1987 in Australian television
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Events
- January – GTV-9 from Kerry Packer for $1.055 billion. The expanded Nine Networkbecomes the first coast-to-coast network.
- January – Long-running Countdownlaunches as Countdown Pirate TV or CDP-TV.
- 5 January – British soap opera series EastEnders debuts on ABC.
- 10 January – Final episode of Australian soap opera Prime Time is being shown on Nine Network as the series was not a popular success.
- February – World of Sport & sees Mal Walden sacked as newsreader. The revamped news service, read by former STW-9 newsreader Greg Pearceplunges to as low as zero in the ratings.
- 2 February – Canadian children's series Degrassi trilogy series premieres on the ABC.
- 8 February – American sitcom ALF debuts on Seven Network.
- 11 February – Australian comedy series Hey Dad...! debuts on Seven Network.
- 12 February – Australian drama series Rafferty's Rules screens on Seven Network.
- 15 February – Network Ten premieres a brand new Australian music video program called Video Hits.
- 16 February – British children's animated series Henry's Cat makes its debut on the ABC at 3:55 pm.
- 16 February – Educating Marmalade and Earthwatch) will be airing on one different day of the week for the 5:30 pm timeslot. The third programme (which is the continuing episodes of The Kids of Degrassi Street) for this show also airs at 6:00 pm on weeknights.
- 26 March – Prime Minister Bob Hawke calls off the proposed amalgamation of the ABC and SBS.
- 5 April – The infamous Grim Reaper advertisement debuts on television.
- 6 April – British children's television series Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends (later Thomas & Friends) debuts on ABCat 3:55 pm.
- 6 April – ABC debuts a brand new comedy series called The Dingo Principle.
- 13 April – ABC weekday afternoon magazine series The Afternoon Show updates its schedule by airing four different programmes on five different days of the week. One show (a brand new Canadian-Scottish drama series called The Campbells) airs from Monday to Thursdays, the other (which is an Australian children's environmental series called Earthwatch now presented by David Smith) now airs only on Fridays, the next programme, a brand new sketch comedy series from Canada titled You Can't Do That on Television airs weekdays at 5:30 pm and the last one includes reruns of the French-American-Canadian animated series Inspector Gadget being shown weeknights at 6:00 pm.
- 17 April – The ABC launches its overnight music video block Rage.
- 20 April – ABC comedy series Ayatollah Khomeini, which results in diplomatic tensions with Iran, including the expulsion of two Australian diplomats. Two weeks later, the ABC receives a letter of complaint from the Soviet embassy regarding a skit lampooning Russian figures Mikhail Gorbachev and Vladimir Lenin.
- 4 May – Australian children's weekday and weekend morning series The Challenge of the GoBots, It's Punky Brewster and Defenders of the Earthon Sundays.
- 8 June – ABC comedy series The Dingo Principle airs its 10th and final episode.
- 25 June – After the ill-fated attempt of the Pirate TV format, the axing of the Countdown was announced, according to the network's then-managing director David Hill, who has said that the damage was done.
- 1 July – Neighbours screens the wedding of Scott Robinson and Charlene Mitchell, which later in November 1988 saw the most-watched all time episodes in the UK.
- 6 July – Reruns of the British children's television series Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends air on the ABCfor the first time. This was also the second time the series had been broadcast.
- 6 July – Debut of British sitcom Executive Stress on ABC.
- July – News Limitedfor $842 million.
- 19 July – Countdown broadcasts for the very last time ever with the final Countdown Music and Video Awards from the Sydney Entertainment Centre. In the closing, Molly Meldrum took off his trademark cowboy hat to reveal a bald head, signing off and John Farnham performed "You're the Voice". The last one-hour show was presented by Neighbours stars Guy Pearce, Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan.
- 31 July – American sitcom The Golden Girls debuts on Seven Network.
- August – New cross-media ownership rules force the sale of the Seven Network. Fairfax sells its stations to Christopher Skase's Qintex company for $780 million.
- 17 August – The ABC broadcasts a lineup of children's morning programmes for the 7:00 am to 10:00 am timeslot for the first time.
- 12 September – Australian gardening and lifestyle programme Burke's Backyard, endorsed by gardener Don Burke, premieres on Nine Network. It was also one of the first of the long line of prime-time "infotainment" and lifestyle programs on commercial television.
- 26 October – A new Australian children's television series called Kaboodle debuts on ABC.
- 23 November – American soap opera Network Tenat 1:00 pm.
