SBS (Australian TV channel)
| Company type | Public television network |
|---|---|
| Industry | Broadcasting |
| Founded | October 24, 1980 |
| Headquarters | Australia |
Area served | Australia |
| Products | Television broadcasting |
| Parent | Special Broadcasting Service |
SBS is an Australian public television network with a multicultural focus, established on 24 October 1980. It functions as part of the Special Broadcasting Service's television arm and broadcasts across the entire country. In 2024, SBS achieved a 9.3% viewer share, rising from 8.5% in the previous year.
By 2024, SBS holds the position of Australia's fifth most-watched television network and main channel, trailing behind Seven Network, Nine Network, ABC TV, and Network 10.
Beginnings
The origins of SBS trace back to April 1979 when it commenced trial broadcasts under the name SBS Ethnic Television, featuring foreign language content on ABV-2 Melbourne and ABN-2 Sydney during Sunday mornings. Regular full-time broadcasting began at 6:30 pm on 24 October 1980 as Channel 0/28, transmitting via UHF Channel 28 and VHF Channel 0. Bruce Gyngell, notable for introducing television to Australia in 1956, inaugurated the initial programming. The first show aired was a multicultural documentary titled Who Are We?, created and presented by journalist Peter Luck.
The launch featured an announcement set to Aaron Copland’s "Fanfare for the Common Man", highlighting SBS's commitment to cultural diversity. Gyngell aimed to appeal not only to ethnic communities but also to Anglo-Saxon Australians, seeking to influence their viewing preferences. By 1981, Channel 0/28 had become the preferred channel for audiences in Sydney and Melbourne, with approximately 98% of ethnic viewers tuning into language-specific shows. Gyngell departed from SBS in late 1982, after which the channel increasingly depended on reruns.
From the 1980s through the 1990s
On 14 October 1983, SBS expanded its reach to Canberra on UHF28 as well as Cooma and Goulburn on UHF58, adopting the name Network 0–28 and promoting the tagline "Bringing the World Back Home." On 18 February 1985, it rebranded as SBS and extended its daytime broadcast hours from 11 am to 2 pm while initiating evening transmissions at 5:30 pm. By June of that year, coverage had grown to include Brisbane, Adelaide, Newcastle, Wollongong, and the Gold Coast. The network discontinued broadcasts on VHF0 on 5 January 1986 due to antenna reception issues.
SBS launched in Perth on 16 March 1986 and later expanded into regional areas such as Mount Gambier, Loxton-Renmark, Port Pirie, Broken Hill, Toowoomba, Townsville, Bendigo, Ballarat, Traralgon, and Hobart. Darwin was the final capital city to receive a local SBS signal in May 1994. Additional regional rollouts continued into the late 1990s and early 2000s, with Shepparton being the last city to gain access in November 2001.
Originally operating without commercial advertising, SBS began incorporating television commercials in 1991. These advertisements were placed between programs rather than interrupting them mid-broadcast, representing a notable change in its funding approach.
Developments in the 2000s
The introduction of digital terrestrial television on 1 January 2001 broadened SBS Television's transmission capabilities and led to a gradual shift towards widescreen content.
In April 2004, presenters David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz departed from The Movie Show to join ABC's At the Movies. The Movie Show continued under new hosts such as Megan Spencer, Jaimie Leonarder, Fenella Kernebone, and Marc Fennell until it was cancelled in June 2006. That same month marked a change as SBS started airing advertisements during programs instead of only between them.
In May 2007, The Movie Show was revived with a fresh interactive format lasting ten minutes per episode and hosted by Lisa Hensley alongside Michael Adams.
On 1 June 2009, SBS TV underwent rebranding to become SBS One coinciding with the launch of its sister channel SBS Two, which was designed to appeal primarily to younger viewers.
2010s
On 10 December 2013, SBS ceased analogue television transmissions, fully shifting to digital broadcasting and the use of set-top boxes.
