SBS HD
| File:SBS logo 2019.svg SBS logo since 2019 | |
| Company type | Public broadcaster |
|---|---|
| Industry | Broadcasting, Television |
| Founded | October 24, 1980 |
| Headquarters | Sydney , Australia |
Area served | Australia |
| Products | Television broadcasting, Multichannel television |
| Owner | Special Broadcasting Service |
| Website | www |
SBS represents Australia's multicultural public television broadcaster, which commenced operations on 24 October 1980. Managed by the Special Broadcasting Service's television arm, it delivers content across the entire nation. In 2024, SBS achieved a 9.3% share of the viewing audience, marking an increase from 8.5% in the previous year.
By 2024 metrics, SBS holds the position of the fifth most-watched Australian TV network and its flagship channel, trailing behind Seven Network, Nine Network, ABC TV, and Network 10.
Founding
The origins of SBS trace back to April 1979 when it began experimental broadcasts under the name SBS Ethnic Television, featuring foreign language programming on Melbourne’s ABV-2 and Sydney’s ABN-2 during Sunday mornings. Its full-scale transmission launched at 6:30 pm on 24 October 1980 (United Nations Day) as Channel 0/28, operating on UHF Channel 28 and VHF Channel 0 frequencies. Bruce Gyngell, notable for introducing television to Australia in 1956, inaugurated the initial lineup. The debut broadcast included a multicultural documentary titled Who Are We?, created and presented by journalist Peter Luck.
The station's opening statement emphasized its technical setup and commitment to multiculturalism, accompanied by Aaron Copland’s "Fanfare for the Common Man" as theme music. Gyngell envisioned SBS as a platform serving both ethnic communities and Anglo-Saxon Australians equally, with an aim to transform national viewing patterns. By 1981, Channel 0/28 had become the preferred channel for audiences in Sydney and Melbourne, with nearly 98% of ethnic viewers tuning into programs in their native languages. Gyngell exited SBS towards the end of 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 (UHF28), Cooma, and Goulburn (UHF58), adopting the name Network 0–28 alongside the tagline "Bringing the World Back Home." The network rebranded as SBS on 18 February 1985 while extending daytime broadcasts from 11 am to 2 pm and shifting evening start times to 5:30 pm. By mid-1985, coverage extended to Brisbane, Adelaide, Newcastle, Wollongong, and the Gold Coast. On 5 January 1986, transmissions on VHF Channel 0 were discontinued due to technical challenges and incompatibility with existing antennas.
Subsequently, SBS launched services in Perth on 16 March 1986 and steadily expanded into regional areas such as Mount Gambier, Loxton-Renmark, Port Pirie, Broken Hill, Toowoomba, Townsville, Bendigo, Ballarat, Traralgon, Hobart among others. Darwin was the final capital city to receive a local broadcast signal on 20 May 1994. Expansion into additional regional locations continued into the early 2000s with Shepparton being last to launch SBS transmissions in November 2001.
Initially operating as a non-commercial entity, SBS began incorporating television advertisements in 1991. These commercial spots were strategically placed between programs rather than interrupting them—a policy that generated debate but opened new revenue opportunities.
2000s developments
The introduction of digital terrestrial television in 2001 enhanced SBS Television’s coverage through digital broadcasts and gradually introduced widescreen formats.
In April 2004, presenters David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz departed from The Movie Show to join ABC’s At the Movies. SBS continued The Movie Show with four new hosts including Megan Spencer and Marc Fennell until its cancellation in June 2006. That same month marked a policy shift as SBS began airing advertisements during programs instead of solely between them.
May 2007 saw The Movie Show return in a condensed ten-minute interactive format hosted by Lisa Hensley and Michael Adams with an integrated multiplatform online component.
On 1 June 2009, SBS TV was renamed SBS One coinciding with the launch of its sister channel SBS Two (later rebranded as SBS Viceland), aimed at attracting younger viewers.
2010s
On 10 December 2013, SBS ceased analogue television transmissions, fully adopting digital TV and digital set-top boxes.
On 27 March 2014, both SBS and SBS Two ended the Weatherwatch Overnight program, which provided live city weather feeds from EarthTV, allowing these channels to operate around the clock. Subsequently, on 4 July 2015, SBS One restored its original branding as SBS TV.
A dedicated food channel was introduced by SBS on 17 November 2015, initially launched as Food Network through a collaboration with Discovery Inc. This channel was later renamed SBS Food and is accessible free-to-air on channel 33.
On 15 November 2016, the sister station SBS 2 was rebranded to SBS Viceland following a content partnership agreement made in June 2016 with Vice Media, a US-Canadian broadcaster.
On 1 July 2019, SBS World Movies debuted on Channel 32, taking over Viceland’s Standard Definition slot. Meanwhile, Viceland transitioned to Channel 31 broadcasting in HD. This addition made World Movies the third multichannel offering alongside SBS, Viceland, and SBS Food.
2020s
On 23 May 2022, SBS unveiled its fourth multichannel named SBS WorldWatch, which features previously broadcast non-English news bulletins as well as 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 committed $20 million to acquire exclusive rights to broadcast the tournament.
Programming
SBS operates under a charter that requires it to provide diverse programming. While placing strong emphasis on international news and current affairs, its offerings also include documentaries, drama series, comedies, films, and sports coverage. Morning line-ups prominently feature non-English news bulletins complemented by numerous subtitled foreign films. Compared to other Australian broadcasters, SBS’s news programming prioritizes global affairs more heavily, with sports segments focusing on international competitions.
