2020-2029

Neighbours makes international headlines when it resumes production amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decade starts as the COVID-19 pandemic wreaks havoc around the world and whole cities and countries go into lockdown. No sector is left unscathed, and the television and creative arts industries are brought to a standstill. But international eyes become focussed on Australia as it becomes one of the first countries to establish COVID-safe production models. The widespread ramifications of the pandemic are set to take years to recover from.

2020:

• TV At 60: TV comes to Hobart
• Neighbours and MasterChef Australia gain international attention as being among the first productions in the English-speaking world to resume under COVID-safe conditions.
• March: Neighbours celebrates its 35th anniversary with a five-episode spin-off, Neighbours: End Game.
• 5 April: The Nine Network launches a new reality channel, 9Rush.
• 11 September: Ten News First axes presentation of news bulletins in Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth, in favour of a centralised model based in Sydney and Melbourne.
• 27 September: The Ten Network launches a new youth-focussed channel, 10 Shake.
• 21 November: Nine’s Sydney studios in the suburb of Willoughby sign off for the last time.
• TV Week Gold Logie Winner: Not Awarded (Awards cancelled due to pandemic)

2021:

• TV At 60: TV comes to Regional Victoria
• January 1: ABC Comedy re-brands as ABC TV Plus
• July 1: Regional affiliations change: WIN switches from the Ten Network to Nine Network for program supply. Southern Cross switches from Nine to Ten in the Regional Queensland, Southern NSW/ACT and Regional Victoria markets.
• October 30: Bert Newton dies, age 83
• December: Seven West Media completes the takeover of the Prime Media Group, including regional affiliates Prime7 and GWN7.
• TV Week Gold Logie Winner: Not Awarded (Awards cancelled due to pandemic)

2022:

• March 3: Neighbours is axed after 37 years and 8903 episodes.
• March 12: The Seven, Nine and Ten networks present the telethon Australia Unites: Australian Red Cross Flood Appeal to aid people and communities affected by the devastating floods across Queensland and New South Wales. The telethon raised over $25 million.
• May 23: SBS launches a separate news channel, Worldwatch.
• July 28: The “final” episode of Neighbours.
• TV Week Gold Logie Winner: Hamish Blake (Lego Masters, Nine)

2023:

• January 15: Seven launches reality channel 7Bravo
• February 8: The Nine Network is announced as the Australian broadcast rights holder to the Summer and Winter Olympic Games for 2024 to 2032.
• August 1: Ten’s younger demographic entertainment channel 10 Shake is re-launched as Nickelodeon.
• August 16: The Semi Final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup — Australia versus England — is reported to be the most watched program on Australian television since OzTAM records commenced in 2001.
• September 18: Neighbours returns to Ten.
• TV Week Gold Logie Winner: Sonia Kruger (Big Brother, Dancing With The Stars, The Voice, Seven)