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1980-1989

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The Comedy Company sparked a revival of sketch comedy on Australian TV

The decade where greed was good… and television was leading the way.  Huge sums of money were spent on expensive productions, huge pay packets and improved technology and production values.   Australian TV still couldn’t quite match the glamour of the Americans, so it was a soap set in middle suburban Australia that put it back in the world spotlight.

Anne Semler, Arcade

  • January 20: Melbourne’s ATV0 changes to ATV10. The 0-10 Network changes its name to Network Ten. The new-look network launches its expensive evening soap opera Arcade, from the same producers of the successful Number 96. Costing the network $3 million to produce, as well as one of the largest advertising campaigns ever mounted for a new series, it was rejected by viewers and was axed after 38 episodes.
  • May: The Australian Broadcasting Tribunal approves the sale of Brisbane channel TVQ0 to a joint venture between Ampol and Sydney radio station 2SM.
  • The 1980 Moscow Olympics are televised on Seven, via satellite.
  • July 14: Sale Of The Century, a remake of the 1970s Great Temptation hosted by Tony Barber and Victoria Nicolls, starts on Nine and becomes the big hit of the year.
  • August: TV Times and TV Guide magazines are amalgamated into TV Week.
  • September: The Australian Broadcasting Tribunal refuses the takeover of Melbourne channel ATV10 by Rupert Murdoch’s News Limited.
  • October 24 (United Nations Day): Channel 0/28, the new TV channel of the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), is opened in Sydney and Melbourne. Simulcast on both VHF channel 0 and UHF channel 28 frequencies, it is the first major broadcaster to use the UHF frequency band in Australia.
  • TV Week Gold Logie Winner: Mike Walsh (The Mike Walsh Show, Nine)

TV turns 25

1981:

  • February 23: Good Morning Australia, with Gordon Elliott and Sue Kellaway (later replaced by Kerri Anne Kennerley), premieres on Ten.
  • April 10: The TV Week Logie Awards are televised on Network Ten for the first time.
  • July 27: Wheel Of Fortune, produced by Grundy Productions at the studios of ADS7 Adelaide, premieres.
  • July 29: The wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer is televised on ABC and almost every commercial television station in Australia.
  • September 16: Nine celebrates 25 years of television in Australia.
  • November 15: The first edition of Nine Network current affairs program Sunday
  • Brian Wenzel and Lorrae Desmond, A Country Practice

    November: Seven premieres its new evening drama A Country Practice.

  • December: After a two-year battle, Rupert Murdoch’s News Limited finally gains control of ATV10 Melbourne after appealing the decision by the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal which blocked the takeover.
  • TV Week Gold Logie Winner: Bert Newton (The Don Lane Show and New Faces, Nine)
1982:
  • January 18: Seven premieres drama series Sons And Daughters. The series, produced by Grundy Productions, becomes an immediate success in Australia and overseas and runs for six years.
  • February: Rupert Murdoch’s Network Ten makes a successful $9.2m bid for the rights to televise the 1984 Olympic Games from Los Angeles. Ten was up against a Seven Network bid and a joint Nine Network-ABC bid.
  • February: Nine launches early morning news bulletin National News Today. In June it is replaced with the National Today Show with Steve Liebmann and Sue Kellaway.
  • Nine, Seven and ABC conduct test transmissions of programs in stereo sound.
  • March 21: Former Melbourne newsreader Jana Wendt joins Nine’s 60 Minutes team as its first female reporter.
  • July: ABC celebrates 50 years of broadcasting, and Nine’s The Mike Walsh Show celebrates 2000 episodes.
  • September: ABC and Nine jointly televise the 1982 Commonwealth Games from Brisbane.
  • Bert Newton with Olivia Newton-John and Britt Ekland

    TV Week Gold Logie Winner: Bert Newton (The Don Lane Show and New Faces, Nine)

