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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)

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