Special Broadcasting Service
Encyclopedia
The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting
radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect Australia's multicultural society".
. These started broadcasting in June 1975, with pre-recorded messages in seven and eight foreign languages, respectively.
The following year, the Government created the Consultative Committee on Ethnic Broadcasting. Following the recommendation of this and subsequent committees, the Broadcasting and Television Act 1942 was amended to found the Special Broadcasting Service. This legislation came into force on 1 January 1978, with the new broadcaster taking responsibility for 2EA and 3EA.
SBS TV
began test transmissions in April 1979 when it showed various foreign language programs on ABV-2 Melbourne and ABN-2 Sydney on Sunday mornings. Full-time transmission began at 6.30pm on 24 October 1980 (United Nations Day
), as Channel 0/28.The first program shown was a documentary entitled 'Who are we?', which was hosted by veteran news man Peter Luck. At the time, SBS was broadcasting on UHF Channel 28 and VHF Channel 0, with a planned discontinuation of the latter at some time in the future. Bruce Gyngell
, who introduced television to Australia back in 1956, was given the task of introducing the first batch of programs on the new station.
On 16 October 1983, the service expanded into Canberra
, Cooma
, and Goulburn
and, at the same time, changed its name to Network 0-28. Its new slogan was the long-running "Bringing the World Back Home". The network changed its name to SBS on 18 February 1985, and began daytime transmissions. SBS expanded to Brisbane, Adelaide, Newcastle, Wollongong and the Gold Coast in the June of that year.
On 5 January 1986, SBS ceased broadcasting on the VHF0 frequency. Although many Australians at the time did not have UHF antennas, SBS's VHF licence had already been extended by a year at this stage, and not all antennas had worked well with the low-frequency Channel 0 either.
In August 1986, the Government proposed legislation that would merge SBS into the ABC
. This was highly unpopular with ethnic communities, leading Prime Minister Bob Hawke
to announce in 1987 that the proposed amalgamation would not proceed. The SBS Radio and Television Youth Orchestra
was launched in 1988 with founding conductor Matthew Krel
.
Plans to introduce limited commercial-program sponsorship, and the establishment of SBS as an independent corporation with its own Charter, were put in place in July, 1989. Eat Carpet
, showcasing local and international short films, was also launched in 1989. The proclamation of the Special Broadcasting Service Act 1991 officially made SBS a corporation in 1991. Throughout the early 1990s, SBS TV
coverage was expanded further to include new areas such as the Latrobe Valley
, Spencer Gulf
, Darwin
, north-east Tasmania
, Cairns and Townsville.
In 1992, SBS's radio and television facilities were gradually moved to new headquarters in Artarmon, New South Wales
from its original studios at Milson's Point
. The new building was officially opened in November, 1993 by Prime Minister
Paul Keating
. A national radio network was launched in January, 1994. The new service initially covered Brisbane
, Adelaide
, Perth
and Darwin
, while original stations 2EA and 3EA were renamed Radio Sydney and Radio Melbourne, respectively. The new national service was launched on a separate frequency in Sydney and Melbourne in July of that year. Throughout 1996, radio services were expanded to cover Hobart
and Canberra
, while SBS TV
's coverage was further expanded to include the New South Wales
north coast and Albury
.
South Park
, SBS's most successful television series, was first shown on the network in 1997. A time-delay system was installed for South Australia
in May 1999, shortly before the establishment of the Transmission Services division (intended to manage transmission and self-help services). A New Media division, responsible for the SBS website, was established at the start of 2000, in time for the first webcast
of the AFI Awards
. Ratings continued to increase through 2000 to 2001 - increasing to an overall 5.2 per cent average weekly audience share.
Four languages were dropped, and four added, from SBS Radio in April 2003, while hours for Cantonese, Mandarin and Arabic language
broadcasts (amongst others) were increased. SBS broadcast the 2004 Athens Olympics
in partnership with the Seven Network
.
SBS broadcasted the Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland.
