Timeline of Australian Television - 1990s

1990s

1990

• Imparja Television begins producing 15-minute local news bulletins inserted into its National Nine News simulcast, entitled Imparja Local News.
• 24 December: WIN Television purchases Network Ten affiliate-to-be Star Television and switches its affiliation to the Nine Network for Queensland.
• 31 December: Regional Queensland is aggregated.

1991

• 14 June: SBS TV is permitted by the government to broadcast five minutes of advertising per hour, as a form of additional funding.
• 31 December: Northern New South Wales is aggregated.

1992

• 1 January: Aggregation begins to take place in Victoria.
• 3 February: Midday news program The World at Noon is launched on ABC TV.
• 27 November: Parliament passes a bill permitting the ABC to provide subscription television services.

1993

• 26 January: Early morning news program First Edition begins on the ABC.
• February: The ABC's Australia Television International is launched by Prime Minister of Australia's Paul John Keating.
• September: The Victorian arm of the Southern Cross Network changes its name to SCN.

1994

• Southern Cross Broadcasting purchases Canberra-based station Capital Television.
• 20 May: Darwin is the last capital city to begin receiving SBS.
• 30 April: Tasmania is aggregated, as a two-station market.
• 31 July: Community station Briz 31 commences transmission.
• October: WIN Television expands into Victoria and Tasmania, purchasing ENT Limited, owners of TasTV and Vic Television.
• 6 October: Community station C31 Melbourne launches.

1995

• 26 January: Galaxy launches Australia's first subscription television service on MMDS.
• 19 September: Australia's first cable TV provider, Optus Vision, begins broadcasting.
• 4 December: State editions of The 7.30 Report are merged into a single national program, presented from Sydney by Kerry O'Brien.

1996

• Prime Television expands into Mildura as PTV-31, after being granted the area's second commercial license.
• December: Prime Television purchases the Golden West Network for $71 million.

1997

• 8 July: Ownership of Australia Television International moves from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to the Seven Network.
• December: Prime Television Limited purchases Canal 9 in Argentina.

1998

• 27 March: TND-34 Darwin, a Seven Network affiliate, is officially inaugurated by Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, Shane Stone.
• 1 July: The WIN Corporation acquires MTN-9 Griffith and supplementary license AMN-31.
• 30 August: Prime Television New Zealand is launched, owned by Prime Television's parent company Prime Television Limited.

1999

• 26 March: WOW, regional Western Australia's second commercial television network owned by WIN Television, launches.
• 18 June: Perth community station Access 31 officially commences transmission.
• 15 August: WIN South Australia is established following the buyout SES-8 Mount Gambier and RTS-5A Loxton by WIN Corporation.
• 31 December: ABC is the Australian broadcaster of the global television event 2000 Today.