1983:
  • March 10: The final episode of The Sullivans airs on Nine.
  • March 30: The Young Doctors ends on Nine after a record-breaking 1396 episodes.
  • April 22: The 25th Anniversary TV Week Logie Awards are telecast on Network Ten.
  • April 24: The Eurovision Song Contest makes its Australian TV debut with a delayed telecast on Channel 0/28.
  • October 14: Channel 0/28 becomes Network 0/28 and commences transmission in Canberra.
  • October 29: The Seven Network and various regional stations broadcast a selection of movies and TV programs in 3D in a 2-hour experiment
  • TV Week Gold Logie Winner: Daryl Somers (Hey Hey It’s Saturday and Family Feud, Nine)
1984:
  • January: Alan Bond purchases STW9 Perth for just under $50 million.
  • January 30: Ten launches its new afternoon game show Perfect Match with Greg Evans and Debbie Newsome, recording the highest ratings ever for the 5.30 timeslot.
  • February 3-4: Ten produces Australia’s first national telethon, a 26-hour effort to raise funds for Australia’s Olympic athletes.
  • February 18: Hey Hey It’s Saturday moves from its morning timeslot to the 9.30pm timeslot.
  • June: Christopher Skase’s Qintex Group purchases Brisbane channel TVQ0.
  • July: Ten televises the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics live via satellite.
  • October 19: Current affairs program Dateline begins on Network 0/28.
  • TV Week Gold Logie Winner: Bert Newton (The Don Lane Show and New Faces, Nine)

Neighbours

1985:

  • February 11:  Midday With Ray Martin replaces The Mike Walsh Show on Nine, with the latter moving to a prime-time format.
  • February 18:  Network 0/28 becomes SBS and commences daytime program transmission.
  • March 4:  ABC launches The National, a revamped news and current affairs format replacing the traditional 7pm state-based news bulletins and the former current affairs program Nationwide. The new format, costing the national broadcaster a budgeted $25 million, turned out to be an expensive failure and lasted less than twelve months..
  • March 4:  Seven’s affiliation to NBC and CNN news services in the United States leads to News Overnight, a nightly six-hour package of news and current affairs programming direct via satellite.
  • March 18:  Neighbours begins on the Seven Network.  Six months later it is axed by Seven and soon picked up by Ten.
  • June 8: Hey Hey It’s Saturday moves to the earlier evening timeslot of 6.30pm.
  • June 30:  SBS expands to Brisbane, Adelaide, Gold Coast, Wollongong and Newcastle.
  • July 13-14:  ABC televises the worldwide Live Aid event, featuring concerts held around the world.
  • August 8: The final episode of The Mike Walsh Show, ending a 12-year run.
  • August: The AUSSAT satellites are launched. In October ABC starts test transmission of its radio and TV networks via satellite to remote areas in rural Australia. The ABC service is officially inaugurated in January 1986.
  • HSV7 screens a late night sketch comedy series The Eleventh Hour, featuring a number of performers who later appear in The Comedy Company and Fast Forward
  • TV Week Gold Logie Winner: Rowena Wallace (Sons And Daughters, Seven)
1986:
  • January 5: SBS ceases VHF transmissions on Channel 0 in Sydney and Melbourne, becoming the first sole UHF network in Australia.
  • January 20:  Neighbours begins on Ten and soon dominates the 7pm timeslot.
  • March 16: SBS expands into Perth and Hobart.
  • The 1986 Commonwealth Games are telecast live on ABC from Edinburgh, Scotland.
  • October 27: Neighbours screens for the first time on the BBC.
  • October 30:  The Movie Show begins on SBS
  • TV Week Gold Logie Winner: Daryl Somers (Hey Hey It’s Saturday and Blankety Blanks, Nine)

1987:

  • March: The Herald and Weekly Times sells HSV7 to Sydney-based Fairfax Group, owner of ATN7 Sydney. The new management axes virtually all Melbourne-based programming from HSV7 in favour of networked programming from Sydney. Newsreader Mal Walden is axed from Seven National News and replaced by former STW9 newsreader Greg Pearce. The revamped Seven National News is snubbed by Melbourne viewers, with ratings as low as zero. Walden joins ATV10’s Eyewitness News to high ratings.
  • MTV

    April:  ABC launches its overnight music video program Rage. Ten launches a similar program Nightshift and Nine launches its new music program MTV.

