On This Day

[TelevisionAU]

4 February 1972: Mike Willesee and John Bailey host Preview 72, a one-hour special highlighting the shows coming up on the Nine Network during the year.

4 February 1984: Network Ten‘s 26-hour National Olympic Telethon comes to a close with a final total of $5,520,000 raised from across Australia.

4 February 1991: Network Ten’s Good Morning Australia launches a revamped look, with Kerri-Anne Kennerley and new co-host Tim Webster. The morning show now has a lighter, brighter format with more emphasis on entertainment, consumer affairs, recreation, health and sport. Later in the day Ten launches evening game shows Let’s Make A Deal, with Vince Sorrenti, and Blind Date, with Greg Evans and Nicky Buckley.

4 February 1998: Wildside, previously seen as a four-part mini-series on ABC, returns as a weekly series of 36 episodes.

4 February 2002: SBS and Fox Sports present coverage of Super Bowl XXXVI, live from New Orleans, Louisiana.

4 February 2005: Seven Network personality and former champion swimmer Johanna Griggs takes over as host of Better Homes And Gardens.

4 February 2008: SBS and Fox Sports 2 present coverage of Super Bowl XLII, live from Phoenix, Arizona.

[TelevisionAU]

5 February 1968: Adventure series Skippy The Bush Kangaroo debuts on Nine.

5 February 1973: Mike Walsh returns to television with his new daytime variety show, The Mike Walsh Show, airing on the 0-10 Network.

5 February 1979: Former Brisbane television presenter Annette Allison begins as newsreader at Eyewitness News in Melbourne, working alongside Bruce Mansfield.

5 February 1993: The Seven Network launches travel series The Great Outdoors, featuring Penny Cook, Ernie Dingo, Sofie Formica, Rex Hunt, Jack Absalom, Ted Egan, Neil Crompton, Bridget Adams and Sharon Tyrrell.

5 February 2000: Molly Meldrum and Leah McLeod host the debut of Ten‘s new pop music show House Of Hits, incorporating video clips, live performances and guest co-hosts.

5 February 2001: The Australian version of game show The Weakest Link begins on Seven, hosted by Cornelia Frances.

5 February 2007: SBS, Fox Sports 1 and ESPN present coverage of Super Bowl XLI, live from Miami Gardens, Florida.

5 February 2009: Network Ten launches new factual series Bondi Vet, featuring Dr Chris Brown at the Bondi Junction Veterinary Hospital.

[JBar]

It’s astounding how it was alright to have that sort of innuendo to publicise the news. I couldn’t see any journalist agreeing to anything like that today.

[TelevisionAU]

@JBar

It’s astounding how it was alright to have that sort of innuendo to publicise the news.

Bruce Mansfield wrote many years later that when the ad was published Derryn Hinch went onto his radio show and said even then how sexist it was. Apparently he was dating Ms Allison so may have had a conflict of interest but interesting that even at the time it was thought to be crossing a line.

Of course, more recently, as in 20ish years ago, when Nine in Perth had the all-female newsreading lineup of Dixie Marshall and Sonia Vinci that the ads had the tagline “6 o’clock never looked so good”. Very sexist for the 2000s!

[JBar]

Good that someone spoke up but you do wonder if he would have spoken out if there wasn’t a personal connection. But equally, I think that’s a bad thing to do to the male newsreader too. Suggesting he is seeing “another woman” as if cheating makes him a legend. Really, what would that have to do with delivering the news?

[TelevisionAU]

@JBar

Good that someone spoke up but you do wonder if he would have spoken out if there wasn’t a personsl connection. But equally, I think that’s a bad thing to do to the male newsreader too. Suggesting he is seeing “another woman” as if cheating makes him a legend. Really, what would that have to do with delivering the news?

just goes to show that rage bait isn’t just a current/internet phenomenon, it was used to troll us even then. I guess the old saying ‘all publicity is good publicity’ also applies, especially when you are probably ranked 4th in a 3-horse race

[TelevisionAU]

6 February 1982: Channel 0/28’s afternoon test pattern is replaced by a test broadcast by public access organisation Open Channel. 0/28 would host several such test broadcasts over the following years in the lead up to regular trials and licencing of community television stations.

