}}</ref>
Although [[10 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 by [[7HD]]. 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.<ref name="HD">{{cite news
| title = Better late than never – Nine on a high definition
| newspaper = [[The Age]]
| date = 17 March 2008
| url = http://business.theage.com.au/better-late-than-never--nine-on-a-high-definition-20080316-1zry.html
| access-date = 29 June 2008}}</ref>
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, and [[10 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.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/abc-to-launch-new-kids-digital-tv-channel-abc3/story-e6frg996-1225790132286
| title = ABC to launch new kids digital TV channel ABC3
| author = Michael Bodey
| work = [[The Australian]]
| date = 22 October 2009
| access-date = 22 July 2011
}}</ref>
===Television and programming in the 2010s===
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 station [[C31 Adelaide|C31]] received no government assistance or funding to make the transition; this still remains a source of controversy.{{Citation needed|date=November 2016}}
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 as ''[[Underbelly (TV series)|Underbelly]]'' and ''[[Packed to the Rafters]]'', in comparison to a mere $100,000 to purchase one hour of the US produced ''[[Two 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 as ''Review'', ''[[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 (Australian TV channel)|ABC News]] to launch in July 2010.<ref>(21 January 2010). [http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/21/2797640.htm ABC to launch 24-hour news channel]. ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved on 31 March 2012.</ref> 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, the ''ABC News'' launch date was pushed to 22 July 2010.<ref>Travis Kirk (4 July 2010). [http://www.mediaspy.org/report/index.php?p=12781 ABC News 24 will launch this month]. The Spy Report. Retrieved on 31 March 2012.</ref> ''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.<ref>David Knox (19 August 2010). [http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2010/08/new-channel-coming-ceased 7mate.html New channel coming: 7mate]{{Dead link|date=August 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. TV Tonight. Retrieved on 31 March 2012.</ref> The Nine Network has also launched a third digital channel called [[9Gem]], 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.<ref>David Knox (26 August 2010). [http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2010/08/eleven-to-launch-in-early-2011.html ELEVEN to launch in early 2011]. TV Tonight. Retrieved on 31 March 2012.</ref>
In 2011, the Seven Network created history by winning all 40 weeks of a television ratings season for the first time since [[OzTAM]] was established in 2001.<ref name="TV Tonight">{{cite web| url = http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2011/11/and-40-weeks-makes-a-clean-sweep-for-seven.html| title = 40 weeks makes a clean sweep for Seven| access-date = 2011-12-25| date = 2011-11-27| work = [[TV Tonight]]}}</ref>
On 12 December 2012, [[National Indigenous Television|NITV]] started its free-to-air broadcasts under new ownership of SBS.{{Citation needed|date=November 2016}}
On 10 December 2013, the analogue TV shutdown completed all around Australia.<ref name=ABCAnalogshutdown>{{Cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-10/end-of-an-era3a-analogue-tv-switched-off-in-victoria/5145824 |title=Australia's last remaining analogue TV transmitters switched off |work=ABC News |date=10 December 2013}}</ref>
On 19 August 2015, then Communications Minister [[Malcolm Turnbull]] introduced a bill retracting the legal obligation for broadcasters to broadcast their primary channel in standard definition.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://malcolmturnbull.com.au/media/second-reading-broadcasting-legislation-amendment-bill-2015|title=Second Reading: Broadcasting Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 {{!}} Malcolm Turnbull MP|website=Malcolm Turnbull MP|access-date=2016-11-27}}</ref>
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 relaunched [[10 HD]] on Channel 13.
On 10 May 2016, the Seven Network relaunched [[7HD]] 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.
===Television and programming in the 2020s===
{{unsourced section|date=July 2022}}
With the rapid spread of [[COVID-19]] in the early months of 2020, television production in Australia (as it did worldwide) suffered greatly due to health requirements; many programs such as ''Neighbours'' and ''Home 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) 'health [[COVID-19 lockdowns|lockdown]]s' 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, with ''Neighbours'' and ''Home and Away'' restarting production in October/November 2021.