  • July 19:  The Countdown Music And Video Awards serve as the farewell for Countdown after a 13 year run on ABC.
  • July 24: Christopher Skase’s Universal Telecasters purchases Seven Network stations ATN7 Sydney, HSV7 Melbourne and BTQ7 Brisbane from Fairfax for $780 million.
  • September 17: Darling Downs Telecasters, owner of DDQ10 Toowoomba, purchases TVQ0 Brisbane from Christopher Skase for $123 million, and announces plans to convert the station to the Channel 10 frequency.
  • September:  Burke’s Backyard, the first of the long line of prime-time “infotainment” programs on commercial television, premieres on Nine.
  • December 27:  In a historic change, Adelaide’s ADS7 changes to ADS10 and joins the Ten Network, and SAS10 becomes SAS7 to join the Seven Network.
  • TV Week Gold Logie Winner:  Ray Martin (Midday With Ray Martin, Nine)

Network Ten

1988:

  • January 1:  Australia Live, a combined effort between ABC, SBS, Nine and regional stations, goes to air simultaneously. A four-hour look at Australia and its people, broadcast live in prime time.
  • January 2:  Imparja Television, the remote commercial television service (RCTS) covering outback regions in NT and SA, begins transmission through the AUSSAT satellites.
  • January 17:  Seven’s new evening soap Home And Away launches with a two-hour pilot.
  • January 18:  Seven National News becomes Seven Nightly News.  Seven launches Hinch At Seven with Derryn Hinch.  The Nine Network revives the A Current Affair brand after ten years.
  • January 24:  Ten launches it’s new “X” logo on TEN10, ATV10 and ADS10.
  • February 16:  The Comedy Company launches on Ten on Tuesday nights, marking a revival of successful Australian comedy on TV. Two months later it moves to Sunday nights up against 60 Minutes and becomes a huge ratings hit for the next two years.
  • April 24: QSTV, the satellite off-shoot of Telecasters North Queensland’s NQTV, begins operation as Queensland’s remote commercial television service (RCTS) through AUSSAT.
  • April 25:  The 10.30pm timeslot becomes an unlikely battle ground when Graham Kennedy returns to the Nine Network after 13 years to host Graham Kennedy’s News Show (re-titled Graham Kennedy Coast To Coast in 1989) up against Seven’s Newsworld with Clive Robertson and Ten’s Late Night Australia with Don Lane.
  • May 20:  Perth’s third commercial TV station, NEW10, is opened. After a 30-minute introduction, the first program is the national Olympic Telethon, raising funds to send Australian athletes to the Olympic Games.
  • September 10:  Brisbane’s TVQ0 changes to TVQ10 and switches to 24-hour transmission.
  • Kylie Minogue

    September 17-October 2:  The 1988 Seoul Olympic Games are televised via satellite on Ten.

  • TV Week Gold Logie Winner: Kylie Minogue (Neighbours, Ten)
1989:
  • January:  Ten launches its new evening series E Street and Nine launches its daytime chat shows In Melbourne Today and In Sydney Today, which later merge to become Ernie And Denise.
  • January: Seven purchases the Australian television rights to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics for $A40 million — almost four times the amount Network Ten paid for the rights to the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games.
  • March 20:  Seven’s The Bert Newton Show and The Power The Passion attempt to knock Midday With Ray Martin from its top ratings position, with little success.
  • March 31:  Aggregation of regional television commences, providing local viewers with three commercial networks. Southern NSW becomes the first aggregated television market, with local networks Prime (affiliated to the Seven Network), WIN (Nine) and Capital (Ten).
  • May 8:  Media Watch with Stuart Littlemore begins on Monday nights on ABC.
  • June:  Following an investigation into Alan Bond’s conduct over a defamation settlement to former Queensland Premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal rules that Bond, owner of radio and television stations including TCN9 Sydney, GTV9 Melbourne and QTQ9 Brisbane, is not a ‘fit and proper person’ to hold a broadcasting licence.
  • July 3:  ABC launches Countdown Revolution, a new nightly version of the former Countdown. The show received a modest following and was axed the following year.
  • July 23: Following declining ratings the Ten Network is relaunched as 10 TV Australia with a range of new programs, most of which are axed by the end of the year.