6 February 1996: With a federal election looming, Ten News presents a one-hour special, Paul Keating: True Colours, profiling the Prime Minister. The previous night there was an equivalent special featuring Opposition Leader John Howard.

6 February 2000: The Seven Network debuts the new reality series Popstars, based on a New Zealand format, which resulted in the formation of the all-girl pop group Bardot.

6 February 2005: Network Ten debuts reality series The X Factor with hosts Daniel MacPherson and Chloe Maxwell and judges Mark Holden, Kate Ceberano and John Reid.

6 February 2006: SBS and ESPN cover Super Bowl XL, live from Detriot, Michigan.

[Tane04]

@TelevisionAU

6 February 1982: Channel 0/28’s afternoon test pattern is replaced by a test broadcast by public access organisation Open Channel. 0/28 would host several such test broadcasts over the following years in the lead up to regular trials and licencing of community television stations.

[TelevisionAU]

7 February 1963: The 12-part series Alcheringa makes its Melbourne debut on ABV2. The series of 15-minute programs presented a re-enactment of the life, customs and practices of an indigenous family 200 years ago — before the arrival of Europeans. The series was filmed on location in Victoria and New South Wales.

7 February 1972: Melbourne’s ATV0 launches new daytime shows Surprise Surprise, with Tommy Hanlon Jnr and Ian Turpie, and Queen Of The House, hosted by Sean Myers and Joy Westmore, and after-school children’s show The Wonderful World Of The Young with Judy Banks and Fredd Bear (Tedd Dunn).

7 February 1977: The Mike Walsh Show debuts on the Nine Network after four years on the 0-10 Network.

7 February 1987: ABC debuts six-part mini-series Great Expectations — The Untold Story, presenting a different take on the Charles Dickens classic, starring Sigrid Thornton, Robert Coleby, Todd Boyce, John Stanton, Jill Forster, Bruce Spence, Noel Ferrier and Anne Louise Lambert.

7 February 1990: The debut of Nine’s new drama Family And Friends.

7 February 1994: Midday returns for the new year with new host Derryn Hinch.

7 February 1997: Garry McDonald, Celia de Burgh, Brian Vriends, Leah Purcell, Geoff Morrell, Simon Chilvers and Ling-Hsueh Tang star in the new ABC drama Fallen Angels.

7 February 1998: The Seven Network begins coverage of the XVIII Olympic Winter Games from Nagano, Japan.

7 February 2004: ABC weekly drama series Fireflies, starring Jeremy Sims, Libby Tanner, Nadia Townsend, Anna Hruby and Russell Newman, debuts with a 90-minute episode.

7 February 2005: SBS and Fox Sports 1 broadcast Super Bowl XXXIX, live from Jacksonville, Florida.

7 February 2007: Osher Günsberg and Brigitte Duclos host the premiere of Network Ten game show, The Con Test.

7 February 2008: The premiere of documentary series Saving Kids on Network Ten, hosted by Australian Idol winner Damien Leith.

[TelevisionAU]

8 February 1978: ABC launches a new music series The Real Thing hosted by radio host Ron E Sparx. The first show includes appearances by Little River Band, Radio Birdman, Renee Geyer and Dragon.

8 February 1979: The Federal Government approves the application for Melbourne channel ATV0 to convert its transmission to the Channel 10 frequency.

8 February 1993: ABC launches breakfast news bulletin First Edition, presented by Kate Dunstan and Doug Weller.

8 February 2006: The debut of ABC cooking show The Cook And The Chef, featuring Maggie Beer and Simon Bryant.

8 February 2009: Chris Bath and Mike Munro host the premiere of Seven‘s weekly current affairs show Sunday Night.

8 February 2010: Network Ten (and One HD), Fox Sports 3 and ESPN telecast Super Bowl XLIV, live from Miami Gardens, Florida.

[JohnsonTV]

@TelevisionAU

8 February 2006: The debut of ABC cooking show The Cook And The Chef, featuring Maggie Beer and Simon Bryant.

This show is still being repeated on SBS Food 20 years later.

