This article is divided into the following sections:

Constituent stations History On air campaigns Programming Sport Related links

Constituent stations

• TEN10 Sydney which began broadcasting on the 5th of April 1965, with the TV special "TV Spells Magic".
• ATV0 Melbourne which was founded by Sir Reginald Ansett when he won the license for the third television station in Melbourne. Began broadcasting from it's Nunawading studios on the 1st of August 1964. Changed to ATV-10 on the 20th of January 1980.
• TVQ0 Brisbane which began on the 1st of July 1965 and changed to TVQ-10 on the 10th of September 1988.
• ADS10 Adelaide which was originally ADS-7, and began on the 24th of October 1959. ADS was originally the Seven Network station in Adelaide until the 27th of December 1987, when ADS-7 and SAS-10 switched frequencies and affiliations. SAS was the original Ten affiliate when they began on the 26th of July 1965.
• NEW10 Perth which began on the 20th of May 1988.

History

The network was originally called the Independent Television Network, but quickly changed its name to the 0-10 Network. In 1972, Rupert Murdoch bought 42% of TEN-10 and in 1979, took control of ATV-0. In 1980, the network changed its name again to Network Ten.

In 1987, due to changes to media laws by the Labor Government, which forbid a media company from owning a television station and a newspaper in the same city, Rupert Murdoch sold the Ten Network to Frank Lowy for $842 million. However, due to low ratings, Ten hired Bob Shanks in 1989, who changed the name of the network to 10 TV Australia, and attempted many changes to help improve ratings. Unfortunately, it made the ratings problem worse, and the network was forced into receivership in September 1990.

In 1991, Canadian media company CanWest Global, bought 57.5% of the Ten Network from its receivers, Westpac Bank, for $275 million. CanWest greatly improved the networks profits by focusing the network on appealing to younger-aged viewers, much like its Canadian network Global. Interestingly enough, the Global Television Network (in a legal point of view it's not technically a network), based on ratings also usually place third in Canada, but its profitability margins are just as lucrative as Ten's current reincarnation.

In 2005, John Fairfax Holdings, perhaps stimulated by the imminent removal of media ownership limits by the Coalition Government, attempted to buy the Ten Network. However, CanWest refused to sell.

On air campaigns

Where the Nine and Seven Networks tend to borrow some of their campaigns from American Television networks, Ten is no exception. Some of the campaigns, and even news openers, were borrowed from America's CBS television network. (I.e. "Looking Good" & "Reach For The Stars" in the early 80's, and their breifly rebranded "Ten Evening News" In the late 80s)

From the 1970s through the 1990s, some Ten stations used the "Eyewitness News" name for their newscasts. "Eyewitness News" is one of the most popular news formats in the United States, with many stations still using the name. In addition, Ten used a version of the WPVI Philadelphia news "anthem", "Move Closer To Your World", which is still running to this day on WPVI.

Recently, Network Ten used slogans such as "Give Me Ten", "Turn Me On" and "seriously".

Programming

Popular programs during the 60s included Go!!, Showcase and The Magic Circle Club (which started life on August 3, 1964 as The Children's Show).

The 70s saw the arrival of popular dramas Matlock Police, the groundbreaking Number 96 and the similarly controversial The Box. Also during the decade was Young Talent Time, The Price Is Right, The Mike Walsh Show, Blankety Blanks, The Restless Years and Prisoner.

The 80s saw some less than successful programs in the early part of the decade, such as Arcade, Holiday Island, Punishment and the comedy series Ratbags. The network did have more success later with Neighbours, Return To Eden, Good Morning Australia, The Comedy Company, Perfect Match and Eyewitness News. The failures returned in 1989 however when the new management virtually tried to turn Ten into the "Game Show Network", with shows such as Family Double Dare, Superquiz and The Great TV Game Show, all of which fared quite poorly in the ratings.

The 90s saw major restructure at the network and programming targetted at the 16-39 age demographic and more emphasis on imported programming. Also, Bert Newton returned to TV in 1992 to host The Morning Show which adopted the Good Morning Australia title in 1993.

Since 2000, Ten has expanded its local programming to include large scale productions like Big Brother and Australian Idol, more local drama such as The Secret Life Of Us and White Collar Blue. In 2000, Ten signed up Rove McManus to host a weekly variety program Rove Live.

And in 2005, Neighbours celebrates its 20th year on-air with cameos from over twenty former cast members.

Sport

In 1978, the 0-10 Network scored a coup when it secured the rights to televise the Melbourne Cup. The network would continue its association with the Melbourne Cup Carnival until 2001.

Network Ten televised the 1984 Olympic Games from Los Angeles, the 1988 Olympic Games from Seoul and the 1994 Commonwealth Games from Victoria, Canada.

In 2002, a consortium of Network Ten, the Nine Network and Foxtel, began televising Australian Football League matches, ending the League's long association with the Seven Network. Network Ten, along with Seven, have now won the rights to broadcast the football from 2007 - 2011 after the Australian Football League accepted their final bids on January 5, 2006.

Related links

Official:
http://www.ten.com.au - Ten site