20 January 2014 Seven introduced a new News theme for Seven News but was quickly dumped after just a week after viewer backlash
I remember that. Wasn’t the best time for them to change its theme after a year in which they lost its national ratings crown to Nine for the first time since 2004.
The old Mission theme was reinstated by the following Friday (24/1/2014). Even then, Seven News wasn’t the same as it was during the 2005-12 period that it was number one nationally.
The changeover to 10 was intended to boost its coverage within the Melbourne area where there were pockets of areas that could not get the former Channel 0 signal.
An unintended, or unfortunate, consequence of the change was that some areas that could get Channel 0 could not get Channel 10. Viewers in the Dandenongs that used to get a clear Channel 0 signal were left with the 10 signal going over their heads and skipping them entirely (apparently they couldn’t get 7 or 9, either, so they were literally left with just Channel 2). It was a situation that couldn’t completely be remedied until in-fill UHF translators came on in years to follow.
Another area that used to get fortuitous coverage of Channel 0 was the town of Seymour, which ‘lost’ the service when it switched to 10. The salty townsfolk even pleaded with the Communications Minister for a relay service for Channel 10 be set up in Seymour, even though technically Seymour was not in the Melbourne coverage area.
Seymour residents already had a choice of commercial channels, being able to receive both Bendigo and Shepparton channels, so that already put them ahead of most other regional areas. To think they could get another commercial channel set up specially for them was rather ambitious.
YouTube: telerecordings
The channel O signal being in Band I at around 46 MHz would travel a lot further than Channel 10 in band III at 219 MHz based on reception with a single dipole antenna. The lower the frequency - the higher the wavelength and the larger the antenna needed for reception. Similar thing in SEQ where the channel O signal would reach a lot further than 7 and 9, though it did suffer from more interference. So Channel O was often listed in NNSW TV guides before the change to 10.
hopefully those whinging Seymour viewers might have got some joy when SBS started up a few months later
The song was performed by Mike Brady (best known for Up There Cazaly).
The same also for DDQ10 when it went to Channel 0. Nice, relatively flat terrain, it went a long way on Channel 0. During DX season, it was one of the better performers. I have seen video of what later became RTQ0 being received in the Netherlands via F2 propagation in the early 1990s.
21 January 1973: ABC premieres weekly interview series With Gerald Stone, fronted by the former This Day Tonight reporter. The first program covers the topic of wealth distribution, with Stone interviewing mining magnate Lang Hangcock and a minimum-wage railway worker from Western Australia, Gary Walton.
21 January 1977: New TV Station — GTW11, Geraldton, Western Australia.
21 January 1985: The XIX Superbowl is broadcast on Nine, live from California with a repeat screening at night.
21 January 1993: The premiere episode of RFDS, the new-look The Flying Doctors, with new cast members including Simone Buchanan and Peter Phelps
I remember around 1982 there was a motel in Emily Street (the old Hume Highway before it was bypassed) Seymour that had a sign saying “Colour TV - Melbourne channels”. I presume they would have tall CA16s or other high gain antennas connected to a booster to receive all five Melbourne networks. Nagambie, a 20 minute drive north in flat terrain from Seymour, had lots of these antennas too.
I used to have family in Seymour, those huge antennas were everywhere from around Kilmore up to Nagambie back in the day. Same in places such as Monbulk & around Pakenham as well. Some outer-suburban people would have one put up so they could watch live football & cricket played in Melbourne that was either shown on delay or only as highlights by 7 or 9 to protect the gate takings. The country stations of course didn’t have these restrictions…
24 January 1959: GTV9 presents Sorrento By The Sea, a live three-hour outside broadcast from Sorrento Beach, south of Melbourne. Featuring station personalities including Graham Kennedy, Joff Ellen, Geoff Corke, Hal Todd, Bob Horsfall, Joy Fountain, Wendy Marshall and Evie Hayes.
24 January 1974: The Opening Ceremony of the X Commonwealth Games, live from Christchurch, New Zealand, on ABC. ABC’s daily coverage of the Games comprised only of highlight segments totalling around 50 minutes each day, and two hours of live coverage on Saturdays.
24 January 1977: Graham Kennedy returns to television as host of 0-10’s evening game show Blankety Blanks, which became a ratings winner. The show, based on the American series The Match Game, continued for two years.
24 January 1988: Ten launches its new network logo, based on the roman numeral X.
24 January 1990: Nine’s coverage of the XIV Commonwealth Games begins with the Opening Ceremony from Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand.
24 January 1994: The debut of Ten‘s new lifestyle program Level 23, hosted by Melissa Thomas, Nathan Harvey, Anja Coleby, Nick Testoni and Brent Meyer. Ray Martin takes over as host on Nine’s A Current Affair.
