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Television in Australia

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Television in Australia began experimentally as early as 1929 in Melbourne with radio stations 3DB and 3UZ, and 2UE in Sydney, using the Radiovision system by Gilbert Miles and Donald McDonald,[1][2][3] and later from other locations, such as Brisbane in 1934.[4][5]

Mainstream television was launched on 16 September 1956 in Willoughby, New South Wales, with Nine Network station TCN-9 Sydney. The new medium was introduced by advertising executive Bruce Gyngell with the words "Good evening, and welcome to television",[6] and has since seen the transition to colour and digital television.[7]

Bruce Gyngell re-enacts his introduction to the first regular television broadcast service to the residents of Sydney on TCN-9.

Local programs, over the years, have included a broad range of comedy, sport, and in particular drama series, in addition to news and current affairs. The industry is regulated by the Australian 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.

History

Origins: Early transmission trials

In 1885, Henry Sutton developed a Telephane for closed circuit transmission of pictures via telegraph wires, based on the Nipkow spinning disk system, so that the Melbourne Cup could be seen in Ballarat. Reports differ on whether the Telephane was successfully implemented.[8][9][10][11]

The first television broadcast in Australia took place on 30 September 1929 at the Menzies Hotel in Melbourne, using the electro-mechanical Radiovision 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 the Wickham Terrace Observatory Tower.[14][15][16] The programs included news headlines, still pictures and silent movies such as the temperance film Horrors 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.

Early demonstrations

Melbourne "housewife" Edna Everage (a comic creation of performing artist Barry Humphries), first appeared on Australian television in the 1950s.

Television commenced in the United States and in the United Kingdom before World 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, the BBC, 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, the Australian Labor Government under Ben Chifley, opted to follow the British model, on the advice from the Postmaster-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. The Broadcasting Act 1948 specifically prohibited the granting of commercial TV licences, a decision that the Liberal-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 incoming Robert 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 the Shell 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, the Astor 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 the Broadcasting 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 the Australian 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 the Australian 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 the Postmaster-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 station Double Jay).

In 1954, the Menzies Government formally announced the introduction of the new two-tiered TV system—a government-funded service run by the ABC, and two commercial services in Sydney and Melbourne, with the 1956 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 by ABV-2 then GTV9 on 19 January 1957. Sydney station ABN-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 Mrs Edna Everage (a comic creation of performing artist Barry Humphries) was one of the programmes screened on HSV-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 the kinescope 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 the telecine 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 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.[30]

SBS also shows a number of current affairs programs, such as Dateline, 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 titled Living Black, which covers issues relevant to Australia's indigenous community.

There are a number of commercial current affairs programs. The Seven Network, in addition to Sunrise, broadcasts Today Tonight, a tabloid current affairs program, every weeknight after its 6pm news bulletin. On the Nine Network, A Current Affair, first shown in 1971, competes directly with Today Tonight and has, since Ray Martin began presenting in 1994, provided a similar mix of content. On Sundays, 60 Minutes features a number of stories produced both locally and from its US counterpart. In the morning Sunday covers local and overseas news, politics, and current affairs, in addition to film reviews, politics, arts, and music.

Political and interview program The Bolt Report is also shown on Sunday mornings, on Network 10.

On subscription television, Sky News Australia airs a number of news commentary and analysis shows such as Agenda, Sportsline, Sky Business Report, and Sky News Eco Report. A local version of Sky News Weather Channel was launched in 1999, joined in 2006 by Fox Sports News, a 24-hour sports news channel. Squawk Australia, a business news program shown from 6.00am, is seen on CNBC Asia.

Indigenous television

In the 21st century, and especially the 2010s, programmes and series by and about Indigenous 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.[31]

The last episode of the second series of Get Krack!n, featuring Miranda Tapsell and Nakkiah Lui and co-written by Lui, trended on Twitter, outraged right wing commentator Andrew Bolt, and was widely lauded as hilarious, ground-breaking, hard-hitting satire.[32][33][34]

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.[35]

Ratings

Further information: Television ratings in Australia
Australian prime time television ratings (major cities)
Network 2008 [36] 2009 [37] 2010 [38] 2014 [39]
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 commercial television 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 during Easter 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 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.