    10 TV Australia

  • ABC’s acclaimed medical drama GP begins an eight-year run.
  • TV Week Gold Logie Winner: Daryl Somers (Hey Hey It’s Saturday, Nine)

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/timeline/1980-1989

69 comments

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    • jason challis on 3 February 2013 at 1:22 PM
    • Reply

    Gday im looking for the price is right episode from 1982 with a lady named Angie Goldberg as a contestant.I cannot find any old episodes on the web any help would be much appreciated.

    1. Hi Jason

      We are not an archive of TV programs. Refer to the Contacts page for further information.

    • michael on 20 July 2013 at 7:04 PM
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    hi, i am looking for a late 1980s edition with a double spread pic of meryl streep in the centre spread pages. it was related to the production or release of Evil Angels.

      • jam on 27 May 2015 at 12:47 PM
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      sweggity swaggity swooty

    • Neil Forbes on 24 January 2014 at 12:02 AM
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    I do NOT believe Station ATV-Melbourne “requested” to be moved up the VHF band from Ch.0(45-52 Mhz) to Ch.10(2087-215 Mhz). It would be far more likely the station was “ordered” to move to the higher channel, to clear VHF Ch.0 for the SBS service(though the network only used the channel for about a year, 18 months at the most) before continuing on UHF Ch.28, on which channel it had already established itself from inception.

    1. ATV0 lodged a request with the broadcasting authority and received approval early in 1979 – well before SBS was confirmed for anything other than trial broadcasts – but the government’s approval came on the condition that ATV0 had to negotiate with GLV10 over their move to an alternative channel. As a result ATV had to pay GLV’s conversion costs.

      SBS was originally earmarked for potentially a UHF-only service but gained access to VHF spectrum following concerns that the market was not well versed in UHF television, hence the VHF licence was only granted on a temporary basis. SBS occupied VHF Channel 0 in Sydney and Melbourne for over five years, from their inception in October 1980 through to January 1986.

    • Neil Forbes on 24 January 2014 at 1:51 AM
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    I stand corrected on the duration of SBS occupying the 45-52 Mhz frequency in Sydney and Melbourne but stations are usually ordered to move, some dig their heels in. Station NBN-Newcastle was ordered to move up to UHF Ch.51 and vacate its VHF channel(3) in the early days of the Northern NSW aggregated market. NBN refused and the old Bully-Boy Kerry Packer put the frighteners on the ABA9as it was then) to leave NBN alone. Just goes to show how cowardly the authorities were back then(nothing’s changed, the ACMA are just as gutless). If NBN had done the right thing and obeyed the order, 20 FM radio channels would’ve been freed up overnight, giving room for expansion of community radio between Gosford and Port Macquarie. VHF Ch.3 from 85 to 92 Mhz, covered the bottom 4 megahertz of the FM band and extended a further 3 megahertz below it. It’s that bottom 4 megahertz of space that was lost to FM while-ever NBN greedily held on to its analogue channel. The analogue switch-off in this region in November, 2012 forced NBN off the channel at long last. Now at last FM radio can expand, preferably with more Community licences granted(given prority over commercial interests).

