# 2011 in Australian television

"none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]]
This is a list of Australian television events and premieres which occurred in 2011. This year will be the 56th year of continuous operation of television in Australia.

## Events

* 11 January – Ten Network Holdings and CBS Studios International launch digital multi-channel Eleven, which replaces the standard definition simulcast of One HD. Network Ten also permanently shifts its long-running soap opera Neighbours to the new channel after having aired the series for 24 years. The first episode on Eleven was its highest-rated program of the night, recording 254,000 metropolitan viewers.
* 13 January – The Australian Government lifts restrictions on the anti-siphoning rule to allow the Seven Network to air parts of the Australian Open on its digital multichannel 7Two while Seven News airs on the primary channel. This practice has continued in subsequent years.
* 16 January – Prime Television and GWN Television rebrand as Prime7 and GWN7 respectively, reaffirming their alignment with the Seven Network. The "Prime" on-screen watermark is also removed for Seven Network digital multichannels 7Two and 7mate.
* 24 January – The launch of 6PM with George Negus and Ten Evening News marks Network Ten's return to the regular broadcasting of news and current affairs programs in the 6:00–7:00 pm timeslot for the first time in 20 years. The new line-up is in direct competition with news and current affairs offerings on both the Seven and Nine networks.
* 4 April – Seven picks up the rights to televise Wimbledon, and in doing so, promises viewers live coverage of most matches including the men's and women's singles semi-finals, and championship matches.
* 27 April – Two days before it was due to air, ABC Television is forced to cancel their planned coverage of the Wedding of Prince William of Wales and Kate Middleton, which was to be a "satirical commentary" by The Chaser, due to restrictions imposed by Clarence House. Set to air on ABC2, The Chaser’s Royal Wedding Commentary, was instead replaced by a simulcast of BBC's coverage and commentary of the wedding.
* 28 April – The Australian Football League (AFL) television broadcast rights for the 2012 to 2016 seasons is awarded to the Seven Network and Foxtel in a record $1.253 billion deal (including mobile and internet coverage awarded to Telstra). The Seven Network will broadcast four games each round, three of them live, as well as all finals live. For the first time, Foxtel will broadcast all nine matches each round, as well as all finals except the Grand Final, live, simulcasting the Seven Network's coverage of its four games. Foxtel will also relaunch a dedicated AFL channel after its previous attempt, the Fox Footy Channel, ceased broadcasting in 2006.
* 2 May – Emma Duncan wins the sixth season of The Biggest Loser.
* 8 May – Network Ten shifts the focus of its high-definition digital multichannel One from purely sports coverage and programming, to a mix of general entertainment and sports, specifically targeting audiences in the male 24-to-54-year-old demographic.
* 26 June – Heather Foord presents her final Nine News Queensland bulletin before retiring from television permanently; she is replaced the following weekend by Eva Milic.
* 10 July – TV chef Manu Feildel, alongside professional dance partner Alana Patience, win the eleventh season of Dancing with the Stars.
* 28 July – 7TWO, 7mate, GEM, GO!, ONE & ELEVEN expand to Western Australia.
* 1 August – Surfers and best friends Tyler Atkins and Nathan Jolliffe win the first season of The Amazing Race Australia.
* 2 August – Jack Vidgen wins the fifth season of Australia's Got Talent.
* 7 August – Kate Bracks wins the third season of MasterChef Australia.
* 20 and 21 August – The Nine Network's most-watched Queensland news bulletin conducts two crosses to journalists in a helicopter claiming to be "near Beerwah, Queensland", where the remains of murdered schoolboy Daniel Morcombe had been found earlier that month. However, the crosses are revealed to be fake when, on the second night, rival station Channel Seven filmed footage of the Nine helicopter sitting on the helipad outside their studios at Mount Coot-tha at the time of the broadcast. Radar footage also revealed that, on the first night, the helicopter was actually hovering over Chapel Hill, 70 km away from Beerwah. Two journalists, Melissa Mallet and Cameron Price, as well as news producer Aaron Wakeley, are all sacked by the Nine Network following the incident, while Lee Anderson resigned in protest over the sackings.
* 21 August – Polly Porter and Warwick "Waz" Jones win the fourth season of The Block.
* 7 September – Robert Davidov wins the first series of Top Design Australia.
* 9 September – Nine Network confirmed that they were bringing back Big Brother Australia in 2012.
* 9 September – The eleventh season of the popular British children's television series Thomas & Friends finally airs on ABC2 at 1:05pm starting with Hide and Peep.
* 12 September – Dylan Cooper wins the third season of Project Runway Australia.
* 30 September – Ten Late News and Sports Tonight withdrawn their Broadcasts for the very last time.
* 12 October – Michael Lynch wins the first series of The Renovators.
* 22 October – Nine News Sydney overtakes Seven News Sydney as the news ratings leader in Sydney for the first time since 2004.
* 25 October Montana Cox wins the seventh season of Australia's Next Top Model.
* 11 November – 7TWO, 7mate, GEM, GO!, ONE & ELEVEN expand to South Eastern South Australia.
* 21 November – Comedian Julia Morris wins the first season of The Celebrity Apprentice Australia.
* 22 November – Reece Mastin wins the third series of The X Factor.
* 23 November – Greta Yaxley wins the second season of Junior MasterChef Australia.
* 24 November – Sarah Lawther and Lachlan Cosgrove win the third season of Beauty and the Geek Australia.
* 27 November – The Seven Network wins its 40th (out of a possible 40) week of ratings for the 2011 calendar year, and becomes the first Australian television network to achieve a clean sweep of a ratings calendar year.

