I don't know how many of you are interested in classic TV listings from overseas, but here's a great site with listings from various Australian markets from the '50s to the '90s:
http://televisionau.siv.net.au/tvguide.htm
If you are not familiar with the Australian TV lanscape, here's a brief overview:
Most big Australian cities (Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, etc.) have two public-service, three commercial, plus one community TV station. The ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) is the main public network and is based on the BBC. In fact, much of its programming comes from the BBC. The ABC stations broadcast on Channel 2 in the big metro areas; that's because the cities (as opposed to the regional markets) are far enough apart to have identical channel allocations. The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), the other public-service network, broadcasts on Channel 28 with mostly ethnic and multi-cultural programming, plus soccer and South Park.
The three commercial networks are Seven, Nine, and Ten, named after their big-city channel numbers. A large part of their programming is American, and they have always been eager to adopt American techniques, formats, and promos. Ten was launched later than the other two and is usually #3 in the ratings; it goes after a younger audience.
The community stations provide low-budget programming for ethnic and minority groups.
In the regional (non-metro) areas, commercial television stations, operating on various channels, enjoyed a monopoly until the late 1980s, with the public-service ABC being the only alternative in their respective markets. They aired programs from all three commercial networks. The situation changed in the late '80s and eraly '90s, however, with the advent of "aggregation": The total number of TV stations did not change, but stations expanded their coverage into neighboring markets, creating larger markets and increasing the choice of commercial TV stations to three in most of rural Australia. The regional stations became affiliated with one of the big national networks.
In other words, before aggregation, you had:
***Regional Market X***
Commercial Station 1 (monopoly operation, aired programs from all three commercial networks)
***Regional Market Y***
Commercial Station 2 (monopoly operation, aired programs from all three commercial networks)
***Regional Market Z***
Commercial Station 3 (monopoly operation, aired programs from all three commercial networks)
After aggegation, the situation was like this:
***New, Enlarged Market XYZ***
Commercial Station 1 (Seven affiliate, competes with the other two)
Commercial Station 2 (Nine affiliate, competes with the other two)
Commercial Station 3 (Ten affiliate, competes with the other two)
Nowadays, the three biggest operators of regional TV stations are WIN, Prime, and Southern Cross -- exclusive affiliates of Nine, Seven, and Ten respectively (except in areas which still don't have three commercial stations; there, the WIN TV station may, for instance, be a dual Nine/Ten affiliate).
This personal account of aggregation does a much better job of explaining it than I do:
http://www.transdiffusion.org/intertel/countries/au/
BTW, the last letter in Australian callsigns refers to the state of license: ABV2 is in Victoria, TCN9 is in New South Wales, etc.
http://televisionau.siv.net.au/tvguide.htm
If you are not familiar with the Australian TV lanscape, here's a brief overview:
Most big Australian cities (Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, etc.) have two public-service, three commercial, plus one community TV station. The ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) is the main public network and is based on the BBC. In fact, much of its programming comes from the BBC. The ABC stations broadcast on Channel 2 in the big metro areas; that's because the cities (as opposed to the regional markets) are far enough apart to have identical channel allocations. The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), the other public-service network, broadcasts on Channel 28 with mostly ethnic and multi-cultural programming, plus soccer and South Park.
The three commercial networks are Seven, Nine, and Ten, named after their big-city channel numbers. A large part of their programming is American, and they have always been eager to adopt American techniques, formats, and promos. Ten was launched later than the other two and is usually #3 in the ratings; it goes after a younger audience.
The community stations provide low-budget programming for ethnic and minority groups.
In the regional (non-metro) areas, commercial television stations, operating on various channels, enjoyed a monopoly until the late 1980s, with the public-service ABC being the only alternative in their respective markets. They aired programs from all three commercial networks. The situation changed in the late '80s and eraly '90s, however, with the advent of "aggregation": The total number of TV stations did not change, but stations expanded their coverage into neighboring markets, creating larger markets and increasing the choice of commercial TV stations to three in most of rural Australia. The regional stations became affiliated with one of the big national networks.
In other words, before aggregation, you had:
***Regional Market X***
Commercial Station 1 (monopoly operation, aired programs from all three commercial networks)
***Regional Market Y***
Commercial Station 2 (monopoly operation, aired programs from all three commercial networks)
***Regional Market Z***
Commercial Station 3 (monopoly operation, aired programs from all three commercial networks)
After aggegation, the situation was like this:
***New, Enlarged Market XYZ***
Commercial Station 1 (Seven affiliate, competes with the other two)
Commercial Station 2 (Nine affiliate, competes with the other two)
Commercial Station 3 (Ten affiliate, competes with the other two)
Nowadays, the three biggest operators of regional TV stations are WIN, Prime, and Southern Cross -- exclusive affiliates of Nine, Seven, and Ten respectively (except in areas which still don't have three commercial stations; there, the WIN TV station may, for instance, be a dual Nine/Ten affiliate).
This personal account of aggregation does a much better job of explaining it than I do:
http://www.transdiffusion.org/intertel/countries/au/
BTW, the last letter in Australian callsigns refers to the state of license: ABV2 is in Victoria, TCN9 is in New South Wales, etc.