==Broadcasting==
{{further|Television broadcasting in Australia|Regional television in Australia|List of Australian television callsigns}}
[[File:7 Melbourne, Docklands.jpg|thumb|[[Seven Network]]'s broadcast centre in the [[Melbourne Docklands]] area]]
[[Television broadcasting in Australia]] is currently available as [[digital television|digital]], [[colour television|colour]] television, via a range of means including [[terrestrial television|terrestrial]], [[satellite television|satellite]], and [[CATV|cable television]] services. Both [[free-to-air]] and [[Pay TV|subscription]] channels/networks are available. [[analogue television|Analogue]] television has been phased out, with the last service being switched off in December 2013.<ref name=ABCAnalogshutdown/>
In most areas, there is a choice of three [[free-to-air]] commercial broadcasters as well as two national public broadcasters, the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] and the [[Special Broadcasting Service]]. A third, recently established, [[National Indigenous Television]] service is available in many remote areas.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tuning In |publisher=[[National Indigenous Television]] |year=2007 |access-date=25 July 2007 |url=http://nitv.org.au/tuning-in/ }}</ref>
Commercial television is dominated by three major metropolitan-based networks, the [[Seven Network]], [[Network Ten|Network 10]], which own stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, and the [[Nine 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 and [[STQ|Queensland]] and Nine owns and operates its regional station [[NBN (TV station)|NBN]] 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 by [[Southern Cross Austereo]] and [[Imparja Television]].<ref>{{cite web |publisher=[[Australian Communications and Media Authority]] |title=Population figures |date=16 April 2007 |access-date=25 April 2007 |url=http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD//pc=PC_90247 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070904192945/http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_90247 |archive-date=4 September 2007 |url-status=dead|df=dmy-all }}</ref> Some regional centres have three commercial broadcasters, while others — such as regional [[Western Australia]] and remote central & eastern Australia — have two, and others — such as [[Mount Gambier]] and [[Broken Hill]] — have only one commercial broadcaster. In two-broadcaster markets, the two incumbent commercial broadcasters applied for and were granted a third,{{clarify|date=March 2021}}<!-- an additional license each, or one jointly, or one between them?--> [[digital terrestrial television|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 including [[Tasmanian Digital Television]], [[Mildura Digital Television]], [[Darwin Digital Television]] and [[West Digital Television]].<ref>{{cite web |publisher=[[Australian Communications and Media Authority]] |title=Section 38B register |date=5 June 2007 |access-date=25 April 2007 |url=http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD//pc=PC_90041 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070913192732/http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD//pc=PC_90041 |archive-date=13 September 2007 |url-status=dead|df=dmy-all }}</ref>
[[Subscription television in Australia]] is provided in most areas by [[Foxtel]] with [[Optus Television]] also serving Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. A number of smaller operators including [[SelecTV (Australian television)|SelecTV]], [[TransACT]], [[UBI World TV]], and [[Neighbourhood 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 the [[World Movies]] channel owned by a consortium including [[SBS Television]] and companies owned by [[Kerry Stokes]] and the [[Australian Radio Network]].
Community television progressively launched between the 1980s to the 2000s. The sector is represented nationally by the [[Community Broadcasting Association of Australia]].<ref name="CBAA">{{cite web
|title = About the CBAAA
|publisher = [[Community Broadcasting Association of Australia]]
|url = http://www.cbaa.org.au/content.php/10.html
|access-date = 29 July 2007
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070710093908/http://www.cbaa.org.au/content.php/10.html
|archive-date = 10 July 2007
|url-status=dead
|df = dmy-all
}}</ref> Community stations include [[Television Sydney|TVS]], [[C31 Melbourne]], [[31 Brisbane]], [[C31 Adelaide]] and [[Access 31]]; many recognisable mainstream personalities originated from community television, including [[Rove McManus]] and [[Wil Anderson]] and [[Kayne Tremills]]
==Cable television==
{{see also|Subscription television in Australia}}
Cable television has been available in Australia since the early 1990s, with [[Galaxy (Australian television)|Galaxy TV]] being the first. It became insolvent in 1997, due to decreasing popularity after the launch of [[Foxtel]] and [[Austar]] 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 include [[TransACT]], [[Neighbourhood Cable]], and [[SelecTV (Australian television)|SelecTV]].
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 of [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]]. TransACT is only available in [[Canberra]], 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 of [[Geelong]], [[Ballarat]] and [[Mildura, Victoria|Mildura]] that are reached by [[Neighbourhood Cable]].
==Satellite television==
[[File:ABS-5368.0-InternationalTradeInGoodsServicesAustralia-MerchandiseImportsBalancePaymentsBroadEconomicCategoryCustomsValue-TelevisionReceivers-A1829731V.svg|thumb|300px|The value of television receiver imports ($million per month) since 1989.]]
