ABC TV Plus

The history of the channel can be traced back to 1998 when the Australian Broadcasting Authority released a report, titled Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting, recommending that the Australian Government support the early introduction of digital broadcasting as a free-to-air service with the loan of a 7 MHz channel for each broadcaster.[3] The Australian Broadcasting Corporation stated that it wished to run up to four multichannels at different times of the day or alternatively offer a high-definition television channel. The corporation claimed that up to A$100 million would be needed to prepare for these services, half of which would need to be government-funded.[3]

In August 2001 the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched the ABC Kids channel, with Fly TV following in November 2001. The two multichannels, available only through digital terrestrial television, broadcast a range of programming targeted at younger and teenage viewers.[4] Funding issues meant that, in June 2003, ABC Television closed ABC Kids and Fly TV.[5]

Unlike its predecessors, ABC2 launched on 7 March 2005 on channel 21, independent of government funding, instead running on a budget of A$3 million per year.[6] The first programme in the launch schedule was an episode of Landline – although scheduled to begin at 6.25am, the programme was delayed ten minutes. The channel was officially inaugurated by former Minister for Communications, Senator Helen Coonan, at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra on 10 March 2005.[7]

Weekly video gaming and technology programme Good Game was launched on 19 September 2006, becoming one of the first programmes in its genre to be broadcast on free-to-air television in Australia.[8] Similarly in the same year, programmes produced included Australia Wide, Short and Curly, dig tv and Late Night Legends.

Genre restrictions imposed by the Australian government on digital multichanneling were lifted along with the media ownership laws passed through the Australian parliament on 18 October 2006.[8][9] Previously limited in the subjects it could cover, ABC2 was henceforth able to carry shows identified as comedy, drama, national news, sport or entertainment.

On 1 January 2008 the Australian Broadcasting Corporation announced the introduction of live coverage and programme content on ABC2 from the Australian Film Commission, Opera Australia, and the Australian Ballet.[10]

At 12:00pm on 8 February 2008 ABC2 was rebranded with a new slogan[11] and yellow-coloured logo, complementing the new ABC TV logo, which was concurrently revamped as ABC (formerly ABC1).[12][13] The channel also moved from channel 21 to channel 22.[14] The rebrand was intended to capture a younger audience than ABC1, along with programming shifts bringing across original shows such as the popular Good Game and controversial Double the Fist.

On 4 December 2009, the children's programming block on ABC2 was rebranded ABC For Kids on 2 with new identities, schedule and watermark. All children's content aimed at school-aged children was removed, effectively making this a pre-schoolers' block. This was the same date as the launch of ABC3.[15]

With a new controller, ABC2 continued as a children's channel in the daytime, changing over to adult programmes at 7.00 PM. In May 2011 the daytime children's programming was consolidated and re-branded as ABC4KIDS.[15]

On 30 October 2017 it was announced by the ABC that on 4 December 2017, ABC2 would be rebranded as ABC Comedy, ending the use of the ABC2 name after 12 years, and focus on a range of comedy programming supplemented with repeats of popular ABC TV programmes.[16] With this announcement, broadcasting of the channel was rescheduled to begin at 7:30 pm instead of 7 pm.

On 25 November 2020, it was announced at the ABC's 2021 upfronts that ABC Comedy would be rebranded as ABC TV Plus and return to a general entertainment format on 1 January 2021.[2]

Broadcasting of the channel was rescheduled to begin at 6:30 pm instead of 7:30 pm on 1 January 2023. [17][18]

Broadcasting of the channel was rescheduled to begin at 7 pm instead of 6:30 pm on 6 February 2023, due to audience feedback.[19][20]

Broadcasting of the channel was rescheduled back to begin at 7:30 pm instead of 7 pm on 13 February 2023, due to complaints.[21][22][23]

To allow automated operation of the channel without the complications of variable length live news broadcasts, prior to the launch of the ABC News channel, the channel broadcast hourly ABC News updates titled News in Brief produced for ABC Online. The channel also launched the morning show, ABC News Breakfast, on 3 November 2008, a three-hour news program running every weekday. The program no longer airs on the channel, but is simulcast on ABC TV and the ABC News channel.

The channel also previously ran ABC Asia Pacific News, which is produced for ABC Australia.

In May 2011, with the move of ABC News Breakfast to ABC TV, children's programming was relocated to ABC Kids and ABC Me.

Currently, the only ABC News Update which is the replay from ABC News channel is the last televised program to be played on ABC TV Plus before the channel's overnight closure.

The channel formerly broadcast exclusive national coverage of many sporting competitions, which include the New South Wales Rugby Union, Queensland Rugby League, Victorian Football League, South Australian National Football League, West Australian Football League, and the Northern Territory Football League. The Women's National Basketball League and W-League Women's Football Competition was broadcast live every week. In addition the channel also broadcast the Fed Cup and the Tiwi Islands Football League Grand Final annually.