Australian television has evolved over the years and now consists of the 5 free-to-air stations and approx 15 free to air Digital channels. Between them they serve up a diverse range of children's shows, home-grown shows, popular imports from Britain and America, and a variety of art-house productions.

Standard TV Channels

The ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) is a government funded station, and mostly features arts and current affairs programs, as well as British shows including The Bill.

Channels 7, 9 and 10 are the big commercial stations, which follow the formula of making many of their own shows (soaps, drams, current affairs, game shows) as well as buying the big hits from the US and UK. If you need a fix of House, Law & Order, Two & a Half Men, or Masterchef, these are the stations for you.

Finally there is SBS, another government run station like the ABC - unlike the ABC though it has commercial breaks, thankfully much less frequently than the other commercial channels. SBS has a more multi-cultural approach to programming, with an eclectic mix of sub-titled films, news broadcasts from a variety of cultures, documentaries, as well as English & European football.

Satellite/Pay TV

Australia is home to 2 subscription TV services, Austar and Foxtel. Both serve up a huge range of entertainment to suit all tastes. From DIY gardening and cooking on the Lifestyle channel right through to the very latest release movies on Showtime. Stations such as The Discovery Channel, National Geographic, MTV, Comedy Channel, Fox8, Fox Sports, Disney Channel and the Movie Network are just some of the channels available.

Freeview - (free to air Digital TV)

Freeview is available to those who own a HD Television or have a Digital Set Top Box attached to their analogue TV. There are approximately 15 channels including ABC 2, Gem, One HD, and 7Two, however these may vary between regional and metro areas.