# 2018 in Australian television

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This is a list of Australian television-related events, debuts, finales, and cancellations that are scheduled to occur in 2018, the 63rd year of continuous operation of television in Australia.

## Events
### January

| Date | Event |
| 1 | The ABC's coverage of the annual midnight Sydney New Year's Eve fireworks is watched by 1.49 million viewers |
| 1 | Gerard Whateley announced he is leaving the ABC after a 17-year career, including as host of Offsiders, moving to radio station 1116 SEN. |
| 7 | SBS airs a three-hour commercial and commentary-free program The Ghan which follows The Ghan train from Adelaide to Darwin in the first locally produced slow television event series. It becomes the channel's highest rated broadcast in 12 months with 583,000 national viewers. Sister channel SBS Viceland runs a 17-hour extended version the following weekend lasting from 2:40am to 8:30pm. |
| 8 | Following accusations around inappropriate conduct of actor Craig McLachlan in a stage show, the ABC removes all episodes of The Doctor Blake Mysteries, which McLachlan starred in, from its channels and ABC iview. Producers of the series December Media also announce they are temporarily suspending production of a future season for the Seven Network. |
| 17 | Seven Network soap opera Home and Away marks 30 years since its debut on 17 January 1988. The program, which is the second longest-running Australian drama, begins its 31st season on 29 January. |
| 22 | Georgie Gardner debuts as co-host of Today following the exit of Lisa Wilkinson in October 2017 |
| 31 | World Movies, an original launch channel on Foxtel in 1995, closes as a linear channel, continuing on only as an on demand offering and a branded segment on other movie channels. |

### February

| Date | Event |
| 9 | The ABC holds its first Annual Public Meeting, which involves the ABC Board taking publicly submitted questions. |
| 9–25 | The 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea aired on the channels of the Seven Network |
| 11 | The official 2018 OzTam television ratings period begins |
| 28 | Eurosport News, FX Australia and Nat Geo People cease broadcasting on all Australian platforms |

### March

| Date | Event |
| 1 | Discovery Channel and TLC become available on Fetch TV |
| 9 | Bill McDonald is removed as co-anchor of Seven News Brisbane. |
| 12 | Fiona O'Loughlin wins the fourth season of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! |
| 14–20 | Seven News Melbourne presenter Peter Mitchell is slammed by the Supreme Court of Victoria for blatantly using inappropriate wording to describe the ongoing murder trial of Peter Dupas on the bulletin that aired on 14 March 2018. |
| 22 | Claudia Anton wins the fourth season of The Great Australian Bake Off |
| 25 | A two-week suspension in OzTam television ratings begins for the Easter break. |
| 25 | Network Ten and its primary channel record their lowest ever weekly share for the 18–25 March 2018 week since OzTAM ratings began in 2001. |
| 29 | The Nine Network secures the rights to televise the Australian Open tennis tournament from 2020–24. However, three months later, the deal is brought forward by twelve months. |

### April

| Date | Event |
| 2 | "X Games Sydney" win the inaugural season of Australian Spartan |
| 4–15 | The 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Queensland will air on the channels of the Seven Network |
| 8 | Official OzTam ratings resume after a two-week non-ratings period over Easter. |

### May

| Date | Event | Source |
| 6 | Alex and Emily win the ninth season of My Kitchen Rules | |

### June

| Date | Event |
| 18 | Sam Perry wins the seventh season of The Voice |
| 25 | The Nine Network secures the rights to televise the Australian Open tennis tournament from 2019 onwards, twelve months earlier than planned. |
| 29 | Better Homes and Gardens airs its 1,000th episode |

### July

| Date | Event |
| 1 | The 60th Annual TV Week Logie Awards were held at The Star Gold Coast. As well as being staged in Queensland for the first time, the event introduced a number of changes including live re-voting, reducing the number of award categories, renaming of publicly voted categories and eligibility changes. The ceremony was held much later in the year than previous ceremonies to avoid clashing with the 2018 Commonwealth Games also being held on the Gold Coast. |
| 30 | Toad and Mandy win the sixth season of House Rules |
| 31 | Sashi Cheliah wins the tenth season of MasterChef Australia |

### September

| Date | Event | Source |
| 24 | The ABC Board sacks managing director Michelle Guthrie halfway through her five year contract. | |
| 27 | Chairman of the ABC Justin Milne resigns after claims emerge about political interference at the ABC and the surprise sacking of Michelle Guthrie days earlier. | |

### October

| Date | Event |
| 4 | For the first time in the Australian version of The Bachelor, Nick Cummins fails to choose a winner in the finale of the sixth season. |
| 9 | Shane Gould wins Australian Survivor: Champions vs. Contenders, the fifth season of Australian Survivor |
| 11 | Major glitches ruins what was to be Ian Henderson's final ABC News Victoria bulletin, with the New South Wales bulletin instead broadcast. He eventually presents his final bulletin the following evening, with Tamara Oudyn named as his replacement. |
| 28 | Hayden and Sara win the fourteenth season of The Block |
| 31 | Network Ten launches a major network branding, including introducing a new logo for the first time since 1991. Channel Ten becomes Channel 10, while multichannels ONE and ELEVEN are rebranded as 10 Boss (later renamed to 10 Bold) and 10 Peach respectively. |

### November

| Date | Event |
| 2 | Sky News Live sacks Ross Cameron after making racist comments as co-host of Outsiders, becoming the second original co-host to be fired due to controversial comments made on the program after Mark Latham in 2017. |
| 15 | Ali Oetjen chooses Taite Radley in the finale of season four of The Bachelorette. |
| 25 | Lai Utovou wins the inaugural season of All Together Now. |

### December

| Date | Event | Source |
| 1 | The last day of the official 2018 OzTam television ratings period. | |
| 18 | Weekend Today Co-Host Peter Stefanovic announces he's leaving the Nine Network after 15 Years. | |

## Television channels
### New channels

* 2 September – Sky News on WIN
* 1 October – Your Money
* 1 December - 7food network

### Renamed channels

* 31 October - Eleven to 10 Peach, One to 10 Boss
* 17 November - Food Network to SBS Food
* 10 December - 10 Boss to 10 Bold

### Channel closures

* 31 January – World Movies
* 28 February – Eurosport News, FX, Nat Geo People

## Premieres

Television programs which debut for the first time on Australian television.