### Celebrity deaths

* 4 January – Geoff Raymond (aged 89), news presenter.
* 21 May – Bill Hunter (aged 71), actor
* 11 June, James Elliot (aged 82) Scottish-born Australian actor, best known as Alf Sutcliffe Number 96

### Channels
#### New channels

* 11 January – Eleven
* 29 May – Disney Junior
* 28 July - 7TWO, GO!, GEM, ONE, ELEVEN & 7mate (Albany/Bunbury)
* 11 November - February 2012 - 7TWO, GO!, GEM, ONE, ELEVEN & 7mate (Mount Gambier/Riverland)

#### Renamed channels

* 16 January – Prime7 (replacing Prime)
* 16 January – GWN7 (replacing GWN)
* 1 May – ABC4 Kids (replacing ABC For Kids on 2, but shared with ABC2)
* 8 May – One (replacing One HD)

## Premieres
### Telemovies

Domestic telemovie premieres on Australian television in 2012 :
| Telemovie | Original airdate(s) | Network |
| Underbelly Files: Tell Them Lucifer was Here | 7 February | Nine Network |
| Underbelly Files: Infiltration | 14 February | Nine Network |
| Underbelly Files: The Man Who Got Away | 21 February | Nine Network |
| Blood Brothers | 8 May | Nine Network |

### Miniseries
#### Domestic

| Program | Channel | Debut date | Reference/s |
| Cloudstreet Cloudstreet | Showcase | 22 May | |

#### International

| Program | Channel | Debut date |
| Collision Collision | ABC1 | 7 January |
| Murderland Murderland | ABC1 | 28 January |
| Kennedys, The The Kennedys | ABC1 | 22 May |

### Documentaries
#### Domestic

| Program | Channel | Debut date |
| Living the End Living the End | SBS One | 25 January |
| Irish in Australia, The The Irish in Australia | The History Channel | 17 March |
| Secret History of Eurovision, The The Secret History of Eurovision | SBS One | 6 and 13 May |

#### International

| Program | Channel | Debut date |
| Despicable Me TV Show Despicable Me TV Show | Seven Network | 19 February |
| Madagascar Madagascar | Nine Network | 4 May |
| Madagascar Polar Bear: Spy on the Ice | Nine Network | 9 and 16 June |
| Shadow of the Moon, The The Shadow of the Moon | SBS One | TBA |
| Teenage Paparazzo Teenage Paparazzo | ABC2 | 23 October |

## Programming changes
### 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 | Previous network | Date |
| Neighbours Neighbours | Eleven | Network Ten | 11 January |
| Animation Fixation Animation Fixation | Eleven | Network Ten | 12 January |
| The Chaser's War on Everything The Chaser's War on Everything | 7mate | ABC1 | 28 August |

