ABC Entertains is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Its precursor, ABC Me, was launched on 4 December 2009 as ABC3, featuring programming aimed at primary school children. After a rebranding to ABC Entertains on 3 June 2024, the channel now focuses on general entertainment programming for mature audiences.[3]
Logo used since 2024 | |
| Type | General entertainment[1] |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Network | ABC Television |
| Headquarters | Sydney, New South Wales |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Picture format | 1080i HDTV |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Australian Broadcasting Corporation |
| Sister channels | ABC TV ABC TV HD ABC Kids ABC Family ABC News |
| History | |
| Launched | 3 June 2024 |
| Replaced | ABC Me |
| Links | |
| Website | iview |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| ABN Sydney (DVB-T) | 548 @ 12 (226.5 MHz)[2] |
| Digital terrestrial television | Channel 8 (Hobart) Channel 12 (Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth) Channel 30 (Darwin) |
| Freeview | Channel 23 |
| Streaming media | |
| ABC iview | ABC iview live stream |
History
editOn 9 May 2024, it was announced that ABC Me, which was launched in 2009 as Australia's first dedicated free-to-air children's channel, would rebrand to ABC Entertains on 3 June, shifting its format to general entertainment programming. The channel's relaunch was anchored by the premieres of new series of Interview with the Vampire and Wreck. Youth programming moved to ABC Family; although some programs still air in the morning (from 5:00–11:00 am), and the ABC Education block (from 9:00–11:00 am weekdays) largely remains untouched.[4][5]
On 19 May 2025, it was announced that ABC Entertains, along with the ABC News channel, would be converted to MPEG-4 HD, with the switchover concluding on 26 June.[6]
Programming
editDomestic
editChildren
edit- 100% Wolf: The Book of Hath[7]
- Behind the News (Classroom, 2014–present; Newsbreak, 2009–2024)[8]
- The Deep[7]
- Hardball[7]
- The Strange Chores[7]
Adults
edit- Heartbreak High[9]
- Rage (2014–present)[10]
Foreign
editChildren
edit- Bionic Max[7]
- Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs[7]
- Dragon Ball Super[11][7]
- Hanazuki: Full of Treasures[7]
- Horrible Histories[7]
- Hotel Transylvania: The Series[7]
- Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness[7]
- Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir[7]
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic[7]
- Odd Squad[7]
- Open Season: Call of Nature[7]
- Operation Ouch![7]
- The Penguins of Madagascar[7]
- Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl series[7]
- The Rubbish World of Dave Spud[7]
- Slugterra[7]
- Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures[7]
- Total Drama Island (2023)[12]
- Total DramaRama[7]
- Transformers: EarthSpark[13]
Adults
edit- Absolutely Fabulous (2024–present)[10]
- Car SOS (2024–present)[10]
- The Cleaner (2024–present)[10][14]
- ER (2024–present)[10]
- George Clarke's Amazing Spaces (2024–present)[10]
- Live At The Apollo (2024–present)[10]
- My Family (2024–present)[10]
- MythBusters (2024–present)[10]
- Not Going Out (2024–present)[10]
- Penn & Teller: Fool Us (2024–present)[10]
- Portlandia (2024–present)[10]
- QI (2024–present)[10]
- Speechless (2024–present)[10]
- Would I Lie to You? (2024–present)[10]
- Wreck (2024–present)[10]
References
edit- ^ Baumann, Jasper (10 May 2024). "ABC introduces two new channels - ABC Family and ABC Entertains". Mediaweek. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
- ^ "DTT Register of Service IDs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
- ^ Baumann, Jasper (10 May 2024). "ABC introduces two new channels - ABC Family and ABC Entertains". Mediaweek. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
- ^ McNamara, Lauren (9 May 2024). "ABC to launch two new channels and new digital streams". Mumbrella. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
- ^ "TV Guide". ABC Education. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
- ^ "ABC NEWS Channel and ABC Entertains move to High Definition". About the ABC. 18 May 2025. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v "ABC Entertains". ABC Television. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
- ^ Knox, David (10 June 2014). "ABC Educational programming moving to ABC3". TV Tonight. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
- ^ "Heartbreak High". ABC Television. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Knox, David (16 May 2024). "Here's what's in store on ABC Family / ABC Entertains channels". TV Tonight. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
- ^ "Dragon Ball Super". ABC iview. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
- ^ "Total Drama Island". ABC iview. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ "Transformers: EarthSpark". ABC iview. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
- ^ Knox, David (29 May 2024). "Airdate: The Cleaner". TV Tonight. Retrieved 9 June 2024.