The drama lineup largely consists of 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 content blends local productions featured in the SBS Monday comedy slot with international shows including The Ricky Gervais Show, Skins, bro'Town, South Park (until 2020), Corner Gas, Nighty Night, and Queer as Folk. Notable flagship comedies have included Pizza, Newstopia, Life Support, John Safran, Swift and Shift Couriers, and Bogan Pride. Reality programming has showcased series such as Nerds FC and Song for the Socceroos. The network has also broadcast Japanese anime including Neon Genesis Evangelion as well as Studio Ghibli films. Additionally, it has screened international sitcoms, soap operas, telenovelas from Latin America (Mexico and Brazil), and Bollywood movies—all presented with English subtitles. However, much of this foreign-language content has been scaled back in favor of more English-language programming.
Other parts of SBS’s schedule consist of English-language lifestyle shows, music programs, game shows, and talk formats such as Iron Chef, RocKwiz, The Movie Show, MythBusters, Top Gear (2005–2009), Global Village, Top Gear Australia, The Food Lovers' Guide to Australia, and Food Safari. The channel also broadcasts the annual Eurovision Song Contest along with the foreign film series SBS Film. Late-night slots are often dedicated to Weatherwatch featuring worldwide weather updates.
Since the late 1980s, SBS has maintained the tradition of airing the German comedy sketch from the 1960s titled Dinner for One every New Year's Eve—a custom followed by many European broadcasters.
Robbie McGregor served as SBS’s narrator from 1989 until 2006; currently, this role is held by Lani John Tupu.
News and current affairs
SBS provides a diverse range of news and current affairs programming, including its nightly national bulletin SBS World News, the investigative series Dateline, the discussion-based show Insight, the indigenous-focused program Living Black, and morning and afternoon World Watch segments featuring news in numerous languages. Prior to early 2007, Toyota World Sport was broadcast on weeknights before being replaced by the extended one-hour World News Australia (now known as SBS World News) alongside World Watch.
The broadcaster also airs foreign language news on its secondary digital channel SBS Viceland, offering additional coverage and data for significant sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup, The Ashes, Olympic Games, and the Australian Football League Grand Final.
With the introduction of the multilingual channel SBS WorldWatch, both SBS and Viceland continue to feature English-language news bulletins from global broadcasters within the World Watch segment.
Sport
SBS Sport holds broadcasting rights for a variety of sports across SBS, SBS Viceland, and SBS On Demand platforms. Historically, coverage has included prestigious events like the Tour de France, World Superbikes, World Rally Championship, The Ashes, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, the FIFA World Cup (since 1986; with shared rights in 2002 alongside Nine Network and in 2018 with Optus Sport), the FIFA Confederations Cup, the FA Cup, the UEFA European Football Championship, the 2004 Summer Olympics, the NFL's Super Bowl, and the English Premier League. Additionally, SBS has produced sport-related shows such as The World Game and the UEFA Champions League Magazine.
During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, broadcast rights were divided with the Seven Network, which held exclusive free-to-air, pay television, online, and mobile rights in Australia. SBS complemented this coverage by focusing on longer-duration sports like football, road cycling, volleyball, and table tennis, while Seven covered major events including opening and closing ceremonies as well as popular sports such as swimming, athletics, rowing, cycling, and gymnastics.
Funding
Around 80% of SBS's financial support is provided by the Australian Federal Government. The balance is sourced independently through advertising revenue, sponsorship deals, production services, and program sales. For the 2018–19 fiscal year, SBS received an allocation of $272.4 million.
Availability
SBS is accessible on all its television transmitters in SD Digital format. Programming schedules may vary across states during major sporting events to accommodate necessary changes. Throughout the 2010–2013 digital switchover period, SBS was simulcast on Analogue channels.
In 2010, SBS conducted a trial broadcast of the FIFA World Cup in 3D on Channel 40.
SBS HD
Launched on 14 December 2006, the SBS HD multichannel offers identical content in 1080i high-definition via both Freeview and satellite transmission through Optus D1. On 8 April 2017, SBS HD transitioned from the older MPEG-2 compression to the more advanced MPEG-4 format, coinciding with the debut of SBS Viceland HD.
SBS On Demand
SBS On Demand, introduced on 1 September 2011, serves as SBS's platform for video on demand and catch-up television. It can be accessed through internet browsers as well as applications designed for smartphones, smart televisions, and set-top devices.
Logo and identity history
The initial SBS logo showcased a blue and white globe, reflecting the VHF channel 0 broadcast. In 1983, the station rebranded to Network 0–28, updating the logo to feature the name beneath the globe. By 1985, with the rebranding to SBS TV, the logo incorporated the letters SBS below the globe; this globe was eliminated in 1989.
In March 1993, SBS unveiled the "Mercator" emblem, characterized by five blue curved segments symbolizing continents and Earth's tilt. Between 1995 and 2003, this logo frequently appeared without accompanying letters in station idents.
A significant redesign occurred on 7 May 2008, reducing the curved segments to four and altering the viewpoint. This version was refreshed on 1 June 2009 coinciding with the channel's renaming to "SBS ONE." On 4 July 2015, the primary channel reverted to "SBS TV," prompting a logo adjustment; despite this, "SBS ONE" continues to be used in electronic program listings.
On 8 February 2019, SBS introduced a new slogan, A World of Difference, alongside an updated brand identity aligned 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