[BigVic]

@TelevisionAU

8 February 2009: Chris Bath and Mike Munro host the premiere of Seven‘s weekly current affairs show Sunday Night.

The first episode was presented from Kinglake in the aftermath of the Black Saturday bushfires when the scale of the tragedy became known

[BJT2]

@TelevisionAU

8 February 1993: ABC launches breakfast news bulletin First Edition, presented by Kate Dunstan and Doug Weller.

How long did this last for? At one stage it was coming out of Melbourne?

[TelevisionAU]

@BJT2

How long did this last for? At one stage it was coming out of Melbourne?

axed in August 1996

[TheMoreYouKnow]

Yes, but Weller and Dunstan didn’t last beyond 1993 before being replaced by Tony Eastley and later Kathy Bowlen

[TelevisionAU]

9 February 1975: The Nine Network debuts new serial The Unisexers in a one-hour episode. The series, from the producers of Number 96, includes cast Walter Pym, Jessica Noad, Steven Tandy, Patrick Ward, Josephine Knur, Tina Bursill, Delore Whiteman, Tony Sheldon, John Paramor, Michele Fawdon, Anne Grigg and Sonia Hoffman. The series was axed after three weeks.

THE UNISEXERS (pilot)

YouTube: ttsheldy

9 February 1976: The Melbourne debut of Seven‘s new drama series Tandarra, starring Gerard Kennedy, Penne Hackforth-Jones and Gus Mercurio. (ATN7, Sydney, followed the next night) A 13-episode series set in the 1850s, Tandarra was the sequel to Cash And Company that aired the previous year. The 0-10 Network debuts its new charade game show The Celebrity Game, hosted by Mike Preston with Johnny Pace, Harriet, Joe Martin and Joy Chambers. Horizon-5, a daily rural affairs program, debuts on ABC. Hosted by Neil Inall.

The Celebrity Game 1976

YouTube: FrozenDoberman

9 February 1981: The Seven Network debuts game show Catch Us If You Can, a mix of studio and on-location games and Candid Camera-type stunts. The show is hosted by ’60s pop star Bryan Davies with presenters including Deborah Gray, Russell Newman, Grant Dodwell, Ian Macrae, Marty Morton, Mark Kounnas and Edith Bliss.

9 February 1992: Nine presents live coverage of the Opening Ceremony of the XVI Olympic Winter Games from Albertville, France.

9 February 1995: Andrew Daddo and Alyssa-Jane Cook host the new series Funniest People (Seven), featuring contestants performing everything from party tricks to impersonations — with the three best each week winning prizes to the value of $10,000.

9 February 1998: Sale Of The Century (Nine) returns for the new year with the celebrity contest ‘Battle Of The TV Shows’, featuring stars from The Price Is Right, Money, Good Medicine, Water Rats, Hey Hey It’s Saturday, The Movie Show, Getaway and Animal Hospital.

9 February 2002: Johanna Griggs hosts Seven‘s coverage of the Opening Ceremony of the XIX Olympic Winter Games from Salt Lake City, Utah.

9 February 2003: Former SBS Dateline host Jana Wendt returns to the Nine Network after ten years to take over as host of weekly current affairs program Sunday. Sketch comedy series Skithouse, from Roving Enterprises, debuts on Network Ten.

9 February 2005: The debut of ABC‘s music quiz show Spicks And Specks with Adam Hills and team captains Adam Brough and Myf Warhurst. Network Ten launches Aussie Queer Eye For The Straight Guy.

9 February 2009: Underbelly: A Tale Of Two Cities, a dramatised account the marijuana trade centred on the New South Wales town of Griffith, debuts on Nine. The series starred Andrew McFarlane, Roy Billing, Matthew Newton, Anna Hutchinson, Asher Keddie and Peter Phelps.

[TelevisionAU]

10 February 1973: The Seven Network telecasts the opening of Hobart’s Wrest Point casino — the first casino in Australia. The telecast is hosted by Seven Network personalities Bob Rogers and Tony Barber and includes a performance by Jerry Lewis.

10 February 1991: The Simpsons makes its Australian premiere on Network Ten, featuring two episodes – ‘Bart The Genius’ and ‘Homer’s Odyssey’.

