History of popular culture television timeline in Australia

Experimental TV broadcasts began as early as 1929 in Melbourne on stations 3DB and 3UZ using the Radiovision system by Gilbert Miles and Donal McDonald.
Thomas (Tom) M. B. Elliott experiments with an electromechanical version of television using the Nipkow disc technique that Baird employed.

Other experimental transmissions followed in other cities, such as the 30 line Baird system in Brisbane in 1934 by Tom Elliott and Dr Val McDowall, members of the Royal Society of Queensland, at the amateur station (VK)4CM. By 1938 Elliot demonstrated an electronic 180 line version.

Broadcasting tests halted due to the advent of World War 2.

June: Robert Menzies' government announces a gradual introduction of television in Australia, with plans to launch an ABC Television station in Sydney and other areas subject to funding approval. As well as this, commercial television services in Sydney and Melbourne are planned with "any other capital city where it is felt that the applicant's capacity to provide a service justifies the issue of a licence".

January: The Menzies government amends the 1948 Broadcasting Act to provide legislative framework for commercial television licenses.

The Royal Commission on Television affirms the need to introduce television under a dual system of ownership, similarly to the Menzies plan.

Test transmissions commence in Sydney on TCN-9 in monochrome.Melbourne commences test transmissions in monochrome.TCN-9 Sydney launches at 7pm. Introduction of This is Television.TCN-9 officially opens.HSV-7 Melbourne officially launches.The Australian Broadcasting Commission begins television broadcasting with ABN-2 Sydney.
Melbourne's ABV-2 launches.Summer Olympics in Melbourne commence, televised by ABV-2&HSV-7 and during GTV-9 test transmissions.

19 January: Sir Dallas Brookes officially inaugurates GTV-9 Melbourne.
6 May: GTV-9 launches the nightly variety show In Melbourne Tonight with Graham Kennedy.

Melbourne and Sydney are linked by microwave for the first time, allowing programs to be broadcast live to both cities concurrently. Mr. Squiggle and Friends begins on ABC.QTQ-9 Brisbane begins transmission.NWS-9 Adelaide officially launches.TVW-7 Perth launches.BTQ-7 Brisbane launches.ABQ-2 Brisbane launches.

11 March: ABS-2 Adelaide launches.
7 May: ABW-2 Perth begins transmission.
23 May: TVT-6 Hobart opens, bringing television to Tasmania.
4 June: ABT-2 Hobart commences broadcasting.

19 August: Current affairs program Four Corners begins on ABC.[21]
9 December: GLV-10 Traralgon is the first regional station to open.
23 December: BCV-8 launches in Bendigo while GMV-6 began in Shepparton.

NBN-3 Newcastle begins broadcasting.CBN-8 Orange launches.WIN-4 Wollongong begins.BTV-6 Ballarat begins transmission.RTN-8 Lismore begins broadcasting.TNT-9 begins transmission to Launceston and northern Tasmania.CTC-7 Canberra officially commences transmissions.Frank Packer (owner of TCN-9 Sydney) buys GTV-9 Melbourne, forming the National Television Network, the first in the country.DDQ-10 Toowoomba begins transmission.TNQ-7 launches in Townsville.ABC-3 Canberra launches.

7 September: RTQ-7 Rockhampton begins broadcasting.

19 June: RVN-2 Wagga Wagga launches.
1 August: ATV-0, Melbourne's third commercial station, launches.
7 September: AMV-4 Albury commences broadcasting.

NRN-11 Coffs Harbour begins broadcasting.TEN-10 Sydney begins transmission.WBQ-8 Wide Bay/Maryborough and NEN-9 Tamworth begin transmission.NRN-11 Coffs Harbour begins broadcasting.STW-9 Perth opens.TVQ-0 Brisbane launches.
26 July: SAS-10 Adelaide launches.NEN-9 Tamworth begins transmission.STV-8 Mildura launches.Australia's first regional television network is formed when CWN-6 Dubbo opens as a direct relay of CBN-8 Orange.MTN-9 Griffith commences transmission.

25 March: SES-8 Mount Gambier officially launches.
18 July: Play School begins on ABC
27 May: ECN-8 Taree launches.
7 September: FNQ-10 begins transmission in and around Cairns.

10 March: BTW-3 Bunbury becomes the first regional television station in Western Australia.
10 April: ABC TV current affairs program This Day Tonight premieres.
15 June: Test colour television transmissions are made for the first time in Australia by ATV-0.