[[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 was [[Galaxy (Australian television)|Galaxy]], which was later taken over by cable television giant [[Foxtel]], 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 was [[Optus Vision]], while rural areas are served by [[Austar]], both of which just rebroadcast Foxtel as of 2005. In 2006 [[SelecTV (Australian television)|SelecTV]] began operating, aiming at providing comparatively low-cost packages and catering to specialised market segments.
==Internet television==
{{see also|Internet television in Australia}}
Internet television in Australia is the digital distribution of movies and television content via the Internet. In [[Australia]], [[internet television]] is provided by a number of generalist, subscription-based [[Streaming media|streaming service]] providers, in addition to several niche providers that focus on specific genres. Australia's five major [[free-to-air television]] networks also all offer [[catch 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.
==Broadcasting programming synopsis==
Australia has produced numerous notable television series and miniseries, with the most prominent programs coming from the comedy, police, and medical drama [[genre]]s.
===Serials and dramas===
One of the earliest Australian police drama series was ''[[Homicide (Australian TV series)|Homicide]]'', produced in Melbourne by [[Crawford Productions]], widely viewed as having revolutionised Australian television drama production. It was followed by ''[[Division 4]]'' and ''[[Matlock Police]]'', which also enjoyed great popularity and long runs both locally and overseas. Other successful police drama series have included ''[[Cop Shop]]'', ''[[Police Rescue]]'', ''[[Blue Heelers]]'', ''[[Water Rats (TV series)|Water Rats]]'' and ''[[Stingers (TV series)|Stingers]]''. Medical dramas have also proved popular with audiences, including series such as ''[[A Country Practice]]'', ''[[The Flying Doctors]]'', ''[[GP (TV series)|GP]]'' and ''[[All Saints (TV series)|All Saints]]''.
===Mini-serials===
Notable miniseries have included ''[[Against the Wind (miniseries)|Against the Wind]]'', ''[[All the Rivers Run]]'', ''[[Bodyline (miniseries)|Bodyline]]'', ''[[Brides of Christ (TV miniseries)|Brides of Christ]]'', ''[[The Dismissal (miniseries)|The Dismissal]]'' and ''The Timeless Land'', and in more recent times ''[[Curtin (2007 film)|Curtin]]'', ''[[Bastard Boys]]'' and ''[[The Slap (Australian TV series)|The Slap]]''.
===Soap opera===
Australian soap opera success began with ''[[Bellbird (TV series)|Bellbird]]'' in 1967 which was a moderate but consistent success. Following this the huge success of ''[[Number 96 (TV series)|Number 96]]'' in 1972 prompted creation of the similar ''[[The Box (Australian TV series)|The Box]]'' in 1974. These serials were all cancelled in 1977. Following this successful serials included ''[[The Young Doctors]]'', ''[[The Sullivans]]'', ''[[Prisoner (TV series)|Prisoner]]'', ''[[Sons and Daughters (Australian TV series)|Sons and Daughters]]'', ''[[Neighbours]]'' and ''[[Home and Away]]''. This later group were also screened internationally, finding particular success in the United Kingdom.
===Comedy===
Comedy series have included ''[[The Aunty Jack Show]]'', ''[[The Paul Hogan Show]]'', ''[[Norman Gunston|The Norman Gunston Show]]'', and more recently ''[[The D-Generation]]'', ''[[Frontline (Australian TV series)|Frontline]]'', ''[[The Glass House (2001 TV series)|The Glass House]]'', ''[[Bogan Hunters]]'', ''[[Summer Heights High]]'', ''[[Please Like Me]]'' and popular series ''[[Thank 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 like ''[[Kath & Kim (Australian TV series)|Kath & Kim]]'' to help produce, direct, star, or serve as consultants on their versions.
===Scheduling===
The scheduling for each network is quite diverse: while the [[Seven 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 while [[ABC TV (Australian TV channel)|ABC]] has news at 7:00 pm and [[SBS (Australian TV channel)|SBS]] has world news at 6:30 pm. The [[prime time|primetime]] 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 while [[Network 10|10]] 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 on [[ABC TV Plus]] and [[ABC Me]] there are children's programming, also on [[9Go!]] and [[10 Shake|Nickelodeon]], Australian children's programming currently airs on [[7flix]], [[9Go!]] and [[10 Shake|Nickelodeon]], 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 that [[South Australia]] and the [[Northern Territory]] sees programming half an hour behind [[Australian Eastern Standard Time|Australian Eastern Time]], while in [[Western 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 in [[Western Australia]] (with the notable exception of ''[[The 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 as ''[[The Voice Australia|The Voice]]''.