    1. What did Kerry Packer have to do with NBN?

        • Neil Forbes on 25 January 2014 at 12:31 AM
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        In the aggregated market plan for Northern NSW, NBN was aligned with Station TCN-Sydney. Kerry Packer owned TCN, as well as GTV and other stations in other state capitals. Packer leant on the then-ABA to get them to “back off” and leave NBN alone to stay on VHF Ch.3, so I believe. The channel listing you gave is correct. The idea was to vacate the VHF band and have all stations in Newcastle on UHF, stepping up through every third channel starting with SBS on 45, ABC on 48(they continued to use VHF 5A as well), NBN on 51, Prime on 54 and Northern Rivers Television on 57. ABC(Station ABHN-Newcastle) had plans to cease their transmission on 5A once NBN was cleared from VHF 3 but because NBN stubbornly hung on to its VHF spot, ABC continued with its service on VHF(mono audio) as well as its UHF service(in stereo). In the end it was Digital Broadcasting which finally bumped NBN off Ch.3.

    • Andrew on 24 January 2014 at 2:16 PM
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    Neil I have a list of Australian television channels of Newcastle area as the year of 1991

    SBS Channel UHF 45
    ABC Channel UHF 48
    NBN Channel UHF 51
    PRIME Channel UHF 54
    NRTV Channel UHF 57

    1. NBN never used that Channel 51 frequency AFAIK and they stayed using Channel 3. Channel 51 ended up being re-assigned for Southern Cross Ten to use for digital broadcasting.

        • Neil Forbes on 29 January 2014 at 2:58 PM
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        Andrew, see my posting for 25/1/2014 at 12.31am.

        • Neil Forbes on 12 February 2014 at 2:25 PM
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        I happened to re-read an article on aggregation on this website, or possibly another related item here, and noted that, unlike NBN, WIN-Wollongong, dutifully vacated it’s VHF Ch.4 allocation and moved to its new UHF channel. Incidentally, WIN also used VHF Ch.3 to cover parts of Wollongong which were masked off by topographic conditions from the station’s parent transmitter. WIN had to move both parent and translator services onto UHF channels. Where was Kerry Packer?, I wonder.

    • Andrew on 24 January 2014 at 3:55 PM
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    thanks for the information Andrew and yes you are correct

    • Andrew on 24 January 2014 at 3:57 PM
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    Neil where did you get all the information from it looks interesting

      • Neil Forbes on 25 January 2014 at 12:35 AM
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      Local knowledge! Plus I used to read a now-defunct electronics magazine called “Electronics Australia”. Do you remember that magazine? It also had a spin-off publication called “Video-Mag” staffed by many of the same crew that staffed the parent magazine.

    • Neil Forbes on 25 January 2014 at 12:37 AM
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    As for being interesting…. congrats on this website…. it’s fascinating!

    • Andrew on 25 January 2014 at 1:32 PM
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    can anyone remember a show called home on the ABC it had a similar storyline to Home And Away that debut on channel seven five years later

    • Andrew on 25 January 2014 at 3:32 PM
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    further on to my inquiry home was shown in 1983

      • Gavin on 1 February 2015 at 9:35 PM
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      Yes, it was shown at 6pm weeknights on the ABC, just before Doctor Who, as per this old guide: https://televisionau.com/classic-tv-guides/tv120583

      Not really similar to Home and Away, although I guess the early series of Home and Away had all those foster kids in the care of Tom and Pippa Fletcher.

        • Darren Hayward on 14 November 2021 at 5:35 AM
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        Home was also shown in the UK having been bought by ITV for showing on it’s Children’s ITV segment in late 1983 and was shown at 4:45pm

    • andrew on 29 January 2014 at 6:21 PM
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    Australian television stations of Newcastle 2014

    ABC Digital 2
    SBS Digital 3
    Southern Cross Digital 5
    PRIME Digital 6
    NBN Digital 8

    • Chris on 7 February 2014 at 10:54 PM
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    The official launch date of Rage on the ABC is usually given as April, 1987.

    However, a friend and I distinctly recall watching Rage as early as 1984-85 on Adelaide TV.

    Rock Arena aired at about the same time, but we’re not mixing it up with that.

    I’m hoping that an Adelaide TV Guide from around 1985 will corroborate this. If anyone can help resolve this mystery, I’d appreciate it.

