1985 in Australian television

Events

Television

  • 13 January – Australian children's live-action and puppet series The Maestro's Company begins on Network 0/28.
  • 11 February – Ray Martin takes over Mike Walsh's old daytime slot, replacing The Mike Walsh Show with Midday with Ray Martin. The Mike Walsh Show continues and moves to 10:30pm weekdays as a late night talk show until Walsh departs the network in November .
  • 18 February – Network 0/28 becomes known as SBS.
  • 22 February – Seven Network screens a late night sketchy comedy series called The Eleventh Hour featuring a number of performers who later appear in The Comedy Company and Fast Forward.
  • 4 March – The ABC launches a one-hour news and current affairs program called The National as a replacement for the traditional 7:00pm state-based news bulletins as well as its 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.
  • 18 March – Neighbours premieres on the Seven Network. Six months later Neighbours is axed by HSV-7, but Network Ten bought the rights and picks up the soap and it becomes a massive hit for them.
  • 24 March – Seven Network broadcasts Donald Duck's 50th Birthday a television special from The Wonderful World of Disney which celebrates the 50th anniversary of the world's famous cartoon character. It will first air on television for Australian viewers on Seven in Victoria that year and on Network Ten in New South Wales on 30 May 1987 and on Seven in Victoria again on 19 July the same year.
  • 25 March – Neighbours debuts in Brisbane.
  • 22 April – The 1980 film The Blues Brothers starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd premieres on the Seven Network.
  • 8 June – Hey Hey It's Saturday moves to 6:30pm Saturdays. Then Hey Hey It's Saturday Night rebrands back to its original title.
  • 30 June – SBS expands to Brisbane, Adelaide, Newcastle, Wollongong and the Gold Coast.
  • 13–14 July – ABC televises the worldwide Live Aid event, featuring concerts held around the world.
  • August – The AUSSAT satellites are launched. The ABC will start its test transmission of its TV and radio networks via satellite in October to remote areas in rural Australia. The ABC service is officially inaugurated in January 1986.
  • 24 October – The ABC Board has elected to abandon The National.
  • ABC debuts British children's stop-motion animated series The Adventures of Portland Bill as part of the Sunday morning sequel to Mr. Squiggle and Friends Playmates.

Debuts

New international programming

Changes to network affiliation

This is a list of programs which made their premiere on an Australian television network that had previously premiered on another Australian television network. The networks involved in the switch of allegiances are predominantly both free-to-air networks or both subscription television networks. Programs that have their free-to-air/subscription television premiere, after previously premiering on the opposite platform (free-to air to subscription/subscription to free-to air) are not included. In some cases, programs may still air on the original television network. This occurs predominantly with programs shared between subscription television networks.

International

Program New network(s) Previous network(s) Date
Michael Bentine's Potty Time ABC Channel Seven 27 May
Gustavus SBS ABC 14 July
Speed Buggy Channel Seven ABC 9 September
Atom Ant Channel Seven ABC 14 October

Television shows

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

Ending this year

DateShowChannelDebut
21 April The Gillies Report ABC TV 1984
7 August Five Mile Creek Seven Network 1983
19 August Bang Goes the Budgie ABC TV 27 May 1985
31 October Anzacs Nine Network 27 October 1985
November New Faces Nine Network 1963
November (Late Night) The Mike Walsh Show Nine Network 1973
November The Ernie Sigley Show Nine Network 1968
1985 The New Price Is Right Seven Network 7 September 1981

See also

References

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