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1986 in Australian television

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Events

Television

5 January - SBS ceases VHF transmissions on Channel 0 in Sydney and Melbourne.
20 January - Neighbours makes its debut on Network Ten and comes to dominate the 7:00pm weeknight timeslot.
25 January - American sitcom starring Soleil Moon Frye and George Gaynes Punky Brewster receives its Australian television debut on Seven Network.
28 January - Australian news and current affairs program The 7.30 Report debuts on ABC.
30 January - Debut of Australian soap opera Prime Time on Nine Network. It was the very last soap opera from Australia ever produced with exterior location scenes shot on film and interior scenes shot on videotape.
10 February - Australian soap opera Return to Eden premieres on Network Ten.
13 March - Australia's popular and influential TV sketch comedy The D-Generation which was created and written by a group of students from Melbourne University who had gained local notoriety for their stage work such as Marg Downey, Michael Veitch and Tom Gleisner debuts on ABC.
16 March - SBS expands into Perth and Hobart.
31 March - ABC airs extra morning programs for children for the first time due to school term breaks from 10:00am to 12:00pm.
7 July - Last and final episode of the Australian soap opera Return to Eden airs on Network Ten.
23 July - The Royal Wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson is broadcast on all television stations except for SBS.
5 August - British police procedural television series The Bill premieres on ABC.
19 September - Nine Network celebrates 30 years of television with a two-hour special featuring footage from some of TV's most popular and most remembered programs and personalities.
27 October - Neighbours airs on the BBC in the UK for the first time.
30 October - The Movie Show begins on SBS.
November - Pbl Mini series Cyclone Tracy + The Great Bookie Robbery air on Channel Nine
11 December - Final episode of the Australian soap opera Prisoner airs on Network Ten.
15 December - ABC airs extra morning programs for children during the Summer Holidays from 10:00am to 12:00pm until February where School Term 1 will begin.
December - The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd, owners of HSV-7 & ADS-7 are sold to Rupert Murdoch's News Limited for $1.8 billion. As News Limited owned ATV-10 at this time, HSV-7 is sold to Fairfax (already owners of ATN-7 & BTQ-7) in February 1987 for $320 million.
Australian children's series Mr. Squiggle returns with a brand new series with Roxanne Kimmorley taking over as presenter.
AUSSAT satellites are launched, bringing television to remote areas for the first time.
The 1986 Commonwealth Games are telecast live on ABC from Edinburgh, Scotland.

Debuts

20 January - Off the Dish (Network Ten)
28 January - The 7.30 Report (ABC-TV)
30 January - Prime Time (Nine Network)
10 February - C'mon Kids (Nine Network)
10 February - Return to Eden (Network Ten)
9 March - A Fortunate Life (Nine Network)
13 March - The D-Generation (ABC-TV)
20 March - The Girl from Steel City (SBS)
31 March - Edge of the Wedge (ABC-TV)
3 April - Game of Life (ABC-TV)
6 May - The Video Comedy Show (ABC-TV)
9 May - Saturdee (Channel Seven)
15 May - Fame and Misfortune (ABC-TV)
26 May - The Flying Doctors (Nine Network)
15 June - Don Spencer's Feathers, Furs or Fins (ABC-TV)
19 July - The Cartoon Company (Nine Network)
29 July - The Noise (SBS)
22 September - My Brother Tom (Network Ten)
28 September/30 September - Whose Baby? (28 September: Channel Seven - Melbourne, 30 September: Channel Seven - Sydney)
30 September - Studio 86 (ABC-TV)
30 September - Filmstruck (ABC-TV)
2 October - The Haunted School (ABC-TV)
14 October - The Challenge (Nine Network)
20 October - Sword of Honour (Channel Seven)
30 October - The Movie Show (SBS)
10 November - Professor Poopsnagle's Steam Zeppelin (Nine Network)