24 January 1995: Lifestyle show Better Homes And Gardens (Seven) makes its debut, hosted by Noni Hazlehurst and John Jarratt with presenters Fiona Connelly, Belinda Jeffrey, Colm O’Leary and Tony Fragar.

24 January 1994: The debut of Ten‘s new lifestyle program Level 23, hosted by Melissa Thomas, Nathan Harvey, Anja Coleby, Nick Testoni and Brent Meyer.
Must not have lasted long since there’s not a lot of information on it.
Yes it was a flop. From memory, maybe two or three weeks.
25 January 1963: GTV9, Melbourne, in partnership with ABC carries the first television link from Adelaide for coverage of the Fourth Test cricket. The link was achieved by means of a “satellite” transmitter, located on the base of a DC-3 aircraft circling over the town of Serviceton, which will receive the television signal from Mt Lofty in Adelaide and then relay to a receiver on Mount Ben Nevis, near Ararat, then to Mount Buninyong, near Ballarat, and then to GTV9’s transmission tower on Mount Dandenong.
25 January 1976: Nine previews its new season of programming with a half-hour special, 1976: Have We Got A Year For You!, hosted by Bert Newton. Among the new shows being launched by Nine are Starsky And Hutch, Baretta, SWAT, Joe Forrester, Chopper One, The Invisible Man, Little House On The Prairie and Swiss Family Robinson.
25 January 1977: The end of an era as Homicide signs off after 12 years and 510 episodes — making it the longest running weekly drama series on Australian TV, a record it maintained until it was equalled by Blue Heelers‘ 510th episode in 2006. The final episode, titled The Last Task, featured guest appearances by Jacki Weaver, Cheryl Rixon, Jill Perryman and former cast member Leonard Teale.
25 January 1989: Network Ten launches its new soap, E Street, starring Penny Cook, Tony Martin, Vic Rooney, Cecily Polson, Warren Jones, Noel Hodda, Brooke ‘Mikey’ Anderson, Katrina Sedgwick, Paul Kelman, Alyssa-Jane Cook and Melanie Salomon.
25 January 1993: Mike Willesee takes over as host of A Current Affair, a role he held when the show first launched in 1971.
25/1/2001 it is announced that Channels Nine and Ten, as well as Foxtel, have secured the rights to televise AFL for the 2002-06 seasons, bringing an end to Seven’s partnership with the sport that had existed since the beginning of television.

25 January 1963: GTV9, Melbourne, in partnership with ABC carries the first television link from Adelaide for coverage of the Fourth Test cricket. The link was achieved by means of a “satellite” transmitter, located on the base of a DC-3 aircraft circling over the town of Serviceton, which will receive the television signal from Mt Lofty in Adelaide and then relay to a receiver on Mount Ben Nevis, near Ararat, then to Mount Buninyong, near Ballarat, and then to GTV9’s transmission tower on Mount Dandenon
Similar to Stratovision.
26 January 1976: The premiere of the two-part ABC drama Arena, starring John Meillon, Ray Barrett, Julie Hamilton, Chelsea Brown, Vincent Ball and Brian Blain. Arena told the story of a Sydney lawyer who works for an advertising agency and becomes disillusioned after seeing the exploitation of his sporting hero in making a television commercial. He sets up his own agency to represent the interests of sporting celebrities.
26 January 1980: The premiere of Lawson’s Mates (ABC), a series of plays based on the stories of Henry Lawson and adapted for television by Cliff Green. Each of the six episodes contain between three and eight of Lawson’s stories. Featured in the series are George Mallaby (pictured), Frank Wilson, Sigrid Thornton, John Wood, Sean Myers, Frank Gallacher, Robbie McGregor, Caroline Gillmer, Maggie Millar, Monica Maughan, Tony Bonner and Charles ‘Bud’ Tingwell.
26 January 1981: ABC’s prime time line-up for Australia Day includes The Governor-General’s Australia Day Message, the Australia Day Live concert from Melbourne and the premiere of the six-part comedy And Here Comes Bucknuckle, starring Peter Curtin, Noni Hazlehurst, John Bluthal and Reg Evans. The series screens over six consecutive nights. Later, there is a repeat of the three-part 1980 drama Players To The Gallery, starring Peter Sumner, Kate Fitzpatrick and Richard Moir.
26 January 1982: Channel 0/28‘s special programs to commemorate Australia Day include Aussies From All Over, taking a look at Australians from various cultural backgrounds who are combining their traditional cultures to the Australian way of life; and the 1938 comedy, Tall Timbers.
26 January 1985: Australia Day 1985 includes the opening ceremony of the inaugural (and only) Australia Games, formed as part of Victoria’s 150th anniversary celebration. Over the next ten days the Australia Games included over 2000 competitors from 25 countries in 23 sports. Other Australian programming on the day includes the Australia Day Concert from Melbourne, The Governor-General’s Address To The Nation and movies The FJ Holden, On Our Selection and All At Sea.
