2008 in Australian television
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| 2008 in television |
The year 2008 in Australian television was the 53rd year of continuous operation.
- 14 January – The Nine Network undergoes a major revamp in its production and logo and on-air graphics as a part of a new network re-launch, and after a two-year absence, returns the famous "Nine Balls" logo, except instead of balls, they use discs. It will see an overhaul of news and current affairs graphics (news graphics revised, not current affairs) and studios sets (also didn't happen) and a general on-air look.
- 1 February – Former The Great Outdoors host Shelley Craft quits Channel Seven and moves to Channel Nine to join the team of Domestic Blitz and take over from Toni Pearen as host of Australia's Funniest Home Videos.
- 7 February – Veteran television king Ray Martin quits the Nine Network after 30 years with the network.[1]
- 8 February – ABC TV is rebranded ABC1, which is visible on on-air graphics from 12:00 pm.[2]
- 8 February – Long running Australian soap opera Neighbours airs on the BBC in the UK for the very last time after being shown for 22 years. It will switch over to air on Five on 11 February.[citation needed]
- 12 February – The Supreme Court of Victoria places an injunction on the broadcast and exhibition of the Nine Network's drama series Underbelly in Victoria, following concerns that the series, which depicts Melbourne's gangland wars, could prejudice an ongoing murder trial.[3]
- 14 March – A Current Affair broadcasts its 5000th episode and celebrates its 20th anniversary.
- 30 March – Today introduces a three-and-a-half-hour format, starting at 5.30 am and finishing at 9 am.
- 3 April – Kate Ritchie (Sally Fletcher), one of the original 1988 cast members of Home and Away, leaves the series after twenty years.
- 7 April – The Nine Network makes the first episodes of the new series Canal Road available for download over the Internet, ahead of its television broadcast on 16 April.[4]
- 27 April – Jack Chambers wins the first season of So You Think You Can Dance Australia.[5]
- 4 May – Kate Ritchie wins the Gold Logie Award for the Most Popular Personality on Australian Television for the second consecutive year at the 2008 Logie Awards.[6]
- 7 May – SBS TV launches a revamped version of its logo, as well as a new slogan: "Six Billion Stories and counting".[7]
- 27 May – Nine Network revived the series Wheel of Fortune under a new title of Million Dollar Wheel of Fortune and its production company Sony Pictures Television (the same company used in the US flagship counterpart, and offers a top prize of AU$1,000,000. The series shortly cancelled after five weeks of air on 27 June due to low ratings, while the same format would later be adopted in the US version three months later, with the first top prize win occurred 14 October 2008.
- 2 June – The Seven Network apologises after airing an episode of the hospital drama All Saints in which it is suggested that a child born of an incestuous relationship is likely to result in the child having Down's syndrome.[8]
- 1 July – 16-year-old guitarist Smokin' Joe Robinson wins the second season of Australia's Got Talent.
- 18 July – Hi-5 airs its 400th episode.
- 21 July – The final episode of Network Ten's baddie reality show Big Brother Australia airs.[9] The eighth and final season was won by 52-year-old grandmother Terri Munro.[9]
- 25 July – The final episode of the Nine Network's late-night news program Nightline airs after 16 years of broadcast.[10]
- 26 July – Peter Cundall's last appearance on Gardening Australia before retiring from Australian Landscapes. It goes to air on ABC1.[11]
- 3 August – The final episode of the Nine Network's flagship news and current affairs program Sunday airs. Sunday was axed by the network after 27 years of broadcast.[10]
- 26 August - Australian dramedy series Packed to the Rafters premieres on Seven Network, which broadcasts every Tuesday at 8:30 pm.
- 28 August – Australia's Naughtiest Home Videos, a revival of the spin-off to Australia's Funniest Home Videos, rebadged on the Nine Network. It last time played on the network is when the late CEO, Kerry Packer banned the spin-off for life 16 years ago.
- 10 October – Today Tonight draws with a final goodbye with Anna Coren in the hot-seat before heading to CNN in Hong Kong. Matt White replaced by Coren the following Monday.
- 20 October – National Nine News changes its name to Nine News when it launches a new-look – losing viewers to Seven News.
- 9 November – McLeod's Daughters actor Luke Jacobz and his partner Luda Kroiter win the eighth season of Dancing with the Stars.
- 23 November – The sixth season of Australian Idol was won by Wes Carr.
