March 2009 archive

SBS adds to digital offering

The managing director of SBS, Shaun Brown, has announced plans to relaunch the network’s digital channel currently known as SBS World News Channel. Speaking at the Get Ready for Digital conference in Sydney, Mr Brown announced that the new channel, SBS2, will replace the World News Channel on 1 June. SBS2 will feature a mix …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2009/03/sbs-adds-to-digital-offering.html

TV’s gold rush begins early

Who was the most popular personality on Australian television in 2008? The list of nominees for the major award for this year’s TV Week Logie Awards has found itself inadvertently promoted in advance of the awards’ launch party scheduled for today. The Nine Network yesterday (Sunday) ran advertisements for the special edition of TV Week, …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2009/03/tvs-gold-rush-begins-early.html

1979: March 31-April 6

TV’s Yorkshire terrier British TV host Michael Parkinson (pictured) has conducted more than 500 interviews with some of the world’s most famous people and created many memorable moments – he once got stuck into Hollywood actor John Wayne over his political persuasions, almost got a thumping by an outraged Muhammed Ali, and had his belly-button …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2009/03/1979-march-31-april-6.html

Aggregation: Regional TV’s bold new era

Given a lot of recent discussion about the advent of the digital multi-channelling environment and the implications that it has for viewers, particularly outside the major metropolitan areas, it is interesting to see that two decades ago regional television was facing an earlier journey into a new era. In the 1980s the Federal Government devised …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2009/03/aggregation-regional-tvs-bold-new-era.html

The wait is over tonight for ONE

Network Ten’s new 24-hour all-sports digital channel OneHD launches tonight (Thursday 26 March) at 7.00pm in Melbourne and 7.30pm in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. After the Welcome To One special, the first event to be broadcast on OneHD in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth will be tonight’s opening round AFL clash between Richmond and Carlton …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2009/03/the-wait-is-over-tonight-for-one.html

WIN’s ten years out west

It is now ten years since regional network WIN spread to Western Australia.  The station was originally due to launch on Friday 26 March 1999 but at the last minute decided to begin broadcasting a day earlier to broadcast news bulletins with particular attention to Cyclone Vance that had swept across the state just days …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2009/03/wins-ten-years-out-west.html

Peter Wherrett

Former ABC television presenter Peter Wherrett (pictured) has died at the age of 72. Born in 1936 and raised in the Sydney suburb of Marrickville, Wherrett later revealed in the biography Desirelines, written with his brother Richard, that he had a troubled childhood with an alcoholic father. A motoring enthusiast from a young age, Wherrett …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2009/03/peter-wherrett.html

Nine comes to the digital party

Since 2006, the commercial networks have all known that from 1 January 2009 they would be allowed to open an additional channel on the digital platform.  Despite the three-year advance notice, Nine Network chief David Gyngell has only now made a statement, of sorts, that they will be launching a digital-only channel to complement its …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2009/03/nine-comes-to-the-digital-party.html

More episodes of Number 96 to DVD

The blog Have Phaser Will Travel, authored by Number 96 fan and historian Ian McLean, tells us that there will be a third DVD release of the 1970s hit series. Like the show’s second DVD release from last year, the new release will feature 32 episodes in all their ‘70s colourful glory – picking up …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2009/03/more-episodes-of-number-96-to-dvd.html

1979: March 24-30

Cover: Tom Baker (Doctor Who)  Who will play Dame Nellie? Several Australian actresses are hoping for the lead role in the Grundy Organisation’s proposed eight-part mini-series on the life of Australia’s first great opera singer, Dame Nellie Melba.  The mini-series, to be made on location in Australia, United States, United Kingdom and Europe, will be …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2009/03/1979-march-24-30.html