Oz TV

What's on the Australian Idiot Box, and what the Australian contribution is.

Oz TV is as multicultural as Oz itself. Just about everyone in the great south land has the same TV channels, namely the Ten Network, The Nine Network, The Seven Network, Aunty (The A.B.C. - Australian Broadcasting Commission, a government network) and S.B.S. (Special Broadcasting Service, another government network).

The first three commercial stations show all the top rating American stuff, and all have or have had their own Australian soap, namely Neighbours (Ten) and Home and Away (Seven). They also show their own game shows (about 2 each) and current affairs shows.

All stations have their own news services and report varying sports.

The ABC carries some British programming (ie The Bill, This Life) and a lot of Home Grown stuff, a lot of which is very good, especially considering how underfunded the ABC is. ABC current affairs are the best in the country as the ABC has good presenters and very strict reporting bias rules. The ABC current affairs shows include The 7:30 Report, 4 Corners, Foreign Correspondant and Lateline. The ABC is also charged with showing some parliamentary proceedings.

SBS is essentially a multicultural broadcaster, with news in several languages and many subtitled movies. It is well known for showing French films. It is also the soccer channel and the only Australian broadcaster of South Park.

Pay TV is a relatively new (2 years old) concept, but is nothing special (I don't have it so I can't tell you about it).

Some notable Aussie shows are:

A Country Practice - now defunct, was a very popular soap (Ten).
Hey Hey It's Saturday - a 27 year old variety show (Nine), also just pulled off air.
Rage - a late night music video show (ABC).
Sale of the Century - long running game show (Nine).
Footy Shows - verious football related shows in various states on various channels.
Four Corners - current affairs program over 40 years old (ABC).
Wheel of Fortune - another game show (Seven).
Blue Heelers - police drama (Seven).
Sea Change - very Aussie drara, and very well rating (ABC).
Neighbours - globally popular soap (Ten).
Play School - long running childrens program (ABC).