2002 in Australian television
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Events
- 25 January – Richard Morecroft reads his last ABC News bulletin. He is replaced the following Monday by Tony Eastley.
- 4 February – Nine cast members from All Saints participate in The Weakest Link: All Saints Special to mark the first and only anniversary of The Weakest Link in Australia. Erik Thomson wins the special, but his winnings are unknown.
- 11 February – The Nine Network's post-Sale of the Century replacement, Shafted hosted by former Hey Hey It's Saturday member Red Symons premieres. After dismal ratings the show is cancelled in April the same year. On the same day the network's post-Burgo's Catch Phrase replacement Pass the Buck, a new game show based on the UK game show containing a word association premieres leading into Nine's most-watched 6pm news bulletin, After dismal ratings the show is cancelled in May the same year.
- 20 February – American science fiction fantasy series Star Trek: Enterprise premieres on the Nine Network.
- 11 March – The Seven Network's Docklands studios in Melbourne is open, with the first Seven News Melbourne news bulletin being broadcast from the centre. This leads to a national relaunch of the Seven News brand with new sets and graphics in most cities. Also on that day, the nine remaining contestants from the third season of The Mole take part in a special episode of The Weakest Link for a chance to add $100,000 to the prize kitty. The team performed well against expectations, winning only $14,100, the lowest amount ever won on the Seven iteration of the show. On The Mole, this figure is rounded up to $15,000. The show was cancelled one month later after dismal ratings.
- 6 March – Foxtel introduces a new sports channel called Fox Footy Channel. It runs until 1 October 2006.
- 20 March – Tim Lane resigns from the Nine Network following a disagreement in regards to commentating AFL matches with Eddie McGuire involving the Collingwood Football Club. Lane defects to rival Network Ten in 2003, where he remained until Ten lost the rights at the end of 2011.
- 28 March – The Nine Network televises its first AFL game until Nine lost the TV rights at the end of 2006.
- 30 March – The Western Front premieres on Network Ten in Perth and was hosted by Tim Gossage and Lachy Reid.
- 30 March – Network Ten televises its first AFL game until Ten lost the TV rights at the end of 2011.
- 8 April – The Nine Network moves American comedy series Frasier to its 7:00 pm weeknight timeslot after the post-Sale of the Century replacement, Shafted was axed following bad ratings.
- 8 April – Australian media analysis television program Media Watch returns to air on the ABC several months after the broadcaster had removed its former managing director Jonathan Shier with David Marr taking over as host as Paul Barry had been sacked by Shier in 2000 following its cancellation.
- 24 April – Crystal-Rose Cluff wins the third season of The Mole, taking home $108,000 in prize money. Alaina Taylor is revealed as the Mole, and Marc Jongebloed is the runner-up.
- 2 May – Final episode of the Australian drama series (which is the very first television series in Australia to be filmed in widescreen) Something in the Air airs on ABC.
- 16 May – Kath & Kim premieres on the ABC and is a surprise hit. It was picked up by the Seven Network in 2007.
- 24 May – The Seven Network axes vintage episodes of Home and Away due to very bad ratings.
- 27 May – The American comedy-drama series M*A*S*H debuts its 5.00pm timeslot on the Seven Network.
- 10 June – Australian travel magazine series The Great Outdoors moves to one hour at 7.30pm Mondays on the Seven Network.
- 1 July – Peter Corbett wins the second season of Big Brother.
- 2 July – American science fiction fantasy series Smallville premieres on the Nine Network.
- 17 July – The Australian drama series Young Lions premieres on the Nine Network.
- 26 July – Mixy ends after 4-year run and it will be replaced by children's weekday morning and afternoon blocks on the ABC.
- 6 August – Eddie McGuire and Catriona Rowntree present an all new IQ test television series called Test Australia: The National IQ Test which is airing on Nine Network. It has also been ranked as the most watched television show for 2002 in Australia.
- 8 August – The American action drama series 24 premieres on the Seven Network.
- 12 August –
- After being cancelled in 2001, Burgo's Catch Phrase relaunches on the Nine Network and is a surprise hit, with new graphics, new theme music and new prizes with the contestant backdrop increased to three people with the game show been produced by Southern Star Endemol, leading into Nine's most-watched 6pm news bulletin.
- TV and radio personality Dylan Lewis is voted winner of Celebrity Big Brother.
- The Australian drama series White Collar Blue premieres on Network Ten.
- September – SBS launches its first Digital channel, the SBS World News Channel.
- 1 September – The Nine Network undergoes a revamp to change their on-air graphics, including changing their dots back to spears as well as the numeral becoming 3D for the colour-coded days.
- 30 September – The Wiggles return to television with a brand new television series called Lights, Camera, Action, Wiggles! airing for the first time ever on ABC.