TVW-7 conducts its first Telethon.
1 March: GTS-4 Port Pirie launches.
9 August: MVQ-6 launches in Mackay.
16 August: BKN-7 Broken Hill opens.
20 July 1969: The Apollo 11 moon landing is televised live by television stations in Australia.
undated: First fully colour capable production facility opened in Sydney (Video Tape Corp, in East Roseville).

Long running US children's educational series Sesame Street begins on ABC.
VEW-8 Kalgoorlie begins broadcasting.
ABD-6 launches as Darwin's first television station.
TQ-8 Mount Isa begins broadcasting. Oct: Hey Hey It's Saturday starts off as a Saturday morning cartoon programme for children on Nine Network.
A Current Affair, hosted by Mike Willesee, makes its first appearance on the Nine Network.Nov: NTD-8 is officially launched by Administrator of the Northern Territory, Fred Chaney.

13 March: Soap opera Number 96 debuts, heralding the night 'Australian television lost its virginity'
20 March: Brisbane channel BTQ7 claims Australia's first one-hour news bulletin, The Big News

In 1973, the only Australian designed and made precision colour television monitor, was produced for local use and international export. The broadcast quality monitor (LDN5006) was developed by Willem Sparrius, Project Engineer at Philips subsidiary company Electronics Engineering Communications and produced at their South Oakleigh plant.

29 August: GSW-9 Albany begins broadcasting as a relay of VEW-8 Kalgoorlie.
October: Colour test transmissions begin on Australian television.
8 November: Countdown begins on ABC.

1 March: At midnight, colour television is introduced across the country. The main networks celebrate with their own unique slogan - Come to Colour (ABC TV), Seven Colors Your World (Seven Network), Living Color (Nine Network) and 0 - First in Color (0-10 Network).

26 November: RTS-5A Loxton launches in the Riverland district.

21 January: GTW-11 Geraldton begins broadcasting, completing the roll-out of regional commercial television across Australia.
24 September: The Victorian Football League Grand Final is broadcast live to viewers in Melbourne for the first time.

11 February: Current affairs program 60 Minutes debuts on the Nine Network.
7 April: The Special Broadcasting Service begins test transmissions on ABV-2 Melbourne and ABN-2 Sydney, with foreign-language programming shown on Sunday mornings.

20 January: Melbourne's ATV-0 converts to ATV-10; after nearby La Trobe Valley regional station GLV-10 converts to GLV-8 to facilitate this change, which concurrently frees up the frequency for Channel 0/28 later that same year.
14 July: Game show Sale of the Century debuts on the Nine Network.
24 October: Channel 0/28 is launched by Bruce Gyngell in Sydney and Melbourne

28 June: The Nine Network Australia premieres Today.

1 July: The Australian Broadcasting Commission becomes the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
16 October: Channel 0/28 expands into Canberra, Cooma and Goulburn, and changes its name to Network 0-28.

4 February: Hey Hey It's Saturday moves from its morning timeslot to the 9.30 pm timeslot.
July: The 1984 Summer Olympics are broadcast on Network Ten.
26 July: US-French-Canadian animated series Inspector Gadget begins on ABC.

18 February: Network 0-28 once again changes its name to SBS, and begins daytime transmissions. 4 March: ABC National, a one-hour national news and current affairs program shown from 6.30 pm, replaces ABC TV's half-hour 7.00pm state news bulletins. 18 March: Soap opera Neighbours begins on the Seven Network. 30 June: SBS Television expands into Brisbane, Adelaide, Newcastle, Wollongong, and the Gold Coast. 24 October: The ABC Board elects to abandon ABC National.

5 January: SBS Television phases out its second VHF 0 channel. 16 March: SBS launches in Perth and Hobart. 19 August: Treasurer Paul Keating, in his budget speech, announces the amalgamation of the ABC and SBS.

26 March: Bob Hawke calls off the proposed amalgamation of the ABC and SBS. 17 April: Rage begins on ABC. 27 December: Adelaide stations SAS-10 and ADS-7 swap frequencies to become SAS-7 and ADS-10.

2 January: Imparja Television launches in remote eastern and central Australia from studios in Alice Springs. 17 January: Home and Away premieres on the Seven Network as a two-hour pilot and begins as a regular weeknight soap opera the following evening. 20 May: NEW-10 launches in Perth. 10 September: TVQ-0 Brisbane becomes TVQ-10.

31 March: Aggregation begins in southern New South Wales.

Imparja Television begins producing 15-minute local news bulletins inserted into its National Nine News simulcast, entitled Imparja Local News.Long running children's wrapper programme Saturday Disney which airs television shows from The Walt Disney Company begins on Seven Network.Children's TV series Johnson and Friends begins on ABC.WIN Television purchases Network Ten affiliate-to-be Star Television and switches its affiliation to the Nine Network for Queensland.

