August – The ABC televises the 1978 Commonwealth Games from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The opening and closing ceremonies are televised live, with event highlights each day.
12 September – The very first major mini-series produced for Australian commercial television with a budget of over a million dollars Against the Wind is screen on Seven Network. It is also the first major Australian TV production to be broadcast in the United States.
September – The Federal Government gives the go-ahead for the launch of a multicultural television service, to be operated by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), with the expectation of the new channel operating in Sydney and Melbourne by 1980.
October – Channel 0 makes a request to the Federal Government for permission to change its broadcast frequency to Network Ten.
7 November – The 0-10 Network televises the Melbourne Cup to a national audience for the first time. The telecast is regarded as one of the largest national sports telecasts mounted to date.
64% of Melbourne and 70% of Sydney households now own colour TV sets, giving Australia one of the fastest changeovers to colour in the world.
