30/8/2004 The Seven Network moves its Sydney-based news productions into new street-side studios in Martin Place, with the first Sunrise bulletin being broadcast off the back of the Athens Olympics Closing Ceremony.
That same evening, Seven News receives a major relaunch with all new graphic packages and a newly-revised arrangement of The Mission theme that was to last until early-2016. Its Sydney news bulletin is televised out of Martin Place for the first time, with a backdrop allowing viewers to watch it as it was being produced live. This wouldn’t last long, with the “twisted metal” set being installed in February 2005.
30/8/2010 The second season of The X Factor launches on Channel Seven, though this was the first to be shown on the network after Channel Ten had shown the first season in 2005. After it had flopped on Ten, Seven turned the show into a ratings success - this coming after Australian Idol was axed by Ten in January due to declining ratings.
Sounds like history repeating itself.
1986 - Neighbours moves from Seven to Ten and becomes rating success.
2010 - X Factor moves from Ten to Seven and becomes ratings success.
Further, Mark Holden (who was one of the founding judges on Idol) was also a mentor on the first incarnation of X Factor and led the boy group “Random” to the series win. They were actually the first group in worldwide X Factor to win the series, not Little Mix as many thought (they won the eighth season of the British series, in 2011).
Be interesting to see how Idol goes on Seven next year, esp. after a hiatus of 13 years.
31 August 1970: The VFL Brownlow Medal count is telecast live on TV for the first time, broadcast across both HSV7 and 3DB. The whole show done and dusted in an hour. Not like these days.
It’s possible they started counting the votes before 8:30 (as suggested by Nine’s five-minute segment at 7.25…unless that was just a “who will win” prediction segment.
For the record, South Melbourne’s Peter Bedford was the winner.
Sep 3 1992 - A one-off special spin off program, AUstralia’s Naughtiest Home Videos went to air on Nine. Mr Kerry Packer was very angry of what he saw on TV and furiously demanded that this show be pulled off air. THis show was replaced by repeat of CHeers. The next day, Mr Packer was very angry, slamming this show as ‘disgusting and offensive shit’. Doug Mulray was dumped from CHannel Nine.
Sep 3 2006 - After 5 years, Channel Nine aired its final AFL match, Collingwood v Kangaroos.
Words that I’d imagine many would’ve used years later to describe innocuous hit programs of the time such as Burke’s Backyard and Hey Hey It’s Saturday!
I think it was edited slightly to remove a gag that would’ve been deemed offensive by 2008 standards…