10 February: US animated comedy series The Simpsons begins on Network Ten. 14 June: SBS TV is permitted by the government to broadcast five minutes of advertising per hour, as a form of additional funding. 31 December: Northern New South Wales is aggregated.

Aggregation begins to take place in Victoria.Midday news program The World at Noon is launched on ABC TV.Former Europe correspondent for the ABC Ian Henderson takes over as newsreader for the 7.00 pm weeknights ABC News in Victoria.An educational television series for children called Lift Off begins being broadcast on ABC every Friday afternoon.Children's TV series Bananas in Pyjamas begins on ABC.Parliament passes a bill permitting the ABC to provide subscription television services.

26 January: Early morning news program First Edition begins on the ABC.
17 February: The ABC's Australia Television International is launched by Prime Minister of Australia's Paul John Keating.[44]
September: The Victorian arm of the Southern Cross Network changes its name to SCN.

Southern Cross Broadcasting purchases Canberra-based station Capital Television. 20 May: Darwin is the last capital city to begin receiving SBS. 30 April: Tasmania is aggregated, as a two-station market. 31 July: Community station Briz 31 commences transmission. October: WIN Television expands into Victoria and Tasmania, purchasing ENT Limited, owners of TasTV and Vic Television. 6 October: Community station C31 Melbourne launches.

26 January: Galaxy launches Australia's first subscription television service on MMDS. 19 September: Australia's first cable TV provider, Optus Vision, begins broadcasting. 22 October - Foxtel was founded and introduced into Australia. 4 December: State editions of The 7.30 Report are merged into a single national program, presented from Sydney by Kerry O'Brien.

Prime Television expands into Mildura as PTV-31, after being granted the area's second commercial licence. December: Prime Television purchases the Golden West Network for $71 million.

8 July: Ownership of Australia Television International moves from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to the Seven Network. December: Prime Television Limited purchases Canal 9 in Argentina.

UK children's television series Teletubbies begins on ABC.TND-34 Darwin, a Seven Network affiliate[,Shane Stone.Drama SeaChange begins on ABC.The WIN Corporation acquires MTN-9 Griffith and supplementary licence AMN-31.The Wiggles' television show is launched on Seven Network.Prime Television New Zealand is launched, owned by Prime Television's parent company Prime Television Limited.Pokémon begins on Network Ten.The Disney Channel Australia premieres a TV special

26 March: WOW, regional Western Australia's second commercial television network owned by WIN Television, launches.
18 June: Perth community station Access 31 officially commences transmission.
15 August: WIN South Australia is established following the buyout SES-8 Mount Gambier and RTS-5A Loxton by WIN Corporation.
31 December: ABC is the Australian broadcaster of the global television event 2000 Today.

15 September: The 2000 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony is broadcast by the Seven Network - one of the highest-rating programs ever shown on Australian television.

Digital terrestrial television is introduced to audiences in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.Prime Television axes local news services in Canberra, Wollongong and Newcastle.Southern Cross Broadcasting acquires Telecasters Australia, gaining control of Ten Queensland, Ten Northern NSW, Seven Darwin and Seven Central.ABC Television launches its first digital-only multichannel, ABC Kids.Fly TV launches, sharing bandwidth with ABC Kids.Ten Capital's local news bulletin.

18 February: Prime Television New Zealand and Publishing and Broadcasting Limited form a partnership for the supply of Nine Network programming to the New Zealand network.
1 April: Southern Cross Broadcasting acquires Spencer Gulf Telecasters, gaining control of Central GTS/BKN in parts of regional South Australia and Broken Hill.
22 June: The SBS World News Channel is officially launched by the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Richard Alston.

22 May: The Australian Broadcasting Corporation decides to close the ABC Kids and Fly TV channels. 22 December: Tasmanian Digital Television, a Network Ten affiliate, launches.

17 March: Trial datacast service Digital Forty Four begins in Sydney. 23 April: Community station C31 Adelaide launches. 18 July: Senator Helen Coonan becomes the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts.

ABC2 launches with an episode of Landline at 6.35 am.
ABC2 is officially inaugurated by Senator Helen Coonan, at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra.
The Australian Broadcasting Authority and Australian Communications Authority are replaced by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
Community station Television Sydney commences broadcasting.
The Australian Government renews ABC Television's contract to manage the Asia Pacific television service for five years.

1 January: Mildura Digital Television, a Network Ten affiliate, launches.
8 February: Prime Television Limited sells Prime Television New Zealand to Sky Television for NZ$30 million.
18 July: Play School celebrates 40 years
16 September: Australian Television's 50th anniversary.