The year 2007 in Australian television was the 52nd year of continuous operation.
Events
15 January – Channel Nine, NBN Television & WIN Television relaunch their on-air presentation. 22 January – Monique Wright was then crowned Sunrise's new weather presenter. A year later Monique Wright left Sunrise and the prize went to Fifi Box. On that day, SBS's World News is revamped with a 1-hour format. 29 January – Former Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? host and CEO of the Nine Network, Eddie McGuire, returns to screens as the host of Nine's new game show 1 vs. 100. Also debuting on the same night, but at a different time, is the Seven Network's big money game show The Rich List hosted by Andrew O'Keefe. National Nine News nearly relaunch their news graphics, but on that day, this never happened. 9 February – The Australian Football League signs a five-year broadcasting contract with the Seven Network, Network Ten and pay TV provider Foxtel, in a controversial deal that will see half of the AFL matches played each week broadcast on Foxtel instead of free-to-air television. 12 February – Jodi Power, a family friend of convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby, made allegations in a paid interview on Channel Seven's Today Tonight that Corby's sister Mercedes had previously asked Power to transport drugs to Bali and that Mercedes had confessed to smuggling compressed cannabis concealed inside her body into Indonesia. Mercedes is interviewed by Tracy Grimshaw on Channel Nine's major rival program A Current Affair on 14 February. 30 March – The Seven Network broadcasts its first AFL premiership match since the 2001 AFL Grand Final, for another long-indefinite run. 1 April – The Seven Network signs a $3 million a year for the broadcast rights to the fourth series of Kath & Kim, a popular sitcom which had previously aired until their final appearance on the ABC in 2005 as Da Kath & Kim Code. 7 April – Australian music program Rage celebrates 20 years on air is over 4 weeks in 20 Years Of Rage. 9–13 April – The fourth season of The Mole is replayed during the afternoon period, during the NSW school holidays. 16 April – Australia's Leader of the Opposition Kevin Rudd and Federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Joe Hockey discontinue their weekly appearances on Seven's breakfast news program Sunrise after four years. The decision follows possibly politically damaging accusations that Sunrise had requested that Rudd appear at a dawn service for ANZAC Day in Long Tan, Vietnam, with the service held an hour early to accommodate the time difference for live television.Seven 'sorry' for Sunrise split, The Age, 16 April 2007. 28 April – 12-year-old singer Bonnie Anderson s the first season of Australia's Got Talent 1 May – Singer Kate Ceberano and her partner John-Paul Collins the sixth season of Dancing with the Stars. 18 May – After a tumultuous 15-month reign, the CEO of the Nine Network, Eddie McGuire, resigns. 18 June – Seven Network's The Morning Show is introduced, marking a new millennium in daytime television. 2 July – National Nine News nearly tipped to relaunch their news graphics, this also never happened as it lost it to Seven News. 11 July – American educational animated series WordGirl debuts on ABC. The series wouldn't debut in its home country of the USA until 3 September of the same year. 23 July – Long running soap opera Neighbours has a major cast revamp to try to improve its struggling ratings, and continue its long-run on the Network Ten. 29 July – Seven Network claims 20th record-breaking ratings win of the year to secure ratings year. 19 August – Fourth series premiere of Kath & Kim at 7 – 30pm, now on the Seven Network, attracts an audience of 2.521 million nationally, making it the most watched television programme so far in 2007 and the highest rating ever for a first episode in the history of Australian television. 26 August – Veteran journalist, TV legend and former A Current Affair host Ray Martin announces he is leaving the Nine Network after thirty years, citing disillusionment with the network's management. 6 September – Julian Morrow and Chas Licciardello from The Chaser's War on Everything along with nine other production crew members are arrested in Sydney during the APEC summit for entering a restricted area. Those arrested were travelling in a fake Canadian motorcade and Licciardello was dressed up as Osama bin Laden. 9 September – Seven Network journalist Ben Davis is attacked outside Melbourne's Olympic Park Stadium by a gang of drunken Brisbane Broncos supporters during a live cross to Seven's Brisbane bulletin. 1 October – Seven News Perth journalist Chris Mainwaring dies from a drug overdose. Just the day before, Mainwaring was preparing for a boxing duel with cricketer Justin Langer, parts of which appear on the Seven News bulletin on the day of his death. 15 October – Seven HD launches. 21 October – The Nine Network includes the "worm" audience reaction graph in their broadcast of the election debate between John Howard and Kevin Rudd, despite agreements to the contrary. The National Press Club cut Nine's transmission feed, and the ABC cut their backup feed. Nine continued to transmit by adding the worm to the Sky News broadcast.The Worm turns, and sneaks back on screen to bite Howard, The Sydney Morning Herald, 22 October 2007. 22 October – After 18 months off the air, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? makes a brief return to Australian television; lasting just five weeks of more poor ratings. 29 October – Seven HD and Prime Television service a new regional multi-channel, Prime HD. 2 November – Perth-based Network Ten's news anchorperson Charmaine Dragun is found dead near Sydney, apparently due to a suicide. 25 November – Natalie Gauci becomes the last woman to win the fifth series of Australian Idol, then months later her singing career tanked. 27 November – McLeod's Daughters actress Bridie Carter and her partner Craig Monley win the seventh season of Dancing with the Stars. 30 November – Daryl Somers announces he is quitting the hosting job of the Seven Network's high-rating reality show Dancing with the Stars. 3 December – Seven's Melbourne news bulletin defeats its Nine and Ten counterparts in the ratings for the first time in nearly 30 years. Seven won 20 weeks, Nine won 19 and the other week was tied. American science fiction sitcom The Big Bang Theory created by Chuck Lorre, the creator of Two and a Half Men premieres on the Nine Network at 7:30 pm. 16 December – Ten HD launches. December – The Seven Network wins the ratings year for the first time since 1978 (excluding 2000, the year of the Sydney Olympics), thanks to their "Seven in '07" campaign which aired at the start of the year. December – Network Ten broadcasts Sony Pictures movies for the final-ever time, before handing the television rights to the Nine Network. Ten later revived the Sony Pictures output deal 6 years later. The 2004 romance film The Notebook starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams premieres on the Nine Network.
