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**ABC TV**

Type	Broadcast television network
Country	Australia
Availability	National; distributed internationally by Australia Network
Slogan	"There's more to Television"
Market share	15.7% nationally (2005)
Owner	Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Launch date	5 November 1956
Digital channel	12
Analogue channel	2
Callsign meaning	Australian Broadcasting Corporation TV
Website	abc.net.au/tv/abctv/

ABC TV is a national public television network in Australia.

1 History
2 Programming
3 Stations
4 Presentation
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] History

Main article: History of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation

ABC TV began broadcasts on 5 November 1956 from its Sydney station ABN-2 with an inauguration by Prime Minister Robert Menzies. It began broadcasts in Melbourne on ABV-2 on 18 November 1956 just in time for its coverage of the 1956 Olympic Games.

[edit] Programming

Main article: List of programs broadcast by ABC TV

ABC TV is required by charter to meet certain programming obligations. Its focus is on news and current affairs but it also presents documentaries and educational programmes, children's shows, drama, comedy and variety, and sports.

[edit] Current affairs

Main articles: ABC News and Current Affairs and ABC News (Australia)

A significant proportion of ABC TV programming is current affairs-related. It is produced by the ABC's News and Current Affairs division and an investigative unit headed by Andrew Fowler. Its flagship programmes Four Corners, Australian Story, Foreign Correspondent, Lateline, Stateline and The 7.30 Report are broadcast in primetime and are widely-regarded for agenda-setting. In addition, Landline, Insiders and Media Watch cover rural, political and business, and media affairs. The current affairs line-up is supported by state-based evening newscast ABC News at 7pm and the weekdaily Midday Report at noon.

[edit] Sports

Main article: ABC Sports (Australia)

Sports coverage on ABC TV is generally includes a diverse range of less popular sports which are not shown on commercial television. It currently presents netball, lawn bowls, basketball and state football legue competitions (Australian rules football and rugby league). It also has rights to the Paralympic Games and the Hopman Cup tennis tournament.

[edit] Entertainment

The network also produces and presents drama, comedy, lifestyle, music, game and talk shows. It is often criticised for a percieved lack of locally-produced content and for its reliance on foreign, particularly British, programmes. This largely results from restricted funds.

ABC TV's drama line-up consists almost entirely of imported content including The West Wing, The Bill, Doctor Who and Spooks. It currently does not produce any primetime drama series, but still produces mini-series such as Answered by Fire. It also presents repeats of past successful local drama series including SeaChange, Something in the Air and Head Start.

Comedy on ABC TV is primarily locally-produced but also includes foreign series such as Little Britain and Extras. The network has a reputation for launching the careers of comedians including Magda Szubanski, Wil Anderson, Dave Hughes and Chris Lilley. Its present flagship comedy shows are Kath & Kim, The Glass House, Spicks and Specks and The Chaser's War on Everything. Former successful shows include Frontline, The D-Generation, Mother and Son, BackBerner, Good News Week and The Aunty Jack Show.

The remainder of ABC TV's schedule consists of lifestyle, music, game and talk shows. Lifestyle programmes are mostly cooking shows like The Cook and The Chef and travel shows like Pilot Guides but also include shows such as Gardening Australia, Compass and Message Stick. The network's music shows include Rage and jtv while past shows include Countdown and Recovery. Its game shows include quiz shows The Einstein Factor and Head 2 Head and competition programmes Strictly Dancing and The New Inventors. ABC TV presents three talk shows, the locally made Enough Rope and Talking Heads, and ITV1's Parkinson. It also broadcasts arts discussion shows At The Movies and Sunday Arts.

[edit] Children

Main article: ABC Kids (Australia)

ABC TV's children's programming is more extensive than any other network in Australia. Children's shows are typically broadcast under the ABC Kids banner in two blocks: mornings 6am–10am and afternoons 3pm–6pm. ABC Rollercoaster is a segment shown from 5pm-6pm that is aimed at a sligtly older demographic than ABC Kids' 6–12 year olds.

ABC Kids is a mixture of ABC TV-produced and international shows. Due to their longevity, programmes such as Play School and Bananas in Pyjamas are iconic within Australia. Popular locally-made drama series include The Saddle Club, Out There, Blue Water High, Ship to Shore and Round the Twist. International programmes which regularly feature it the line-up include Sesame Street, Bob the Builder, Pingu, Arthur, Fireman Sam and older-years shows Degrassi, Lizzie McGuire, Freaky Stories and Daria.

Children's programming also includes educational programmes. Behind the News is a long-running series which provides background information to current affairs. The programme has come to be incorporate into many school curriculums. Schools TV is a segment between 10am-11am that consists of documentaries and specials relevant to school study.

[edit] Stations

Each state and territory has a slightly different version of analogue ABC TV. The differences between these are small, consisting of a nightly news program, a weekly current affairs program, a weekly sports program during winter, state election specials and the odd other program. These regional versions are listed below with the name of their main transmitter.