1987 in Australian television

Events

• January – Alan Bond, the owner of QTQ-9 & STW-9, also purchases TCN-9 & GTV-9 from Kerry Packer for $1.055 billion. The expanded Nine Network becomes the first coast-to-coast network.
• January – Long-running ABC music program Countdown launches as Countdown Pirate TV or CDP-TV.
• 5 January – British soap opera series EastEnders debuts on ABC.
• 10 January – Final episode of Australian soap opera Prime Time is being shown on Nine Network as the series was not a popular success.
• February – [John John Fairfax Holdings|Fairfax Holdings|Fairfax], owners of ATN-7 & BTQ-7 purchase HSV-7 from The Herald and Weekly Times for $320 million. The move sees the replacement of most Melbourne-produced programming with networked programming from Sydney, including long-running shows such as World of Sport & sees Mal Walden sacked as newsreader. The revamped news service, read by former STW-9 newsreader Greg Pearce plunges to as low as zero in the ratings.
• 2 February – Canadian children's series The Kids of Degrassi Street, the first in the Degrassi trilogy series premieres on the ABC.
• 8 February – American sitcom ALF debuts on Seven Network.
• 11 February – Australian comedy series Hey Dad..! debuts on Seven Network.
• 12 February – Australian drama series Rafferty's Rules screens on Seven Network.
• 15 February – Network Ten premieres a brand new Australian music video program called Video Hits.
• 16 February – British children's animated series Henry's Cat makes its debut on the ABC at 3:55pm.
• 16 February – ABC debuts a brand new weekday afternoon magazine series called The Afternoon Show presented by former Models saxophonist James Valentine. The show begins by airing three programmes per day. One show airs weekdays at 5:00pm, one airs for only two days and the other three will be airing on one different day of the week for the 5:30pm timeslot. The third programme for this show also airs at 6:00pm on weeknights.
• 26 March – Prime Minister Bob Hawke calls off the proposed amalgamation of the ABC and SBS.
• 27 March - Mal Walden was sacked by new management after HSV-7 was taken over by the Fairfax group. He was told of his dismissal only minutes before going on air to present what became his final news bulletin for the station.
• 5 April – The infamous Grim Reaper advertisement debuts on television.
• 6 April – British children's television series Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends debuts on ABC at 3:55pm.
• 6 April – ABC debuts a brand new comedy series called The Dingo Principle.
• 13 April – ABC weekday afternoon magazine series The Afternoon Show updates its schedule by airing four different programmes on five different days of the week. One show airs from Monday to Thursdays, the other now airs only on Fridays, the next programme, a brand new sketch comedy series from Canada titled You Can't Do That on Television airs weekdays at 5:30pm and the last one includes reruns of the French-American-Canadian animated series Inspector Gadget being shown weeknights at 6:00pm.
• 17 April – The ABC launches its overnight music video block Rage.
• 20 April – ABC comedy series The Dingo Principle broadcasts a mock interview with the Ayatollah Khomeini, which results in diplomatic tensions with Iran, including the expulsion of two Australian diplomats. Two weeks later, the ABC receives a letter of complaint from the Soviet embassy regarding a skit lampooning Russian figures Mikhail Gorbachev and Vladimir Lenin.
• 4 May – Australian children's weekday and weekend morning series The Cartoon Connection airs on Seven Network in Victoria for the first time starting off with The Herculoids, The Flintstones, Tom and Jerry and The Partridge Family on weekdays, Yogi's Treasure Hunt, Paw Paws, Galtar and the Golden Lance and Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? on Saturdays and The Smurfs, The Challenge of the GoBots, It's Punky Brewster and Defenders of the Earth on Sundays.
• 8 June – ABC comedy series The Dingo Principle airs its 10th and final episode.
• 25 June – After the ill-fated attempt of the Pirate TV format, the axing of the ABC's long-running music program, Countdown was announced, according to the network's then-managing director David Hill, who has said that the damage was done.
• 1 July – Neighbours screens the wedding of Scott Robinson and Charlene Mitchell, which later in November 1988 saw the most-watched all time episodes in the UK.
• 6 July – Reruns of the British children's television series Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends air on the ABC for the first time. This was also the second time the series had been broadcast.
• 6 July – Debut of British sitcom Executive Stress on ABC.
• July – Westfield buys Network Ten from Rupert Murdoch's News Limited for $842 million.
• 19 July – Countdown broadcasts for the very last time ever with the final Countdown Music and Video Awards from the Sydney Entertainment Centre. In the closing, Molly Meldrum took off his trademark cowboy hat to reveal a bald head, signing off and John Farnham performed "You're the Voice". The last one-hour show was presented by Neighbours stars Guy Pearce, Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan.
• 31 July – American sitcom The Golden Girls debuts on Seven Network.
• August – New cross-media ownership rules force the sale of the Seven Network. Fairfax sells its stations to Christopher Skase's Qintex company for $780 million.
• 17 August – The ABC broadcasts a lineup of children's morning programmes for the 7:00am to 10:00am timeslot for the first time.
• 12 September – Australian gardening and lifestyle programme Burke's Backyard, endorsed by gardener Don Burke, premieres on Nine Network. It was also one of the first of the long line of prime-time "infotainment" and lifestyle programs on commercial television.
• 26 October – A new Australian children's television series called Kaboodle debuts on ABC.
• 23 November – American soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful makes it debut on Network Ten at 1:00pm.
• 24 November – American action adventure series MacGyver makes its debut on Seven Network at 7:30pm.
• 2 December – American sitcom Perfect Strangers premieres on Seven Network.
• 27 December – When the new year approaches, Kerry Stokes's ownership of ADS-7 and TVW-7's ownership of SAS-10, result in the stations deciding to cease broadcasting under swapped callsigns and affiliations. ADS-7 becomes ADS-10 and aligns to the Ten Network and SAS-10 becomes SAS-7 and aligns to the Seven Network.
• Network Ten loses the Winfield Cup rights to the Nine Network after 5 years.

New international programming

Changes to network affiliation

Television shows

1950s

• ''Mr. Squiggle''

1960s

• ''Four Corners''

1970s

• ''60 Minutes''

1980s

• ''Rage''