#### International

| Program | New network | Previous network | Date |
| Diagnosis Murder Diagnosis: Murder | Eleven | Nine Network | 11 January |
| JAG JAG | Eleven | Network Ten | 11 January |
| MacGyver MacGyver | Eleven | Network Ten | 11 January |
| Cheers Cheers | Eleven | Nine Network | 11 January |
| Roseanne Roseanne | Eleven | Seven Network | 11 January |
| Sabrina, the Teenage Witch Sabrina, the Teenage Witch | Eleven | Network Ten | 11 January |
| Happy Days Happy Days | Eleven | Nine Network | 11 January |
| Mork and Mindy Mork and Mindy | Eleven | Nine Network | 11 January |
| The Brady Bunch The Brady Bunch | Eleven | Nine Network | 11 January |
| Family Ties Family Ties | Eleven | Nine Network | 11 January |
| Everybody Loves Raymond Everybody Loves Raymond | Eleven | Network Ten | 11 January |
| The Simpsons The Simpsons | Eleven | Network Ten | 11 January |
| Futurama Futurama | Eleven | Network Ten | 11 January |
| The Office The Office | Eleven | Network Ten | 11 January |
| Nurse Jackie Nurse Jackie | Eleven | Network Ten | 11 January |
| Californication Californication | Eleven | Network Ten | 11 January |
| The Love Boat The Love Boat | Eleven | Nine Network | 12 January |
| Touched by an Angel Touched by an Angel | Eleven | Nine Network | 12 January |
| 7th Heaven 7th Heaven | Eleven | Network Ten | 12 January |
| The Cleveland Show The Cleveland Show | Eleven | Network Ten | 12 January |
| King of the Hill King of the Hill | Eleven | 7TWO | 12 January |
| Stargate Universe Stargate Universe | Eleven | Network Ten | 13 January |
| 90210 90210 | Eleven | Network Ten | 14 January |
| So You Think You Can Dance So You Think You Can Dance | Eleven | Network Ten | 14 January |
| Get Smart Get Smart Axed after 3 episodes | Eleven | GO! | 15 January |
| Hogan's Heroes Hogan's Heroes Axed after 2 episodes | Eleven | GO! | 15 January |
| Smallville Smallville | Eleven | Network Ten | 16 January |
| Angel Angel | Eleven | Network Ten | 16 January |
| Supernatural Supernatural | Eleven | Network Ten | 17 January |
| Dexter Dexter | Eleven | Network Ten | 17 January |
| Star Trek: The Next Generation Star Trek: The Next Generation | Eleven | GO! | 20 January |
| The Golden Girls The Golden Girls | GEM | Seven Network | 3 February |
| MegaStructures MegaStructures | 7mate | Ten HD (now defunct) | 3 February |
| Malcolm in the Middle Malcolm in the Middle | Eleven | Network Ten | 4 February |
| Sex and the City Sex and the City | Eleven | Network Ten | 4 February |
| Frasier Frasier | Eleven | GO! | 5 February |
| The Nanny The Nanny | GO! (second run) | GEM | 28 March |
| Spin City Spin City | GO! | Nine Network | 2 May |
| Sally Bollywood / Sally Bollywood | ABC3 | Seven Network | 2 May |
| 24 24 | One | Seven Network | 11 July |
| The King of Queens The King of Queens | Eleven | GO! | 17 July |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Eleven | Network Ten | 13 August |
| I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! / I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! | GO! | Nine Network | 23 November |
| Mad About You Mad About You | 7Two | Network Ten | 28 November |
| Who's The Boss? Who's The Boss? | 7Two | Nine Network | 28 November |
| Step By Step Step By Step | 7Two | Nine Network | 4 December |
| Get Smart Get Smart | One | Eleven | 19 December |
| Hogan's Heroes Hogan's Heroes | One | Eleven | 19 December |
| M*A*S*H M*A*S*H | One | Seven Network | 19 December |