Starting 27 March 2014, both SBS and SBS Two discontinued the Weatherwatch Overnight program—a weather information filler—allowing these channels to offer round-the-clock broadcasting. On 4 July 2015, SBS One reverted to its original name, SBS TV.
On 17 November 2015, SBS introduced SBS Food, a channel devoted to culinary content from Australia and around the world. Initially launched as Food Network through a collaboration with Discovery Inc., it is accessible on free-to-air channel 33.
Following a content partnership formed in June 2016 with the US-Canadian media company Vice Media, SBS rebranded its sister channel SBS 2 as SBS Viceland on 15 November 2016.
On 1 July 2019, SBS World Movies debuted on Channel 32, taking over the Standard Definition slot previously held by Viceland. Viceland transitioned to Channel 31 broadcasting in HD, making World Movies the third multichannel alongside SBS, Viceland, and SBS Food.
2020s
On 23 May 2022, SBS unveiled its fourth multichannel, SBS WorldWatch, which features previously aired non-English news bulletins alongside newly produced local bulletins in Arabic and Mandarin. This channel is available free-to-air on channel 35.
In preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, SBS invested $20 million to acquire exclusive broadcast rights for the event.
Programming
SBS’s charter requires a varied programming lineup including international news, documentaries, drama, comedy, films, and sports. The network allocates substantial morning airtime to news bulletins in multiple languages and places greater emphasis on international affairs than other Australian broadcasters. Its sports coverage concentrates mainly on global competitions.
Drama offerings are predominantly imported series such as Inspector Rex, Unit One, Funland, Shameless, Medici, and ZeroZeroZero. Australian-produced dramas include titles like Kick and East West 101.
Comedy programming blends local productions with international series including The Ricky Gervais Show, Skins, bro'Town, South Park (until 2020), Corner Gas, Nighty Night, and Queer as Folk. Prominent comedy programs have featured Pizza, Newstopia, and Life Support. Reality shows such as Nerds FC and Song for the Socceroos have also been broadcast. Anime selections have included Neon Genesis Evangelion and films from Studio Ghibli. Additionally, SBS has aired foreign-language sitcoms, soap operas, telenovelas, and Bollywood movies—all subtitled in English—although these have decreased in favor of English-language content.
The remainder of SBS’s schedule comprises English-language lifestyle, music, game, and talk shows such as Iron Chef, RocKwiz, MythBusters, Top Gear (2005–2009), Global Village, alongside culinary series like Food Lovers' Guide to Australia and Food Safari. Other notable offerings include documentaries like Remote Area Nurse, cultural programs such as Salam Cafe, and the annual broadcast of the Eurovision Song Contest. International films are presented within the SBS Film segment and on the World Movies Channel. Late-night slots frequently feature Weatherwatch segments providing worldwide meteorological updates.
Since the late 1980s, SBS has maintained a tradition of airing the German comedy sketch Dinner for One every New Year's Eve in line with European custom.
Robbie McGregor served as SBS’s narrator from 1989 until 2006; currently, that role is filled by Lani John Tupu.
News and current affairs
SBS provides an extensive range of news and current affairs programming, including its evening national news broadcast SBS World News, the investigative series Dateline, the discussion-based show Insight, and the program focusing on indigenous issues, Living Black. Additionally, it offers the World Watch segment featuring news bulletins in a variety of languages. Prior to early 2007, the weeknight slot was occupied by Toyota World Sport, which was subsequently replaced by the expanded one-hour World News Australia (now known as SBS World News) alongside World Watch.
Foreign language newscasts are also broadcast on SBS's second digital channel, SBS Viceland, which frequently includes supplementary analysis and statistics for significant events such as the FIFA World Cup, The Ashes, Olympic Games, and the Australian Football League Grand Final.
Following the introduction of the multilingual channel SBS WorldWatch, SBS continues to air English-language news bulletins from international broadcasters within the existing World Watch programming block, alongside content on Viceland.