26 January 1988: The ABC, Seven, Nine and Ten networks all present special coverage throughout the day of events and activities from across Australia as Australia Day commemorates the bicentennial of European settlement. SBS‘ coverage of the day includes a half-hour highlights program, The Twenty Sixth Of January 1988, a re-run of the 1982 series Women Of The Sun, and the 1940 movie 40,000 Horsemen.
26 January 1990: Today is broadcast live from Admiralty House, Sydney, for the presentation of the Australia Day Awards, including the announcement of Australian of the Year by Prime Minister Bob Hawke.
26 January 1991: ABC‘s Australia Day program line-up includes The Governor-General’s Australia Day Message followed by The Very Best Of Aunty Jack, the mockumentary Barbakiueria and the 1940 Australian movie classic Dad Rudd MP.
26 January 1995: The second stage in the launch of pay-TV provider Galaxy includes the expansion of Premier Sports Network to a 24-hour channel and the addition of international news channel ANBC.
26 January 1996: Tim Ferguson hosts the Australia Day Concert (Nine) from Sydney’s Domain, including performances by Christine Anu, Diesel, Past To Present, Kulcha and DIG.
26 January 1997: Andrew Daddo and Samantha Riley host Australia Day Live: A Gift To The Nation, from Darling Harbour on Seven. The 2-hour concert includes performances by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, James Reyne, Richard Clapton, Ian Moss, The Seekers, Glenn Shorrock and CDB.
26 January 1998: Eddie McGuire, Simon O’Donnell and Darren Bennett host Nine‘s live coverage of the Superbowl XXXII from San Diego. The event is also covered live on pay-TV channel ESPN with an evening replay on Fox Sports.
26 January 2002: SBS debuts four-part Australian comedy series DIY TV, with each episode featuring a parody of different TV genre. The first episode, Video Dare, is a mock reality show where members of the public are encouraged to air their grievances against a neighbour, an ex or even the pizza delivery man. Once they do, a crew of workers go about avenging the wronged in “the most entertaining way possible,”
27 January 1988: Ten debuts new soapie Richmond Hill, from Grundy Television and starring Ross Higgins, Paula Duncan, Gwen Plumb, Maggie Kirkpatrick,Emily Symons, Ashley Paske, Tim Elston, Dina Panozzo, Marc Grey, Felicity Soper, Dane Carson and Warren Blondell.
27 January 1990: Seven debuts two new Saturday morning programs, Saturday Disney and Video Smash Hits.
27 January 1992: ABC crosses to Minnesota, for live coverage of the Superbowl XXVI, hosted by Don Lane.
27 January 2003: SBS and ESPN broadcast the Superbowl XXXVII from Qualcomm Stadium, California, with a live morning telecast and re-run in the evening.
29 January 1962: To commemorate the Australia Day public holiday, the ABC special The Bloke pays tribute to the late Australian poet CJ Dennis, including interviews with his friends, peers and biographer. The program also features re-enactments of two poems from The Sentimental Bloke — “The Intro” and “Mar”. The Bloke was scripted and narrated by Kit Denton (father of Andrew Denton) and included performances by actors Ken Goodlet, Margherita Keane, Agnes Dobson, Wynn Roberts and James Lynch.
29 January 1990: ABC presents live coverage of the NFL Superbowl XXIV, direct from New Orleans. Steve Vizard presents the first edition of his new late-night show, Tonight Live With Steve Vizard.
29 January 1991: The Nine Network launches its new adults-only drama Chances. Initially screening twice a week, the series struggled to catch on and was later cut back to one episode per week before playing out its last episodes late at night.
29 January 1996: Nine debuts its new late-night drama Pacific Drive in the 9.30pm timeslot before settling it into its regular timeslot of 11.00pm Monday and Wednesday nights. The series, described as “Melrose Place on the Gold Coast”, included cast Simone Buchanan, Kate Raison, Adrian Lee, Mark Constable, André Eikmeier, Joss McWilliam, Lloyd Morris, Kate Raison, Danielle Spencer, Christine Stephen-Daly, Erik Thomson, Libby Tanner and Melissa Tkautz.
29 January 2001: Seven‘s morning program The Big Breakfast is returned as an afternoon program, The Big Arvo, featuring presenters Anna Choy, Jennifer Hardy and Luke Jacobz.
29 January 2007: Nine‘s quiz show Temptation returns for a new year. Later, Seven launches its new game show, The Rich List, and Nine debuts 1 vs 100.

The Big Arvo
I remember watching this show quite often in my childhood. Most shows would finish with a snippet of a music video.
Towards the end of its run, the show also launched the career of James (then Jesse) Tobin who would later go on to host Go Go Stop (which, IIRC, launched shortly after Arvo was axed in May 2005).