### Free-to-air premieres

This is a list of programs which made their premiere on Australian free-to-air television that had previously premiered on Australian subscription television. Programs may still air on the original subscription television network.
| Program | Free-to-air network | Subscription network | Date |
| The Gadget Show The Gadget Show | Network Ten | LifeStyle | 15 January |
| Jersey Shore Jersey Shore | 7mate | MTV | 11 May |
| Sons of Anarchy Sons of Anarchy | One | Showcase | 11 May |
| Penguins of Madagascar, The The Penguins of Madagascar | Network Ten | Nickelodeon | 13 May |
| Power Rangers Samurai Power Rangers Samurai | GO! | Nickelodeon | 17 July |
| Teen Mom Teen Mom | GO! | MTV | 2 October |
| Jeopardy! Jeopardy! | One | W | 24 October |
| Britain's Next Top Model Britain's Next Top Model | Eleven | Fox8 | 31 October |
| Beyblade: Medal Masters Beyblade: Medal Masters | Network Ten | Cartoon Network | 8 November |
| The Glades The Glades | Network Ten | W | 28 November |
| Bakugan: Mechtanium Surge Bakugan: Mechtanium Surge | Network Ten | Cartoon Network | 14 December |

### Subscription premieres

This is a list of programs which made their premiere on Australian subscription television that had previously premiered on Australian free-to-air television. Programs may still air on the original free-to-air television network.
| Program | Subscription network | Free-to-air network | Date |
| Cleveland Show, The The Cleveland Show | Fox8 | Network Ten / Eleven | 13 March |
| Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl: Sinnoh League Victors Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl: Sinnoh League Victors | Cartoon Network | Network Ten | 10 September |
| In the Night Garden In the Night Garden... | CBeebies | ABC4 Kids | November |
| Merlin Merlin | UKTV | Network Ten | 26 December |
| The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! | KidsCo | Nine Network / ABC Kids Channel (now defunct) | December |

### Ended this year

| Program | End date | Network | Debut date |
| Puzzle Play | 28 January | Network Ten | 21 December 2006 |
| Ben Elton Live From Planet Earth Ben Elton Live From Planet Earth | 22 February | Nine Network | 8 February 2011 |
| The 7.30 Report | 4 March | ABC1 | 28 January 1986 |
| Stateline | 4 March | ABC1 | 16 February 1996 |
| City Homicide | 30 March | Seven Network | 27 August 2007 |
| Conviction Kitchen | 12 April | Seven Network | 22 February 2011 |
| The New Adventures of Winnie The Pooh | 29 May | Playhouse Disney | 20 January 1990 (On Seven Network) |
| East West 101 | 1 June | SBS One | 6 December 2007 |
| Between the Lines Between the Lines | 2 June | Nine Network | 12 May 2011 |
| In Their Footsteps | 10 July | Nine Network | 8 May 2011 |
| Angry Boys | 27 July | ABC1 | 11 May 2011 |
| Video Hits Video Hits | 6 August | Network Ten | 15 February 1987 |
| Rescue: Special Ops | 5 September | Nine Network | 2 August 2009 |
| Top Design Australia | 7 September | Nine Network | 13 July 2011 |
| Top Gear Australia Top Gear Australia | 13 September | Nine Network | 29 September 2008 (on SBS) |
| Collectors | 23 September | ABC1 | 24 March 2005 |
| Sports Tonight Sports Tonight | 30 September | Network Ten / One | 30 August 1993 |
| Ten Late News Ten Late News | 30 September | Network Ten | 21 January 1991 |
| Spit It Out | 3 October | Seven Network | 4 October 2010 |
| 6.30 with George Negus 6.30 with George Negus (previously 6pm With George Negus) | 28 October | Network Ten | 24 January 2011 |
| Wild Boys | 20 November | Seven Network | 4 September 2011 |
| Spicks and Specks Spicks and Specks | 23 November | ABC1 | 9 February 2005 |
| Kerri-Anne Kerri-Anne (previously Mornings With Kerri-Anne) | 25 November | Nine Network | 28 October 2002 |
| RPM | 16 November | One | 22 March (second run) |
| Hi-5 | 16 December | Nine Network | 12 April 1999 |

### Returning this year

| Program | New Network | Previous network | Debut date | End date | Return date |
| Good Chef Bad Chef | Network Ten | Seven Network | 2006 | 2007 | 3 January |
| This Is Your Life | Same | Nine Network | 1995 | 2008 | 28 February |
| RPM | One | Network Ten | 1997 | 2008 | 22 March |
| It's a Knockout | Same | Network Ten | April 1985 | September 1987 | 27 November |