Sport
SBS Sport holds broadcasting rights for a diverse range of sports across its platforms including SBS, SBS Viceland, and SBS On Demand. Its coverage history encompasses events like the Tour de France, World Superbikes, World Rally Championship, The Ashes, UEFA Champions League, and the FIFA World Cup—which it has covered since 1986, sharing rights in 2002 with Nine Network and in 2018 with Optus Sport. Other sporting events covered include the FIFA Confederations Cup, FA Cup, UEFA European Football Championship, the 2004 Summer Olympics, the NFL's Super Bowl, and the English Premier League. SBS also produces sport-related shows such as The World Game and UEFA Champions League Magazine.
During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, coverage was shared between SBS and the Seven Network. While Seven held exclusive Australian rights across free-to-air, pay television, online, and mobile platforms with a focus on mainstream sports and ceremonies, SBS provided complementary broadcasts concentrating on extended events like football, road cycling, volleyball, and table tennis.
Funding
Approximately 80% of SBS’s financial resources are provided by the Australian Federal Government. The balance is obtained through advertising revenue, sponsorship deals, production services, and sales of programming and merchandise. In the financial year 2018–19, SBS received funding amounting to $272.4 million.
Availability
SBS is accessible via all its television transmitters in SD Digital. Program schedules may vary by state during major sporting occasions when broadcast times are adjusted. Throughout the digital transition period from 2010 to 2013, SBS was simulcast on analogue channels.
In 2010, SBS conducted experimental broadcasts of the FIFA World Cup in 3D on Channel 40.
SBS HD
SBS HD commenced operations on 14 December 2006, delivering identical programming to SBS but in 1080i high-definition format through platforms such as Freeview and satellite Optus D1. On 8 April 2017, SBS HD transitioned from using MPEG-2 to more efficient MPEG-4 compression technology, coinciding with the launch of SBS Viceland HD.
SBS On Demand
SBS On Demand, introduced on 1 September 2011, is a catch-up and video-on-demand platform accessible through websites, mobile applications, smart televisions, and set-top devices.
Logo and identity history
The initial SBS emblem displayed a blue and white globe, representing broadcasts on VHF channel 0. When the channel was renamed Network 0–28 in 1983, the logo was updated to include the new title beneath the globe. By 1985, following the rebranding to SBS TV, the logo showed "SBS" under the globe; the globe itself was removed by 1989.
In March 1993, a fresh "Mercator" design was launched, featuring five blue curved segments symbolizing continents and Earth's tilt. From 1995 until 2003, identifications frequently showcased the Mercator elements without accompanying text.
A significant redesign occurred on 7 May 2008, simplifying the logo to four splices with an altered viewpoint. This was adjusted in June 2009 to align with the channel's renaming to "SBS ONE." In July 2015, the primary channel name reverted to "SBS TV," with a corresponding logo update; however, "SBS ONE" remains in electronic program guides.
On 8 February 2019, SBS introduced a new tagline, A World of Difference, alongside a refreshed brand identity coinciding with Eurovision – Australia Decides.
Identity history
- 29 April – 22 July 1979: This is SBS, Ethnic Television (test broadcasts)
- February – May 1980: A Whole New Look at Television
- 24 October 1980 – 14 October 1983: Channel 0 – A Whole World of People/Entertainment
- January 1982: Channel 0/28, Celebrating Australia Week 1982
- 14 October 1983 – 18 February 1985: Network 0–28 – Bringing the World Back Home
- 18 February 1985 – 1986: We're SBS – Bringing the World Back Home
- 1986–1988: Discover the Difference
- 1989–1996: Bringing the World Back Home
- 1998–2004: Your world is an amazing place
- 2005–2006: Nobody sees the world like SBS
- 2006–2008: There's more to Summer on SBS
- 7 May 2008 – 27 October 2011: Six Billion Stories and Counting
- 28 October 2011 – 13 June 2014: Seven Billion Stories and Counting
- 14 June 2014 – 3 July 2015: Join In
- 8 February 2019 – present: A World of Difference