Ratings – network shares
Market Network shares ABC Seven Nine Ten SBS 5 cities 16.7% 29.1% 26.9% 21.9% 5.5% Sydney 17.5% 28.8% 27.7% 19.9% 6.0% Melbourne 16.4% 28.6% 27.1% 22.4% 5.5% Brisbane 16.5% 28.6% 28.1% 21.4% 5.4% Adelaide 15.5% 28.9% 26.3% 24.3% 4.9% Perth 16.7% 31.5% 23.5% 23.3% 5.0%
New channels 13 July – National Indigenous Television 15 October – Seven HD 29 October – Prime HD (serviced by Seven HD) 1 December – Showcase 16 December – Ten HD
Debuts ABC TV debutsDateProgram 12 February Difference of Opinion 21 April The Sideshow 15 May Choir of Hard Knocks 11 June Dorothy the Dinosaur 26 June Carbon Cops 18 July Bindi the Jungle Girl 7 August South Side Story 5 September Summer Heights High 7 October Rain Shadow 14 October The Abbey 16 October Not Quite Art 31 October The Librarians
SBS TV debutsDateProgram 5 February Podlove 19 March Wilfred 11 April Eco House Challenge 6 June Bluelist Australia 9 June Kick 8 July The Circuit 28 July Great Australian Albums 6 August Marx and Venus 24 August HotSpell 26 September Parent Rescue 10 October Newstopia 17 October Is Your House Killing You? 6 December East West 101
Seven Network debutsDateProgram 29 January The Rich List 18 February Australia's Got Talent 18 April Last Chance Learners 6 May Live 'N Local Up Close 11 June Dorothy the Dinosaur 18 June The Morning Show 9 July Surf Patrol 17 July RSPCA Animal Rescue 29 July Australia's Best Backyards 27 August City Homicide 21 October National Bingo Night (Axed after 6 weeks)
Nine Network debutsDateProgram 29 January 1 vs. 100 5 February The Code: Crime and Justice (Renamed Crime and Justice for the repremiere on 29 May) 16 February Kings of Comedy 26 February The Catch-Up (Axed after 16 weeks) February Code Blue 3 March My Home 31 March The Music Jungle 2 April Footy Classified 6 May The Lost Tribes 5 June The Nation 7 June Ralph TV 19 June Lockie Leonard 5 July Sea Patrol 17 July Things To Try Before You Die 31 July The Mint 20 August Sharky's Friends 18 September Surprise Surprise Gotcha 24 September Commercial Breakdown 24 September Just for Laughs 24 September Royal Flying Doctor Service 24 September Emergency 7 October Dirty Jobs 7 October Going Places 7 October The Singing Bee 11 October The Gift 24 October The Farmer Wants a Wife 27 November Dogstar 18 December In the Line of Fire 21 December Best of Australia Network Ten debutsDateProgram 7 February The Con Test 18 February Celebrity Dog School 15 February Saving Babies 31 May Teen Fit Camp 26 September Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? 26 October Friday Night Download 11 November Animalia
Regional and Community television debutsDateProgramChannel 25 June Susie WIN Television 20 July Our Melbourne C31 Melbourne
Subscription television
Program Channel Debut date Dangerous Fox8 Lair, The The Lair MTV Pub with One Beer, TheThe Pub with One Beer The LifeStyle Channel Freestyle Channel [V] NRL Teams Fox Sports 3 Erotic Star Arena Before the Bounce Fox Sports 1 Eco Report Sky News Neil Perry: High Steaks The LifeStyle Channel Cash Cab Channel [V] Confidential Fox8 Best in Australia, TheThe Best in Australia The LifeStyle Channel Fish Out of Water Fox8 Singing Office, The The Singing Office Fox8 Chandon Pictures Movie Extra Thanks for Listening - The History of Australian Radio The History Channel Runway to LA Fox8 Chefs Christmas The LifeStyle Channel Satisfaction Showcase Stuart MacGill Uncorked LifeStyle Food
New international programming Program Channel Debut date Yam Roll ABC2 / Growing Up Creepie ABC TV 6Teen ABC2 Monster Warriors ABC TV / Kaput and Zösky: The Ultimate Obliterators ABC2 Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! ABC TV Shaun the Sheep ABC TV Grossology ABC TV My Goldfish Is Evil! ABC TV Carl Squared ABC2 Fluffy Gardens ABC TV Life on Mars ABC TV / / Skunk Fu! ABC TV The Roman Mysteries ABC TV Hyperdrive ABC TV Ergo Proxy ABC2 Captain Flamingo ABC TV WordGirl ABC TV The Spooky Sisters ABC TV / Dinosapien ABC TV Noein: To Your Other Self ABC2 Mama Mirabelle's Home Movies ABC TV / SamSam ABC TV / The Upside Down Show ABC TV LazyTown ABC TV Monarchy ABC TV Ruby Gloom ABC2 / Peep and the Big Wide World ABC TV 2007 Wilbur ABC TV 2007 It's a Big Big World ABC TV 2007 The Latest Buzz ABC TV 2007 The Complete Guide to Parenting ABC TV Jam & Jerusalem ABC TV
SBS TV new international programmingDateProgram 15 April / 2057 14 May If the Dead Could Speak 3 June Big Love