Take a look at overnight TV ratings and you’d be forgiven for thinking Australia was a nation of newshounds. Most evenings, the TV programmes Aussies sit down to watch are the evening news updates. Some would argue that this simply reflects Australia’s outdoor lifestyle. People watch less TV here and if they do watch, it tends to be for information rather than entertainment. In the 1960s and 1970s, Australian TV production barely existed, with the home-grown TV mainly being musical entertainment and current affairs. In fact, at its worst, 97% of all drama shows on Australian TV were made overseas, mostly in America. Since then, the TV industry has grown hugely. At its peak a few years ago, around half of screened content was made in Australia. With the growth in multi-channel TV since the launch of digital broadcasting, this has fallen and currently around a third of TV programming…
Until the mid 1970s, the overwhelming majority of TV shows enjoyed in Australian homes were imported, particularly from the USA. British TV has always had a slice of the ratings pie in Australia, however, so if you’re planning a new antenna installation or home cinema to make the most of new TV viewing options, here are the British shows to look out for.
Experimental TV in Brisbane first aired in 1934 but it wasn’t until spring 1956—to coincide with the Melbourne Olympics—that Australia was welcomed into the family of mass TV broadcasting. Now nearing its diamond anniversary, it’s likely that most of your Grandmas remember their first TV and their earliest viewing experiences vividly. They might even remember watching the first broadcast of an interview with the nation’s favourite grandma, Dame Edna Everage, on HSV-7’s first day of broadcasting.