    • andrew on 8 February 2014 at 1:14 AM
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    I am trying to recall either it was TV week or TV times that had john lennon on the front page picture from the white album before his death in

    • andrew on 13 February 2014 at 10:46 AM
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    chris rage was defently launched in 1987 Ian Meldrum mentioned it on one of the episodes of countdown

    • Chris on 14 February 2014 at 10:05 PM
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    Thanks for your reply, Andrew.

    Yes, it’s likely that Molly did mention it on Countdown in 1987, especially as this fits with the official launch date.

    However, I’m working on the theory that rage aired in Adelaide before 1987, and that 1987 was the date that it was launched nationally.

    I am quite confident that rage aired as early as ’85, because it fits in with other life milestones at the time. I was overseas between June 85 and September ’87. So, I am referring to the period before mid ’85.

    The classic TV guides on this website, which I have looked at, just miss the mark. A TV guide from Friday/Saturday, around early 1985, might show a listing, if there’s one available.

    • Andrew M on 19 February 2014 at 4:23 PM
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    I have three copies of TV week South Australia from 1982 channel nine in that state carried their own version of the Saturday morning children’s show of hey hey its Saturday co hosted not by an ostrich but a duck called winky

      • Chris on 21 February 2014 at 12:09 AM
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      That might be Windy Dink – a little yellow duck puppet. Though, I’m pretty sure that Winky Dink appeared more frequently on another children’s show, probably with a human co-host; possibly in the morning, or after school.

      Winky Dink wasn’t on rage in 1982, though.

      1. Winky Dink was also seen on C’mon Kids which was a national version of the Adelaide-based Channel Niners

          • Chris on 7 March 2014 at 10:19 PM
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          OK. So, Adelaide TV shows were syndicated nationally in the 80s. It’s plausible that rage was also syndicated before 1987.

    • Andrew M on 21 February 2014 at 10:33 PM
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    yep was shown on channel nine in Sydney also

    • Ste on 22 February 2014 at 10:17 AM
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    Looking for (hopefully on youtube also) the 1980s tv commercial I think it was either for the spastic centre or house with no steps. It had a great jingle “children, children, even if they stagger and they fall…”…..I mean it was very positive.

      • Nathan on 22 March 2022 at 8:20 PM
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      Hello, I was wondering if you ever found the video for this advert. My wife and I have been searching but can’t find anything. Was it Peter Combe who sang it? Sure it was him.

        • Ror on 25 November 2022 at 1:31 AM
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        Did either of you find it? Have been googling and searching YouTube for years using that exact “stagger” line but nothing. Have watched wayyy too many old Christian ads to find it. Only because I remember something about “And he loves us all…hallelujah etc”.

    • Andrew M on 22 February 2014 at 12:39 PM
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    ABC pop show countdown was the first program in Australia to cross live feeds to America and UK by telecommunications satellite provider OTC back in 1986 for its countdown rock awards that year

    • Andrew M on 22 February 2014 at 1:18 PM
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    what was the promotion commercial where you see two kids sitting in front of a television and the mother looks at the program guide says something like better to watch and you see one of the kids says ok as he turns the channel I think it was a community announcement

    • Rocky on 22 July 2014 at 1:50 PM
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    I have discovered a rare Australian TV TIMES for March 1980(showing the TV series “Arcade” wedding photo)…how can I contribute this to the TV times archive on this website?

    • SUSAN on 27 July 2014 at 12:10 PM
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    Hello, I’m trying to find the 1981 Miss Teenage of VICTORIA, telecast on channel 7, held at camberwell civic centre VICTORIA , Debbie Phin was there as a past winner

    1. Hi Susan

      Please refer to this page. Even if the footage still exists somewhere it may not be possible to make it available.

    • SUSAN on 27 July 2014 at 1:32 PM
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    Thank you

    • Jackie Pinson on 16 August 2014 at 8:51 AM
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    I was so incredibly lucky to be asked to become the U.S. Representative for Prime Television. Besides following in love with an amazing country, the wonderful people of Prime, immediately made me feel a welcome member of the team. To study under the tutelage of Alan Hoy and Paul Ramsay was an education that is far to superior to be offered and I hope the entire team would have been proud of what I made of it.