New international programming

2 January - USA Malibu (Nine Network)
4 January - ITA La Linea (ABC TV)
4 January - MEX/USA Amigo and Friends (SBS)
5 January - USA/JPN The Mighty Orbots (Channel Seven)
5 January - USA/BEL Snorks (Channel Seven - Sydney)
6 January - USA Eye to Eye (Nine Network)
7 January - USA/UK Kennedy (Nine Network)
8 January - GRE The Return (SBS)
11 January - USA/JPN The Transformers (Network Ten)
23 January - UK The Jockey School (ABC TV)
25 January - USA Punky Brewster (Channel Seven)
30 January - UK The Happy Apple (ABC TV)
31 January - UK Submarine (ABC TV)
31 January - USA Highway to Heaven (Network Ten)
3 February - FRA/BEL/USA Lucky Luke (ABC TV)
10 February - USA Kane and Abel (Network Ten)
11 February - USA Tales from the Darkside (Network Ten)
12 February - USA Growing Pains (Nine Network)
12 February - USA Who's the Boss? (Nine Network)
24 February - UK Inside China (SBS)
27 February - USA The Twilight Zone (1985) (Nine Network)
4 March - USA A Death in California (Seven Network)
5 March - UK Cold Warrior (ABC TV)
20 March - GER Office Gossip (SBS)
31 March - USA The Bunjee Venture (ABC TV)
2 April - USA The Return of Bunjee (ABC TV)
2 April - GER Stories from Next Door (SBS)
2 April - UK Spooky (ABC TV)
3 April - UK Paddington Goes to School (ABC TV)
3 April - NZ Cuckoo Land (ABC TV)
4 April - UK Nobody's Hero (ABC TV)
4 April - USA It's Punky Brewster (Channel Seven)
6 April - USA Turbo Teen (Network Ten)
12 April - CAN/USA Star Wars: Ewoks (Network Ten)
12 April - CAN/USA Star Wars: Droids (Network Ten)
12 April - JPN Robotech (Network Ten)
15 April - USA Moonlighting (Nine Network)
27 April - USA The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries (Channel Seven)
28 April - USA The Challenge of the Machine Men (Channel Seven)
30 April - CAN Bits and Bytes (ABC TV)
3 May - WAL SuperTed (ABC TV)
3 May - UK Do It (ABC TV)
5 May - USA The Colbys (Nine Network)
8 May - MLT Sunday Blues (SBS)
12 May - ITA Longing to Fly (SBS)
23 May - UK Smiley's People (ABC TV)
23 May - UK Letty (ABC TV)
31 May - USA Berrenger's (Channel Seven)
5 June - WAL Wil Cwac Cwac (ABC TV)
5 June - GER The Bear, the Tiger and the Others (ABC TV)
10 June - UK Edge of Darkness (ABC TV)
14 June - UK Treffpunkt: Deutschland (ABC TV)
24 June - UK 'Allo 'Allo! (Channel Seven)
30 June - UK Fast Forward (ABC TV)
10 July - GRE Vayia's Treasure (SBS)
15 July - UK Floyd on Fish (SBS)
17 July - UK The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ (ABC TV)
20 July - USA Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears (Channel Seven)
24 July - USA The Voyage of the Mimi (ABC TV)
27 July - USA The Wuzzles (Channel Seven)
2 August - UK T-Bag (ABC TV)
3 August - UK The Beiderbecke Affair (ABC TV)
5 August - UK The Bill (ABC TV)
7 August - ITA Quaq Quao (ABC TV)
10 August - UK Me and My Girl (Channel Seven)
11 August - UK Yes Prime Minister (ABC TV)
12 August - NZ Terry and the Gunrunners (ABC TV)
13 August - ITA The Morca Mystery (SBS)
13 August - GRE Fiery Skies (SBS)
13 August - USA Doubletake (Network Ten)
13 August - UK The Haunting of Cassie Palmer (ABC TV)
16 August - IRE/UK The Irish R.M. (ABC TV)
17 August - CAN/AUS Spearfield's Daughter (Channel Seven)
21 August - UK Victoria Wood as Seen on TV (ABC TV)
23 August - FRA/USA/CAN M.A.S.K. (Nine Network)