### Domestic series

List of domestic television series premieres :
| Program | Original airdate | Channel |
| Romper Stomper | 1 January 2018 (2018-01-01) | Stan |
| Hughesy, We Have a Problem | 30 January 2018 (2018-01-30) | Network Ten |
| Grace Beside Me | 16 February 2018 (2018-02-16) | NITV |
| Australian Spartan | 25 February 2018 (2018-02-25) | Seven Network |
| Bachelor in Paradise Australia | 25 March 2018 (2018-03-25) | Network Ten |
| Picnic at Hanging Rock | 6 May 2018 (2018-05-06) | showcase |
| Love Island Australia | 27 May 2018 (2018-05-27) | 9Go! |
| Bite Club | 15 August 2018 (2018-08-15) | Nine Network |
| Bluey | 1 October 2018 | ABC Kids (Australia) Disney Junior (International) |
| Paramedics | 4 October 2018 (2018-10-04) | Nine Network |

### International series

List of international television series premieres :
| Program | Original airdate | Channel | Country of origin |
| S.W.A.T. | 14 January 2018 (2018-01-14) | FOX8 | United States |
| SEAL Team | 28 January 2018 (2018-01-28) | Network Ten | United States |
| Hard Sun | 7 February 2018 (2018-02-07) | Seven Network | United Kingdom |
| Celebrity Big Brother | 11 February 2018 (2018-02-11) | 9Go! | United States |
| Blue Planet II | 17 February 2018 (2018-02-17) | Nine Network | United Kingdom |
| Corporate | 22 February 2018 (2018-02-22) | The Comedy Channel | United States |
| The Resident | 26 February 2018 (2018-02-26) | Seven Network | United States |
| Wellington Paranormal | 31 July 2018 (2018-07-31) | SBS Viceland | New Zealand |

## Programming changes
### Changes to channel affiliation

Criterion for inclusion in the following list is that Australian premiere episodes will air in Australia for the first time on a new channel. This includes when a program is moved from a free-to-air channel's primary channel to a digital multi-channel, as well as when a program moves between subscription television channels – provided the preceding criterion is met. Ended television series which change networks for repeat broadcasts are not included in the list.
List of domestic television series which changed channel affiliation :
| Program | Date | New channel | Previous channel | Source |
List of international television programs which changed channel affiliation :
| Program | Date | New channel | Previous channel | Country of origin | Source |
| The Simpsons | 28 February 2018 (2018-02-28) | 7mate | Eleven | United States | |

### 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.
List of international television programs which premiered on free-to-air television for the first time :
| Program | Date | Free-to-air channel | Subscription channel | Country of origin | Source |

### Subscription premieres

This is a list of programs which made their debut on Australian subscription television, having previously premiered on Australian free-to-air television. Programs may still air (first or repeat) on the original free-to-air television channel.
List of domestic television programs which premiered on subscription television for the first time :
| Program | Date | Free-to-air channel | Subscription network(s) | Source |

### Returning programs

Australian produced programs which are returning with a new season after being absent from television in the previous calendar year.
List of returning domestic television series :
| Program | Return date | Channel | Original run |
| Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation | 21 May 2018 (2018-05-21) | Nine Network | 2009-2012 (Ten) |
| Sports Tonight | 15 July 2018 (2018-07-15) | Network Ten | 1993-2011 |
| All Aussie Adventures | 5 August 2018 (2018-08-05) | Network Ten | 2001-2004 |
| Blind Date | 15 October 2018 (2018-10-15) | Network Ten | 1991 |

### Endings

List of domestic television series endings :
| Program | End date | Network | Start date |
| Blind Date | 19 December | Network 10 | 15 October |
| The Checkout | 17 April | ABC | 21 March 2013 |
| Game of Games | 15 December | Network 10 | 7 October |
| ScreenPLAY | 27 April | 7mate | 29 June 2017 |
| Shark Tank | 7 August | Network Ten | 8 February 2015 |

## Deaths

| Date | Name | Age | Broadcast credibility |
| 16 January | Moya O'Sullivan | aged 91 | Actress known for Number 96 as Pyillis Pratt and Neighbours as Marlene Kratz |
| 17 January | Jessica Falkholt | aged 29 | Actress in the television series Home and Away as Hope Morrison. |
| 4 May | Cathy Godbold | aged 33 | Actress best known as role in Home and Away as Meg Bowman |
| 28 May | Cornelia Frances (OAM) | aged 77 | Actress starred in The Young Doctors, Sons and Daughters, Home and Away and hosted The Weakest Link |
| 9 July | Sam Chisholm (AO) | aged 78 | New Zealand born Australian media executive, known for the Nine Network |
| 1 December | Judy McBurney | aged 70 | Actress best known for her roles in The Young Doctors as Tania Livingstone and in cult series Prisoneras Sandra "Pixie" Mason. |
| 26 December | Penny Cook | aged 61 | Australian actress best known for the serial A Country Practice as Vicki Dean Bowen, E Street as Dr. Elly Fielding, and Neighbours as Prue Brown and presenter of The Great Outdoors |