    • Rocky on 4 November 2014 at 3:16 PM
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    I have a copy of the TV TIMES MAR 1 to Mar 7. I would be happy to email a copy of the cover to the Archives on here. Can anybody advise how this can be done. The cover shows a wedding episode of the soap opera “Arcade”, I believe the show was axed before the wedding scene was broadcasted.

    1. Hi Rocky, I already have that issue on file but you’re right the wedding featured didn’t get to air as the series was suddenly axed at the end of February

    • Rocky on 4 November 2014 at 3:36 PM
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    Thank you…I saw an episode of “Review of Myles Barlow” streamed & I believe that the actor Adrian Bernotti who played Myles Barlow’s lawyer was the actor on that 1980 TV times front cover?

    1. Yes, that is Adrian Bernotti

    • David Cordell on 13 February 2015 at 1:30 PM
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    There was a female news reporter for channel 7 melb I think her first name was Pamela. Any ideas?

    1. Pamela Graham?

    • jill on 9 May 2015 at 6:42 AM
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    Hi all…I’m trying to find a dvd on Peter Luck’s doc The Australians. Great series. Is there a dvd?

    • susan edkins on 25 August 2015 at 10:45 PM
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    Hi I’m trying to find the 1983 childrens hospital telethon. I was a patient at the time in camper down children’s hospital. I was put on the telethon to try and raise money for the ivac machines.

    1. Hi Susan. Unfortunately your chances are slim in obtaining any footage. Refer this page for more information, but I can only suggest you make contact with the TV station that produced the telethon.

  1. Hey hey Saturday picked up by regional television stations in 1984 as NBN Newcastle picked it up four years later

    • Martin Whittenbury on 2 March 2016 at 12:34 AM
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    Hi All.

    I’m wanting to know when the ABC in Melbourne retelecast “The World At War” documentary series in 1986.

    I am sure it was in March of that year, and on Moday afternoon at about 2.00 but would like to know the actual date it started again.

    (Note: I have the newest version of the DVD of this great series and am hoping to mark the 30th anniversary of seeing the series again (in 1986) after the original time of its first broadcast in the mid 1970s, by going through it all again on a weekly basis like this on that Monday.)

    Thanks if anyone can provide any info!

    1. Hi Martin. I don’t have that information on hand although if you have a browse through The Age archive on Google you might have some luck searching through 1986: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=MDQ-9Oe3GGUC

    • Graeme on 7 January 2017 at 2:29 PM
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    Does anyone remember the ABC drama series Sweet & Sour which starred David Reyne and Tracy Mann. It is a shame that great Australian shows like this (from the ABC and the commercial networks) will never again see the light of day because of stance’s like this:

    The series is currently unavailable on video, DVD or online. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) advises that

    “Due to copyright restrictions this program is unavailable for sale as it was produced on a broadcast only basis; thus restricting ABC Commercial from selling the material. There are no plans to re-broadcast this program.”

    Sourced: Wikipedia

    1. I remember that show well, Graeme

        • Graeme on 7 January 2017 at 5:55 PM
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        Do you remember The Henderson Kids & THK 2

        With regards to copyright ownership and/or restrictions of many great Australian TV shows, why is it that some show’s pass these restrictions and get a re- run on free to air or Fox while many others do not.

        A couple of examples in recent memory(since the turn of this century at least) here in the Newcastle/Hunter Region were the rerunning of Home and Away(the early years) and A Country Practice on Seven/Prime and The Sullivan’s on Nine/NBN. From memory the ABC re-ran the great Australian drama G.P on weekday afternoon’s some time ago last decade. so it begs the question why are some shows re run and others are tied up by copyright.

        Graeme

        1. I do remember The Henderson Kids, though #2 not so much.

          It’s hard to know how copyright or broadcast rights work with a lot of these shows. It would be stated in the contracts negotiated between production companies and networks. Some production contracts might allow a certain number of re-runs with a broadcaster, others might not.