10 February 1992: The Nine Network launches children’s quiz show Guess What?, the game show Supermarket Sweep with Ian Turpie, and a new Extra local current affairs shows in each of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

10 February 1994: Ray Martin hosts the one-hour special Graham Kennedy’s 60th Birthday (Nine), featuring various footage of Kennedy’s career including In Melbourne Tonight.

10 February 1996: The life of transport tycoon and media owner Reg Ansett is covered in the one-hour special RM The Ansett Story (Nine), hosted by Getaway‘s Jeff Watson, timed to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the Ansett Australia airline.

10 February 2000: Amanda Keller hosts new series Switching Lives (Ten), which turns the phrase ‘walking a mile in my shoes’ into reality.

10 February 2002: Melbourne radio personality Matt Tilley hosts the debut of reality contest The Fugitive, a joint venture between the Austereo radio network and Network Ten.

10 February 2004: Network Ten screens Australian Idol: The Concert, featuring all 12 Australian Idol finalists from the 2003 series: Guy Sebastian, Shannon Noll, Cosima de Vito, Paulini Curuenavuli, Rob Mills, Levi Kereama, Rebekah LaVauney, Kelly Cavuoto, Lauren Buckley, Cle Wootton, Peter Ryan and Mathew Chadwick.

10 February 2010: MasterChef Australia season one runner-up Poh Ling Yeow debuts her new cooking show, Poh’s Kitchen, on ABC.

[BJT2]

@TelevisionAU

10 February 1991: The Simpsons makes its Australian premiere on Network Ten, featuring two episodes – ‘Bart The Genius’ and ‘Homer’s Odyssey’.

Wow… 35 years ago. Although, I don’t think it’s even shown on free to air anymore?

[Tane04]

The Simpsons stopped airing on Ten after the network was brought out by CBS in 2017 after which it moved to 7mate in 2018. It hasn’t been on free to air since last year.

[TelevisionAU]

11 February 1967: Australian soprano June Bronhill stars in her own ABC special, June Bronhill Sings, a variety show with a 19th century theme. The special co-stars Denis Quilley, Tikki Taylor, Alan Tobin and Robert Gard.

11 February 1974: Melbourne’s ATV0 screens the debut episode of The Box, Crawford Productions‘ serial based around the activities of a fictional television station, UCV12. The cast included George Mallaby, Belinda Giblin, Lois Ramsey, Paul Karo, Briony Behets, Fred Betts, Barrie Barkla, Helen Hemingway, Judy Nunn, Ken James, Fred ‘Cul’ Cullen, Kay McFeeter, Peter Regan, Monica Maughan and Ken Snodgrass. Sydney’s TEN10 aired the episode the following night.

11 February 1979: Nine’s big-budget current affairs gamble 60 Minutes makes its debut. Featuring reporters Ray Martin, George Negus and Ian Leslie, 60 Minutes got off to a slow start in the ratings but soon built up to become one of Nine’s flagship properties in the decades to follow.

11 February 1985: Midday With Ray Martin makes its debut, replacing The Mike Walsh Show, which moves to night time. Ten’s Good Afternoon Australia is revamped as After Noon, with Tony Murphy and Katrina Lee. Nine also launches Blankety Blanks with Daryl Somers, a revival of the popular game show hosted by Graham Kennedy in the late 1970s.

11 February 1987: Seven Network sitcom Hey Dad! debuts.

11 February 1990: Ten launches its new comedy double, Larger Than Life with Mark Mitchell and Col’n Carpenter, starring Kym Gyngell.

11 February 1993: The Norman Gunston Show (Seven) marks the return of the self-described Australian TV legend, played by Garry McDonald.

11 February 1996: The Nine Network commences its coverage of the 1996 Cricket World Cup, with the opening ceremony live from Calcutta, India.

11 February 2002: The Nine Network launches quiz show Shafted, hosted by Red Symons. The show replaced Sale Of The Century, which had wrapped up at the end of 2001 after 21 years on air.

11 February 2004: Ten debuts its new reality contest The Resort, hosted by rock singer Jon Stevens, based around a group of individuals building and running a Fijian resort.

11 February 2010: Seven debuts TV-themed game show The White Room, hosted by Tony Moclair and Julian Schiller and panellists including Felicity Ward, Lawrence Mooney, George McEncroe and Dave Thornton. The show lasted two weeks.