References

  1. ^ "Australian TV – The First 25 Years", by Peter Bielby, page 173. ISBN 0-17-005998-7
  2. ^ Linking a Nation Chapter 9 – Australian Heritage Council
  3. ^ Peter Luck, 50 Years of Australian Television ISBN 1-74110-367-3 p. 15
  4. ^ "Birth of Our Nation". Brisbane Courier Mail. Archived from the original on 15 February 2008.
  5. ^ a b Carty, Bruce, On the Air: Australian Radio History, privately published, 2011, Gosford, NSW
  6. ^ McWhirter, Erin (5 September 2006). "Australia celebrates 50 years of television". News Limited. Retrieved 1 August 2007.
  7. ^ "Ready, Set, Go to Digital – A Digital Action Plan for Australia" (Press release). DCITA. 23 November 2008. Archived from the original on 5 September 2007. Retrieved 19 August 2007.
  8. ^ Henry Sutton bio Archived 1 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine – ACMI – Australian Centre for the Moving Image
  9. ^ Henry Sutton bio – IEEE Global History Network.
  10. ^ Henry Sutton bio – Australian Dictionary of Biography Online – ANU
  11. ^ 1885 Telephane system diagrams – Telegraphic Journal and Electrical Review 7 November 1890
  12. ^ Television: The Elusive Goal by Kevin Poulter. SiliconChip Australia 13 June 2006.
  13. ^ Australian Heritage magazine Spring 2009, pages 61–67.
  14. ^ a b TV Times makes a Sentimental Journey Archived 12 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine – TV Times 1961, 4 May. Page 5
  15. ^ Davies, Elizabeth A. (2009). Film, television and the urban experience: A case study of Brisbane (PDF) (Thesis). Griffith University. pp121-123
  16. ^ Porter, Charles (1961). "Broadcasting in Queensland" (PDF). Journal of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland. pp. 751, 760
  17. ^ AU (21 January 2010). "ABC Archives photo stream". Flickr.com. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  18. ^ Old Windmill Brisbane Australia's first television transmission 1934 Archived 17 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine – TVLand
  19. ^ SmartLives – Did You Know Archived 22 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine Qld govt
  20. ^ "The History of Australian Television – The Fifties". television.au. 2006. Retrieved 24 July 2007.
  21. ^ Doubts raised over Australia's 'first face' on TV Archived 31 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine – ABC News – 16 September 2006
  22. ^ a b c Curthoys, Ann (1991). "Television before television". Continuum: Journal of Media & Culture Studies. 4 (2): 152–170. doi:10.1080/10304319109388204.
  23. ^ Glenn Stevens, "The Road to Recovery", Address to the Australian Institute of Company Directors Directors Luncheon, Adelaide, 21 April 2009 Archived 14 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  24. ^ (8 April 1949). Public Television Screening. The Sydney Morning Herald, via Trove. Retrieved on 31 March 2012.
  25. ^ (6 March 1950). Video tour starts at Bendigo. The Argus. Retrieved on 31 March 2012.
  26. ^ Australian Television: the first 24 years, Melbourne: Nelsen/Cinema Papers, 1980, p. 3
  27. ^ "Birth of a notion". The Sydney Morning Herald. 11 September 2006. Retrieved 23 September 2007.
  28. ^ "Linking a Nation: Australia's Transport and Communications". Australian Heritage Council. 2003. Archived from the original on 10 October 2007. Retrieved 23 September 2007.
  29. ^ Wendy Lewis, Simon Balderstone and John Bowan (2006). Events That Shaped Australia. New Holland. pp. 207–211. ISBN 978-1-74110-492-9.
  30. ^ "ABC Radio National – The Science Show, 30 December 2006 – "Celebrating 50 years of television"". Abc.net.au. 5 September 2006. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  31. ^ Sebbens, Shari (1 February 2020). "The golden age of Indigenous television is here – and it's changed Australia forever". the Guardian. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  32. ^ "Small screen highlights: THAT episode of Get Krack!n". Screenhub Australia. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  33. ^ Bond, Nick (28 March 2019). "'Flawless fury': Viewers praise 'genius' breakfast TV take-down". NewsComAu. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  34. ^ Moran, Robert (27 March 2019). "ABC's Get Krack!n bows out with a bang in its last episode ever". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  35. ^ "NITV reveals 2016 schedule and new look brand". IF. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  36. ^ 2008. Metropolitan TV Share of All Viewing – All Homes (D1) – 5 City Share Report. Oztam. Retrieved on 31 March 2012.
  37. ^ 2009. Metropolitan TV Share of All Viewing – All Homes (D1) – 5 City Share Report. Oztam. Retrieved on 31 March 2012.
  38. ^ 2010. Metropolitan TV Share of All Viewing – All Homes (D1) – 5 City Share Report. Oztam. Retrieved on 31 March 2012.
  39. ^ 2014. Metropolitan TV Share of All Viewing – All Homes (D1) – 5 City Share Report Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Oztam. Retrieved on 6 November 2015.

External links

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