          So every title could be different, and other things may need to be considered such as royalties or residuals owed to on-screen talent, licencing costs if a program features music tracks and, as you have found out, whether the broadcaster has the right to re-sell content via merchandise.

          Apparently Skippy was sold to Channel 9 on the basis of perpetual rights, which is why almost 50 years later it still pops up in re-runs, but the actors involved don’t get a cent in royalties.

    • Ali on 22 June 2017 at 12:06 AM
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    Does anyone know how I can find a recording of contestants on New Faces in 1980?

    • Mick on 22 July 2017 at 9:04 PM
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    Trying to remember the time a news reporter on ch 9 im pretty sure ( john hatfield ??? ) he was reading the news and suddenly lost his train of thought and said ” oh shit ??? ” the station cut him off never to be heard of again??

    1. Hi Mick. I put your question to social media. John Gatfield was a long time Nine reporter and newsreader who did later appear on Ten and Sky News.

      No further advice about the blooper incident or if indeed it was him.

    • Felina Morhtese on 21 July 2018 at 12:09 PM
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    On one hand, I’m thrilled broadcasting was so limited in Australia (and in particular, Melbourne) when I was a kid.. It’s just a shame only 1930’s movies were re-run (I assume because they were cheap) while many of the prestige pictures made in the forties, fifties and sixties never made it to air. So off to the Triangular Park in Burwood to find my lost ruby from my medallion.. because you know the police found two pythons at the Good Park..

    • Denise Creeper on 23 August 2018 at 1:21 AM
    • Reply

    I’m looking for the morning segment called ‘Ferris Trabilsi’ hair salon, it used to be on in the mornings as i used to appear on there, they did a mother-daughter segment on the day of Ash Wednesday back in 1983. I’m also looking for a segment from the Channel Niners when they had the Yorks Marching girls on the show back in 1975 or 1976 not completely sure if the years as it was such a long time ago

  2. Hi, I want to inquire about a series of Perth Channel 7 ads televised in the early 80’s. I think the series was entitled ‘Say Hello to Perth’. There were 3-4 different ads. I was in on of them. Are you able to advise where I may locate or who to contact to find or view the ads. There is one on You Tube but not the one I’m looking for. I have contacted George Manning and asked what year it was made, possibly 81-82 but haven’t had a reply as yet. George worked at 7 around that time and had a film crew attend a BMX track and take some footage. Would be good to show the mates. Appreciate any help. Regards Paul Andrews

    1. Would suggest you contact Channel 7 or continue to search YouTube someone may put it up there

    • Dave on 13 March 2021 at 10:03 AM
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    Hi, I’m trying to hunt down the episode listings for Elvira’s Thriller Theatre. 20 episodes aired late night on Network 10 across 1989 and 1990. While the series is acknowledged online, there’s very little information available as to airdates, movies aired, etc. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

    • Darren Hayward on 14 November 2021 at 7:27 AM
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    Home was also shown in the UK having been bought by ITV for showing on it’s Children’s ITV segment in late 1983 and was shown at 4:45pm

    • Darren on 10 August 2023 at 9:29 PM
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    Same here, the only single Mention I’ve found anywhere so far is here: https://televisionau.com/classic-tv-guides/tv140689
    Wednesday 14 June 1989
    10.35 Elvira’s Thriller Theatre: The Fly (1958) on X-Capital TV.
    Other than that this series seems to of been completely wiped from existence.

    1. Regrettably, depending on the publication, TV listings for Elvira’s Thriller Theatre often only listed the program as “Movie” with no mention of the host, so it could be very difficult to track down actual airdates.

        • Darren on 16 August 2023 at 8:24 AM
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        Challenge accepted, found them all in the Sydney Morning Herald elsewhere, have a look on TMDB have added the series there.
        https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/232350-elvira-s-thriller-theatre/season/1
        Only seems to be 18 distinct episodes broadcast, most broadcast the following year were repeats.
        The description from IMDB says there were 20 episodes but think that may be a mistake.

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