This is a list of Australian television-related events, debuts, finales, and cancellations that are scheduled to occur in 2020, the 65th year of continuous operation of television in Australia.
Overview of the events of 2020 in Australian television
Following low ratings in Adelaide, Nine switches Millionaire Hot Seat and Nine News Adelaide's timeslots around. The first episode of Hot Seat in its new 4 pm timeslot is watched by just 5,000 viewers, easily beaten by Seven News in its 4 pm timeslot.
Nine News suspends their regional 6:00 pm bulletins indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with reporters redeployed to the metropolitan bulletins in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Their news bulletins were to return on August 10 at a 5.30pm timeslot.
Seven News United States correspondent Amelia Brace and freelance photojournalist Timothy Myers were assaulted in Washington DC while covering the George Floyd protests on Sunrise.
In two separate incidents, Nine News European correspondents Sophie Walsh and Ben Avery were attacked while covering the George Floyd protests in the United Kingdom. Walsh was assaulted by a bystander during a live-cross to Nine's Adelaide evening news bulletin, while Avery was attacked while covering the story on the Today show. Neither were harmed.
The Daily Edition host Ryan Phelan is sacked by the Seven Network after being charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and common assault following a complaint made to police by his girlfriend.
In Perth, Nine News follows Adelaide's lead back in February and switches timeslots with Millionaire Hot Seat heading to 4:00pm While the Afternoon News moves to 5:00pm in order to boost ratings of its 6:00pm Bulletin.
^Gill, Alan (November 22, 1986). "Critics Say a 'Real' Pope Would Stay at Home; The Papal Tour". The Sydney Morning Herald. Apart from siring Australia's highest-paid movie star, he recently won $100,000, plus a luxurious car, in a TV quiz program.