24 August - USA The Centurions (Network Ten)
26 August - USA Street Hawk (Network Ten)
6 September - USA/JPN ThunderCats (Channel Seven)
11 September - UK Anna of the Five Towns (ABC TV)
11 September - UK The Comic Strip Presents... (ABC TV)
14 September - UK Mansfield Park (ABC TV)
17 September - USA Finnegan Begin Again (Channel Seven)
18 September - USA Spenser: For Hire (Nine Network)
19 September - UK Stookie (ABC TV)
22 September - USA Going Bananas (ABC TV)
23 September - FRA The Croc-Note Show (ABC TV)
25 September - USA I Had Three Wives (Nine Network)
29 September - USA Small Wonder (Nine Network)
30 September - UK Chessgame (Nine Network)
6 October - UK All at No 20 (ABC TV)
15 October - USA The Last Precinct (Network Ten)
26 October - USA Galtar and the Golden Lance (Channel Seven)
27 October - USA On Wings of Eagles (Network Ten)
4 November - USA Lady Blue (Channel Seven)
7 November - USA Airwolf (Channel Seven)
10 November - USA 227 (Network Ten)
10 November - USA Call to Glory (Network Ten)
10 November - JPN The Magical World of Gigi (Network Ten)
11 November - USA The Best Times (Channel Seven)
11 November - USA Foley Square (Nine Network)
11 November - USA Mary (Nine Network)
11 November - USA Lime Street (Channel Seven)
12 November - USA Our Family Honor (Channel Seven)
12 November - USA Detective in the House (Channel Seven)
13 November - USA Call to Glory (Network Ten)
14 November - USA Riptide (Network Ten)
17 November - UK Relative Strangers (ABC TV)
23 November - USA Jem (Network Ten)
25 November - USA MacGruder and Loud (Nine Network)
27 November - USA Hawaiian Heat (Nine Network)
12 December - UK Aspel and Co. (ABC TV)
15 December - UK Roland Rat (ABC TV)
15 December - NZ Country GP (ABC TV)
15 December - UK Let's Read with Basil Brush (ABC TV)
18 December - USA You Again? (Network Ten)
21 December - UK Freud (ABC TV)
21 December - USA He-Man & She-Ra: A Christmas Special (Channel Seven)
22 December - USA/FRA/CAN The Care Bears (Network Ten)
28 December - USA The Flintstones' 25th Anniversary Celebration (Channel Seven)
29 December - UK The Hot Shoe Show (ABC TV)
29 December - USA Television Parts (ABC TV)
31 December - UK An Audience with Billy Connolly (ABC TV)

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 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.

Domestic

Program	New network(s)	Previous network(s)	Date
Neighbours	Network Ten	Seven Network
The Maestro's Company	ABC TV	SBS

Television shows

1950s

Mr. Squiggle and Friends (1959 – 1999)

1960s

Four Corners (1961 – present)

1970s

Hey Hey It's Saturday (1971 – 1999, 2009 – 2010)
Young Talent Time (1971 – 1989)
Countdown (1974 – 1987)
60 Minutes (1979 – present)
Prisoner (1979 – 1986)

1980s

Sale of the Century (1980 – 2001)
Wheel of Fortune (1981 – 2008)
Sunday (1981 – 2008)
Today (1982 – present)
Perfect Match (1984 – 1989)
Neighbours (1985 – present)
The Flying Doctors (1986 – 1993)

Ending this year

Date		Show		Channel		Debut
24 January
7 July
11 July
29 September (Melbourne)/1 October (Sydney)
16 October
23 October
11 December

References

(4 January 2002). "To Be Continued... Soap Operas Around the World". Taylor & Francis.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

1986-in-australian-television

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