One exception to this rule are subscription channels, which always run on [[Australian Eastern Standard Time|Australian Eastern Time]] regardless of the local service or time zone. The recent introduction of timeshift channels delayed two hours for all viewers, particularly on [[Foxtel]], 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 (Australian TV channel)|ABC News]] is live across the nation with no delay, the only free-to-air television channel to do this.
==News and current affairs==
===News===
Both national public broadcasters, the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]] and [[Special Broadcasting Service|SBS]], produce news services. The ABC provides both local and national news bulletins in the form of ''[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]'' at 5:30pm, 7pm and ''[[The Midday Report]]'', presented from Sydney and state capitals. [[SBS (Australian TV channel)|SBS]] broadcasts a nightly hour-long ''[[SBS World News|World 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 the [[Seven Network]] and [[Nine Network]] have prompted fierce ratings competition.<ref>{{cite web |title=Seven takes on Nine |url=http://www.bandt.com.au/news/aa/0c02c5aa.asp |date=14 February 2005 |access-date=25 July 2007 |publisher=B&T |author=Felicity Shea |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926222755/http://www.bandt.com.au/news/aa/0c02c5aa.asp |archive-date=26 September 2007 |url-status=dead|df=dmy-all }}</ref> For most years up until the mid-1990's ''[[Nine News]]'' was traditionally the highest-rating news service in Australia, but in 2005 it was overtaken by ''[[Seven News]]'' before it regained the lead on a national basis in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tvtonight.com.au/2013/08/nine-news-claims-the-year.html|title=Nine News claims the year|website=[[TV Tonight]]|first=David|last=Knox|date=11 August 2013|access-date=19 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://tvtonight.com.au/2014/08/nine-news-claims-2014-ratings-crown-over-seven.html|title=Nine News claims 2014 ratings crown over Seven|website=[[TV Tonight]]|first=David|last=Knox|date=25 August 2014|access-date=19 May 2017}}</ref>
''[[Seven News]]'' produces ''Seven Early News, Seven Morning News, Seven News at 4'' and ''Seven News'' local bulletins in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, [[Cairns]], [[Townsville]] and [[Mackay, Queensland|Mackay]]. The network's news bulletins and breakfast program ''[[Sunrise (Australian TV program)|Sunrise]]'' compete directly with the Nine Network's offerings, which include ''[[Today (1982 TV program)|Today]]'' and ''Nine Morning News'', ''Nine Afternoon News'' and ''Nine News'' local bulletins. ''[[10 News First]]'' currently produces a local hour-long weeknight bulletin of ''10 News First'' and on weekends it airs a national hour-long bulletin.
In Australia, there are two local 24-hour news channels. The [[ABC News (TV channel)|ABC 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 on [[Foxtel]], [[Austar]], and [[Optus TV]]. The subscription based television channel draws on the resources of its shareholders news services, using content from Seven News, Nine News and [[Sky 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]] produces 20 bulletins in parts of [[New South Wales]], [[Victoria, Australia|Victoria]], [[Queensland]], [[South Australia]], and [[Western Australia]]. [[NBN (TV station)|NBN]] is the only regional broadcaster to produce a bulletin on both weeknights and weekends, in an hour-long format presented from [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]] and seen across northern [[New South Wales]]. [[Seven Network|Seven]] produces news updates throughout regional New South Wales and Victoria, with its sister station producing Seven News for Western Australia. In the [[Northern Territory]], [[Imparja Television]] shows [[Imparja Television#News|Imparja National News]]. [[Seven (Southern Cross Austereo)|Southern Cross Seven]] produces a bulletin for [[Tasmania]] and regional South Australia. In addition [[Sky News Australia]] has a regional free-to-air news channel called [[Sky News Regional]] on digital channels 53 and 56 in partnership with [[Southern Cross Austereo]] and [[WIN Television]] on their TV stations.
===Current affairs===
Current affairs programming is shown in a broad range of formats, ranging between [[tabloid television|tabloid]]-style current affairs shows to investigative programs such as ''[[Four Corners (Australian TV program)|Four Corners]]''.