- 1 December – The Seven Network wins the ratings year for the second consecutive year, and its third overall, with a record ratings share of 28.7%.[12] The two other commercial networks, the Nine Network (27.2%) and Network Ten (21.0%), came in second and third place respectively.[12] The two public broadcasters, ABC1 and SBS TV, managed a ratings share of 17.5% and 5.6% respectively.[12]
- 5 December – Heather Foord presents her final weeknight bulletin on Nine News Queensland. Her final appearance wraps up a year of poor ratings for the once-leading bulletin, which lost all 40 weeks of ratings to the rival Seven News Brisbane in 2008.[13]
Celebrity deaths
| Name | Age | Date of death | Broadcast description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinton Grybas[14] | 32 | 5 January 2008 | AFL and sports commentator and presenter |
| Sandra Harvey[15] | 49 | 21 January 2008 | Four Corners producer |
| Heath Ledger[16] | 28 | 22 January 2008 | Australian-born international actor (Sweat, Roar) |
| Andrew Harwood[17] | 62 | 6 February 2008 | Host (It's Academic, Good Morning Sydney, Til Ten) |
| Steve Andrews[18] | 38 | 10 March 2008 | QTQ9 voice over announcer |
| Jessica Jacobs[19] | 17 | 10 May 2008 | Actress (The Saddle Club, Fergus McPhail, Holly's Heroes) |
| Reg Lindsay, AM[20] | 79 | 5 August 2008 | Australian singer and Host, (The Reg Lindsay Country Hour, Country Homestead) |
| Christie Allen[21] | 53 | 12 August 2008 | Australian singer and performer Countdown performer |
| Mark Priestley[22] | 32 | 27 August 2008 | Actor (All Saints) |
| Michael Pate[23] | 88 | 1 September 2008 | Actor (Matlock Police) |
| Kevin Heinze[23] | 80 | 1 September 2008 | Horticulturalist and Host (Sow What) |
| Peter Leonard[24] | 66 | 23 September 2008 | Journalist and WIN News Canberra newsreader. |
| Brian Courtis[25] | 63 | 29 September 2008 | Melbourne television critic |
| Rob Guest[26] | 57 | 2 October 2008 | Host and theatre performer (Man O Man, Special Missing Pieces) |
| Levi Kereama[27] | 27 | 4 October 2008 | Australian Idol 2003 contestant |
| Dennis Pryor[28] | 83 | 30 November 2008 | Melbourne television critic |
| Richard Marsland[29] | 32 | 6 December 2008 | Writer (Rove, The Glass House, Newstopia) |
New channels
- 7 January – Sky News Business Channel
- 17 March – Nine HD[30]
- 28 April – Channel Ten Darwin
- 22 June – BBC HD[31]
- 22 June – Discovery HD[31]
- 22 June – National Geographic Channel HD[31]
- 22 June – Fox Sports HD[31]
- 22 June – ESPN HD[31]
- 1 November – CBeebies[32][33]
- 1 November – BBC Knowledge[32][33]
- 1 November – 111 Hits[33][34]
Ratings
Premieres
Domestic series
International series
Telemovies
Domestic telemovies
| Program | Network | Debut date |
|---|---|---|
| Emerald Falls [note 1][36] | Network Ten | 23 March 2008 |
| Valentine's Day[37][38][39] | ABC1 | 6 July 2008 |
| Scorched[40][41][42][43] | Nine Network | 31 August 2008 |
| The Prime Minister is Missing[44] | ABC1 | 23 October 2008 |
| Menzies and Churchill at War[45] | ABC1 | 30 October 2008 |
| Infamous Victory: Ben Chifley's Battle for Coal[46][47] | ABC1 | 30 October 2008 |
| The Informant[48][49][50][51] | Network Ten | 14 November 2008 |
| A Very Barry Christmas[52][53] | ABC1 | 25 December 2008 |
International telemovies
| Telemovie title | Network | Debut date |
|---|---|---|
 /  Ben 10: Race Against Time[54] |
Cartoon Network | 20 September 2008 |
| Camp Rock[55][56] |
Disney Channel | 26 September 2008 |
| Knight Rider[57][58][59] |
Seven Network | 27 September 2008 |
 Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death[60][61] |
ABC1 | 2 December 2008 |
| 24: Redemption[62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69] |
Seven Network | 5 December 2008 |
| Rather You Than Me[70] |
UK.TV | 27 December 2008 |
| The Curse of Steptoe[70] |
UK.TV | 28 December 2008 |
Miniseries
International miniseries
| Miniseries | Network | Airdate(s) |
|---|---|---|
| The Line of Beauty[71] |
ABC TV | 13, 20 and 27 January 2008 |
| The Andromeda Strain |
Showcase | 20 and 27 April 2008 |
| Sense and Sensibility[72] |
UK.TV | 3, 10 and 17 July |
| Talk to Me[72] |
UK.TV | 15, 22 and 29 July, 5 August |
| Victoria's Empire[73] |
UK.TV | 18 and 25 August 1 September |
| Cranford[73] |
UK.TV | 21 and 28 August 4, 11 and 18 September |
| Tin Man[74] |
Seven Network | 26 and 27 December 2008 |
Documentary specials
Domestic documentary specials
International documentary specials
Specials
Programming changes
Sports broadcasting rights
- A-League – Association football
- The A-League broadcasting rights were held exclusively by subscription television network Fox Sports for the 2008–09 season. Fox Sports broadcast every match of the season live-to-air, and also screened a weekly "highlights" program.
- The Australian Football League (AFL) broadcasting rights were jointly held by two free-to-air networks, Seven Network and Network Ten, and one subscription television network, Fox Sports, for the 2008 AFL season. Generally the eight matches per round were divided as such: Fox Sports aired four games all live-to-air (a Saturday afternoon match, a Saturday night match, a Sunday afternoon match and the Sunday twilight match), the Seven Network aired two matches delayed (the Friday night match and a Sunday afternoon match), and Network Ten aired two matches, one live-to-air and one delayed, which consisted of a Saturday afternoon and a Saturday night match respectively. The broadcast of matches may vary between networks, and broadcast times may change depending on the area of broadcast. The 2008 AFL Grand Final was broadcast live-to-air by the Seven Network, whilst Network Ten broadcast the 2008 Brownlow Medal and the 2008 NAB Cup Grand Final.
- The primary broadcaster of the 2008 Summer Olympics was the Seven Network, whilst complementary coverage was provided by SBS TV.[119]
- The 2008 Summer Paralympics was broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) via ABC1 and ABC2.[120]
| Sport | Network/s | Games per Week | Breakup of Games | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Euro 2008 (Association Football) |
Setanta Sports Australia Special Broadcasting Service |
- |
Setanta Sports Australia – 27 Games Live
Special Broadcasting Service: 8 Games Live, Including
|
|
NBL (Basketball) |
Fox Sports Channel Nine |
8 |
|
|
| Channel Nine Fox Sports – Pay-TV |
8 |
Channel Nine – 3 Games
Fox Sports: 5 Games
|
| |
Other Football (Association Football) |
Fox Sports ESPN Australia Setanta Sports Australia SBS |
4 |
Fox Sports:
|