The launch of satellite technology in the mid-1980s enabled the ABC to begin broadcasting on a truly national scale and from around 1986 there were rarely differences in capital city schedules, though regional variations remained as the ABC's charter as a public broadcaster meant that it had to fulfill that function more often in regional areas with only one other television station (as was the case with all of regional Australia until around 1989). As such, where precedence was occasionally given to local events (sport, elections, etc.), programs like "Doctor Who" would sometimes find themselves moved to a different timeslot, if not bumped from the schedule altogether.