- 24 November – American action adventure series MacGyver makes its debut on Seven Network at 7:30 pm.
- 2 December – American sitcom Perfect Strangers premieres on Seven Network.
- 27 December – When the new year approaches, SAS-7 and aligns to the Seven Network.
- Network Ten loses the Winfield Cup rights to the Nine Networkafter 5 years.
The following quote came from Seven National News reporter Alan Murrell on the 27 December 1987 edition regarding the move:[citation needed]
- "Tonight will mark the end of the callsigns ADS-7 and SAS-10. Tomorrow, they be rebranded as ADS-10 and SAS-7. It's the first time such a change has been made. The switch follows a media shake-up earlier this year, which left ADS in the hands of the owners of the Ten Network. Already, the cosmetic changes are being made at Strangways Terrace and Gilberton. But viewers will notice little difference. They'll still turn the knob to Ten for Channel Ten programs, and to Seven for Seven programs.
- "The only difference will be that the local personalities will be seen on different channels. So if you want to watch Steve Whitham and Caroline Ainslie reading the news tomorrow night, you simply turn the dial three positions, from Seven-to ADS-10. And it's as easy as that."
Debuts
| Program | Network | Debut date |
|---|---|---|
For Love or Money
|
ABC TV | 3 February |
Hey Dad...!
|
Seven Network | 11 February |
| Rafferty's Rules | Seven Network | 12 February |
| Video Hits | Network Ten
|
15 February |
| The Afternoon Show | ABC TV | 16 February |
| Willing and Abel | Nine Network | 18 February |
| Pot Luck | Network Ten
|
23 February |
| Vietnam | Network Ten
|
23 February |
| Camera Script | ABC TV | 6 April |
| The Dingo Principle | ABC TV | 6 April |
| Rage | ABC TV | 17 April |
| Night Shift | Network Ten
|
April |
MTV
|
Nine Network | April |
| Fields of Fire | Nine Network | 14 June |
| Relative Merits | ABC TV | 15 June |
| Pals | ABC TV | 13 July |
| University Challenge | ABC TV | 1 September |
| Poor Man's Orange | Network Ten
|
6 September |
| Ridgey Didge | Network Ten
|
7 September |
| Burke's Backyard | Nine Network | 12 September |
| The Factory | ABC TV | 19 September |
| Kaboodle | ABC TV | 26 October |
| Nancy Wake | Seven Network | 4 November |
| Crossfire | Nine Network | 7 December |
| Rubbish | Nine Network | 19 December |
New International Programming
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mother and Son | Network Ten
|
ABC TV | February |
| Butterfly Island | Seven Network | ABC TV | 20 April |
International
| Program | New network(s) | Previous network(s) | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
 The New Scooby-Doo Movies
|
Seven Network | Nine Network | 7 February |
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?
|
Seven Network | Nine Network | 18 April |
| Donald Duck's 50th Birthday
|
Seven Network (Melbourne) | Network Ten
|
19 July |
| Finder of Lost Loves
|
Seven Network | Network Ten
|
23 September |
| Scooby and Scrappy-Doo
|
Seven Network | Nine Network | 26 September |
Television shows
1950s
- Mr. Squiggle (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)
1980s
- Wheel of Fortune (1981–2008)
- Sunday (1981–2008)
- Today (1982–present)
- Perfect Match (1984–present)
- Neighbours (1985–present)
- The Flying Doctors (1986–1993)
- Rage (1987–present)
Ending this year
| Date | Show | Channel | Debut |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 March | World of Sport
|
Seven Melbourne | 1959 |
| 10 January | Prime Time | Nine Network | 1986 |
| 10 April 1987 | Camera Script | ABC | 6 April 1987 |
| 8 June 1987 | The Dingo Principle | ABC | 6 April 1987 |
| 18 June | The Girl from Steel City | SBS
|
1986 |
| 19 July | Countdown
|
ABC | 1974 |
| 17 August | Relative Merits | ABC | 15 June 1987 |
| 19 August | Sons and Daughters | Channel Seven | 1982 |
| 29 August | The Henderson Kids | Channel Ten
|
1985 |
| 11 September | It's a Knockout | Channel Ten
|
1985 |
| 18 September | The New Adventures of Blinky Bill | ABC | 1984 |
| 5 November | Nancy Wake | Channel Seven | 4 November 1987 |
| 29 December | The Fast Lane | ABC | 1985 |
Returning this year
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TV movies
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