- 4 October – Beyblade premieres on Fox Kids and two weeks later on Network Ten as part of Cheez TV. Also that day, David Koch takes over from Chris Reason as co-host of Sunrise, a role which he would hold until June 2023.[1]
- 29 November – Brian Henderson retires from reading Sydney's National Nine News after four decades. He is replaced the following Monday by Jim Waley, who manages to keep the bulletin on top of the ratings in Sydney for the next two years.[2]
- 2 December – Jim Waley presents his weeknight bulletin from Sydney’s National Nine News which replaced the retired Brian Henderson.
- 5 December - The American comedy-drama series Scrubs premieres on the Seven Network.
Channels
New channels
- 6 March – Fox Footy Channel
Defunct channels
- 30 November – Oh! (replaced by FOX8 on Optus Television)
Premieres
Domestic series
| Program | Channel | Debut date |
|---|---|---|
| The Garden Gurus | Nine Network | 2 February |
| Shafted | Nine Network | 11 February |
| Pass the Buck | Nine Network | 11 February |
| Auction Squad | Seven Network | 13 February |
| Australian Survivor | Nine Network | 13 February |
| Fear Factor | Nine Network | 19 February |
| Saturday Night Footy | Network Ten | 30 March |
| Kath & Kim | ABC TV | 16 May |
| Old Tom | ABC TV, ABC Kids (digital only) | 6 June |
| Young Lions | Nine Network | 17 July |
| Celebrity Big Brother | Network Ten | 21 July |
| MDA | ABC TV | 23 July |
| Test Australia: The National IQ Test | Nine Network | 6 August |
| White Collar Blue | Network Ten | 12 August |
| Creature Features[3] | ABC TV, ABC Kids (digital only) | 9 September |
| CNNNN | ABC TV | 19 September |
| Lights, Camera, Action, Wiggles! | ABC TV, ABC Kids (digital only) | 30 September |
| Don't Blame Me | Nine Network | 6 October |
| Fairy Tale Police Department | Seven Network | 18 October |
| Mornings with Kerri-Anne | Nine Network | 28 October |
| Bad Cop, Bad Cop | ABC TV | 18 November |
International series
Subscription television
Domestic
International
| Program | Channel | Debut date |
|---|---|---|
 The Osbournes[9] |
MTV | 4 April |
 Shinzo |
Fox Kids | 8 April |
| Time Squad[10] |
Cartoon Network | 3 May |
| Justice League[10] |
Cartoon Network | 8 June |
 // The Cramp Twins |
Cartoon Network | 1 July |
| The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius[11] |
Nickelodeon | 26 July |
| Zoids: Chaotic Century[12] |
Cartoon Network | 2 September |
| Beyblade |
Fox Kids | 4 October |
| The Story of Tracy Beaker[13] |
Nickelodeon | 18 October |
| Fun at the Funeral Parlor[14] |
UKTV | 22 October |
| The Anna Nicole Show[15] |
Arena | 5 November |
| Lenny Henry in Pieces[16] |
UKTV | 9 November |
| Yu-Gi-Oh! |
Nickelodeon | 2002 |
| The Fairly OddParents! |
Nickelodeon | 2002 |
| Invader Zim |
Nickelodeon | 2002 |
| Kim Possible |
Disney Channel | 2002 |
Specials
| Program | Channel | Debut date |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 Country Music Association Awards[16] |
Main Event | 7 November |
Free-to-air premieres
This is a list of programs which made their premiere on Australian free-to-air television that had previously premiered on Australian subscription television. Programs may still air on the original subscription television network.
International
| Program | Free-to-air network | Subscription network | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Osbournes[17][18] |
Network Ten | MTV | 1 July |
Subscription premieres
This is a list of programs which made their premiere on Australian subscription television that had previously premiered on Australian free-to-air television. Programs may still air on the original free-to-air television network.
Domestic
| Program | Subscription network | Free-to-air network | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Li'l Horrors | Fox Kids | Seven Network | 2002 |
International
| Program | Subscription network | Free-to-air network | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
 / The Saddle Club |
Fox Kids | ABC TV | 2002 |
| Saved by the Bell: The College Years[13] |
Nickelodeon | Seven Network | 5 October |
| Mary-Kate and Ashley in Action![13] |
Nickelodeon | [citation needed] | 14 October |
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 both 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elly & Jools | ABC Kids (digital only) | Nine Network | 23 February |
| Lizzie's Library | ABC Kids (digital only) | ABC TV | 2002 |
International
Ending / resting this year
| Date | Show | Channel | Debut |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 January | Cybergirl | Network Ten | 21 July 2001 |
| 22 April | The Weakest Link | Seven Network | 5 February 2001 |
| 2 May | Something in the Air | ABC TV | 17 January 2000 |
| 7 July | Halifax f.p. | Seven Network | 9 October 1994 |
| 26 July | Mixy | ABC TV | 16 February 1998 |
| 29 September | All Aussie Adventures | Network Ten | 5 August 2001 |
| 14 November | BackBerner | ABC TV | 19 August 1999 |
| 18 December | Young Lions | Nine Network | 17 July 2002 |