Originally hosted by Dionne Warwick (Whitney’s aunt). I remember Marilyn McCoo hosted with Andy Gibb (Bee Gees younger brother) for a time, also. Used to love watching that on a Sunday afternoon.
4 Likes
I was surprised to find that Video Hits had run for almost a year in Sydney before ATV10 picked it up early in 1988. No idea why it was delayed getting on in Melbourne.
Meanwhile, today’s listing is 7 June 1977, Sydney:
Source: TV Week
- The Queen’s Silver Jubilee Thanksgiving Service is broadcast live on ABC from 8.05pm.
- The Sullivans, still a relatively new series at this stage, was on at 8.30pm which would have been in stark contrast to Number 96 at the same time. 96 had been axed by this stage and was almost at the end of production but TEN10 kept the show in its 8.30pm timeslot right through to the end, while in Melbourne it was bumped off to 9.30pm and then 10.30pm for its final episodes.
- TEN10 has “a sneak preview of a new coming American series” at 7.30pm. Absolutely no idea what this was!
2 Likes
I’m intrigued. Thought it may have been Spelling’s Family because it premiered on American television in 1976 but can’t see it listed on the “1977 in Australian Television” wiki page. No clues in the “New International Programming” section associated with the 0-10 Network, either.
I think Family was picked up by Nine in Australia.
Here’s a listing for later in the same week, just because I’d not filed this magazine away yet. Friday 10 June 1977 for Sydney.
Source: TV Week
- Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory on ATN7. It’s not listed as a repeat, so could have actually been its first time on (Sydney) television.
- TCN9 has a Sherbet special featuring songs from their latest album
- Thunderbirds on Nine is listed as B&W although as far as I’m aware it was produced entirely in colour. Perhaps Nine had bought B&W prints of the series originally and were still running those instead of upgrading to a colour copy?
1 Like
So many shows missing from those Wiki pages. When did Wonder Woman and Bionic Woman first air? Could it have bee a mini series like The Money Changers?
Bionic Woman I think started here in 1976, screening back-to-back with The Six Million Dollar Man from memory. Wonder Woman I’m not sure. Both were 0-10 Network series here.
Also just adding the WIN4 and NBN3 listings that appeared in the pages after the Sydney listing:
I do love WIN’s precise schedule times… wonder how well they stuck to them?
Bobby Dazzler was a not very good sitcom. Farnham was a great singer, but a terrible actor.
1 Like
I don’t remember WIN having those irregular programme start times back then but that’s probably because I was watching Seven’s cartoon shows in the afternoon at the time. I do remember throwing the odd tantrum when my father would take the TV over to watch the local news ten minutes into whatever sitcom Seven was running at 6pm.
Interesting start times for The Mike Walsh Show on WIN and NBN. NBN must’ve been airing the show one day later judging by the start time. I’m wondering if Nine was making WIN air the show after it had finished airing in Sydney because of the arguments with the Packers over how far the Sydney viewing area extended into the Illawarra? Simulcasting was obviously possible because WIN was taking the national news and Willesee at the same time as Seven.
6.10pm as a start time for the news. Interesting.
There’s a lot of specificity with those times.
1 Like
Regional stations’ local news often didn’t go a full half hour in those days. NBN3 had the hour composite bulletin same as today but they were an exception.
NBN was always able to pass for a scaled back metro station
2 Likes
It had to be, given its considerable overlap and competition with the Sydney market.
1 Like
I’d like to think that somehow, the success of NBN News was actually the inspiration for Nine (and later Seven) expanding it’s 6pm bulletins from 30 minutes to a full hour.
And yeah, NBN probably had to present itself like a bigger city station pre-aggregation given the market size and overlap/competition with the Sydney market.
2 Likes
Very true. I grew up in one of those households that had the large rooftop antenna. Depending on where you lived you may not have even needed one. My Aunt and Uncle use to live on Lookout Road in Charlestown and it was like watching local stations.
Forced NBN to be more locally focused
1 Like
Today’s TV: 17 June 1967, Melbourne
- VFL (AFL) football replays on Channels 2, 7 and 9 and live VFA (which is now VFL) on Channel 0.
- Channels 9 and 7 both have competing football panel shows at 7pm
- The Bert Newton Show is on 9 at 9.30pm
- Newsreaders on the day include Brian Naylor (7) and Bob Walters (9)
- The “Night Owl Theatre” on 9 is The Incredible Shrinking Man
Source: TV Week
1 Like
And the same day in Sydney, 17 June 1967:
- Interesting that TV Week adopts a column listing in Sydney as opposed to the bullet format in Melbourne. This may have been to incorporate NBN3 and WIN4 into the same pages.
- Bandstand is on TCN9, NBN3 and WIN4
- John Ewart hosts a show Junior Auction on NBN3. Not sure if this is the same John Ewart who later became a well-known actor
- WIN4 and TCN9 both have World Championship Wrestling on in the afternoon, but NBN3 has it late at night.
- A one-hour special featuring singing group Peter, Paul And Mary, filmed in Melbourne, is on NBN3. The special screened earlier in the week in Sydney (Thursday) and Melbourne (Wednesday).
Source: TV Week
3 Likes
So much horse racing.
Horse racing was actually an audience grabber in those days. How times have changed. The races would also be covered by multiple radio stations whereas these days it’s largely confined to one dedicated station in each city.
1 Like
I’ve noticed many of the guides you publish for Melbourne have ATV0 covering country races on a Saturday. Any idea if this was to protect attendances at the metro tracks?
I don’t know but it sounds plausible. The VRC might have only granted Ansett rights to cover country races. Makes sense especially as live coverage of the Melbourne Cup was not allowed in Melbourne until 1978.
2 Likes