[[ABC TV (Australian TV channel)|ABC]] has had a long history of producing current affairs programs, including the award-winning ''[[This 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-1980s ''[[The 7.30 Report]]'' was launched in state-based editions (these were combined into a national program hosted by [[Kerry O'Brien (journalist)|Kerry O'Brien]] in 1995). ''[[Four Corners (Australian TV program)|Four Corners]]'', first seen in 1961, an investigative documentary series modelled on the [[BBC]]'s ''[[Panorama (TV series)|Panorama]]'', has also won many awards and broken stories previously not covered by other media outlets.
Other current affairs programs include news and analysis program ''[[Lateline]]'', ''[[7.30]]'', ''[[Foreign Correspondent (TV series)|Foreign Correspondent]]'', ''[[Insiders (Australian TV program)|Insiders]]'', ''[[Offsiders]]'' and ''[[Australia Wide]]''.
[[SBS (Australian TV channel)|SBS]] also shows a number of current affairs programs, such as ''[[Dateline (Australian TV program)|Dateline]]'', the country's longest-running international current affairs program, launched in 1984. ''[[Insight (Australian TV program)|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 titled ''[[Living Black]]'', which covers issues relevant to Australia's [[Indigenous Australians|indigenous]] community.
For many years up until the mid-nineties, the Nine Network had been the ratings leader in Australia, typically followed by the [[Seven Network]] and [[Network 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,<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article-pacificislands.asp?parentid=70786
|title = Nine scores ratings goal on back of league draw
|access-date = 6 June 2007
|date = 29 May 2007
|work = [[The Age]]
|publisher = AsiaMedia
|url-status=dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080312150751/http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article-pacificislands.asp?parentid=70786
|archive-date = 12 March 2008
|df = dmy-all
}}</ref> and in 2011, it became the first television network since [[OzTam]]'s launch in 2001 to win all 40 weeks in a ratings season.<ref name="TV Tonight"/> As of 2016, it has won the last ten ratings seasons consecutively.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.adnews.com.au/news/ratings-scorecard-seven-wins-total-nine-claims-demos-ten-talks-up-growth|title=Ratings scorecard: Seven wins total, Nine claims demos, Ten talks up growth|publisher=AdNews|first=Arvind|last=Hickman|date=28 November 2016|access-date=14 April 2017}}</ref> 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.
==Regulation==
{{Main|Regulations on television programming in Australia}}
Content on Australian television is regulated by the [[Australian Communications and Media Authority]]. All codes of practice submitted to the Australian Communications and Media Authority are reviewed by the public prior to acceptance.<ref name="ACMAContent">{{cite web
|title = Content regulation
|publisher = [[Australian Communications and Media Authority]]
|url = http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD//pc=PC_90078
|date = 15 February 2007
|access-date = 24 July 2007
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070902105523/http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_90078
|archive-date = 2 September 2007
|url-status=dead
|df = dmy-all
}}</ref> 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]], and [[Pay TV|subscription television]].<ref name="ACMAList">{{cite web
|title = Broadcasting industry codes of practice
|publisher = [[Australian Communications and Media Authority]]
|url = http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD//pc=PC_91792
|date = 15 February 2007
|access-date = 24 July 2007
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070904181919/http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_91792
|archive-date = 4 September 2007
|url-status=dead
|df = dmy-all
}}</ref>
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 to [[Australian media]]).<ref name="ACMACodes">{{cite web
|title = Regulating television broadcasters
|publisher = [[Australian Communications and Media Authority]]
|url = http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD//pc=PC_91868
|date = 15 February 2007
|access-date = 24 July 2007
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070904185831/http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_91868
|archive-date = 4 September 2007
|url-status=dead
|df = dmy-all
}}</ref>
Genre restrictions imposed by the Australian [[Government of Australia|government]] on digital multichanneling were lifted along with the media ownership laws passed through the [[Parliament of Australia]] on 18 October 2006.<ref>{{cite news
| url = https://www.theguardian.com/australia/story/0,,1925263,00.html
| title = Australia opens up media investment
| access-date = 31 March 2007
| date = 18 October 2006
| work = MediaGuardian.co.uk
| publisher = guardian.co.uk
| location=London
| first=Julia
| last=Day
}}</ref> 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.
==See also==
{{Portal|Television|Australia}}
*[[Digital television in Australia]]
*[[High-definition television in Australia]]
*[[Internet television in Australia]]
*[[Subscription television in Australia]]
*[[History of television]]
*[[List of digital television channels in Australia]]
==References==
| 