Tagalog
, Vietnamese
, and Arabic language
broadcasts were added to SBS's WorldWatch television schedule in 2003. The Vietnamese service, taken from the government-controlled channel VTV4
, was protested against by the Vietnamese community, many of whom found the bulletin's portrayal of the communist Vietnamese flag
and Ho Chi Minh
offensive. The Vietnamese Community of Australia claimed that the program's lack of reports on political arrests and religious oppression were also offensive, especially to those who had fled the country following the Vietnam War
.
The backlash resulting from these events prompted SBS to begin showing disclaimers before all externally-produced bulletins, distancing the broadcaster from each bulletin's editorial content.
In May 2008, SBS unveiled a new look logo, as well as a new backronym
ic slogan: Six Billion Stories and counting.
broadcasts in 68 languages in all Australian states, producing an estimated 13,500 hours of Australian programming for its two frequencies in Sydney and Melbourne
as well as its national network. Much like SBS TV
, SBS radio is funded by a mix of government grants, paid-for government information campaigns and commercial advertising.
SBS Radio had broadcast the Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland.
Following "extensive community consultation" in 2003, a range of new programs were introduced, including services in Malay
, Somali
and Amharic
in addition to the expansion of many existing programs.
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SBS One & SBS Two are available nationally through a network of terrestrial transmitters.
SBS One is also available on the encrypted Optus Aurora
service in standard definition 4:3 on the Optus C1 satellite and SBS One and SBS Two are available free-to-air on the Optus D1 satellite in high definition 16:9 widescreen.
SBS ONE devotes a significant part of its morning television schedule to news bulletins in languages other than English as well as showing many subtitled, foreign-language films. Its own news and current affairs aim to have a higher concentration on international affairs than the ABC or the commercial networks. It also shows many documentaries and current-affairs programs, while its sports coverage has a strong focus on international sports.
announced the corporation's desire to initiate in-show commercial breaks. He claimed that the move would raise $10 million in the first year, as he believes that SBS's current strategy of showing ads between programs "is unpopular with viewers". "On average we lose more than half our audience during these breaks - this is 30 per cent more than other broadcasters", claimed Brown upon announcing the new move.
SBS's commercial breaks remained at their existing statutory limit of five minutes per hour, as opposed to the fifteen minutes per hour permitted on Australia's fully commercial stations. An individual break lasted between one and two minutes. A related change was the launch of a one-hour edition of World News Australia, replacing the half-hour World News Australia and World Sport programs. In-show advertising commenced on 9 October 2006 during the broadcast of MythBusters
.
channel 28, while regional and digital television
frequencies may vary.
, Brisbane
, Adelaide
, Perth
and Canberra
, and since 2003, in Darwin
.
On 14 December 2006, SBS announced its intention to change to 720p
as its high-definition
transmission standard for SBS HD. SBS had previously up converted its schedule to the 576p
standard. It is now using the 720p
standard.
On 1 June 2009, SBS TV was renamed SBS One to coincide with the launch of sister channel SBS Two.
As of Thursday 29 January 2009 SBS announced an Australia wide upgrade to their Digital service, with equipment that permits SBS to increase the resolution of its High Definition programs, provide a 7 day Electronic Program Guide and give new logical channel numbers for all of SBS’s television services. The new SBS logical channel numbers are below.
These services are available nationally through digital terrestrial television
, and all the digital TV services are also available through the VAST
free-to-air satellite service. Only the primary SBS channel is available on the Optus Aurora
satellite platform.
In October 2008, the SBS applied for funding to expand SBS News into an "SBS World" channel. This would be mainly in languages other than English, with an aim to expand Australia’s understanding of and exposure to the Asia Pacific region. It would also have children's programming for language learning and expand the World Watch news service. These services were not funded by the Government.
, an orchestra that records many broadcasts for the network and tours regularly overseas.
Public broadcasting
Public broadcasting includes radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing and commercial financing.Public broadcasting may be...
radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect Australia's multicultural society".
History
In 1975, concerns that minority communities might require details of the new Medibank health care scheme in their own languages led to the establishment of two ethnic radio stations, 2EA in Sydney and 3EA in MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. These started broadcasting in June 1975, with pre-recorded messages in seven and eight foreign languages, respectively.
The following year, the Government created the Consultative Committee on Ethnic Broadcasting. Following the recommendation of this and subsequent committees, the Broadcasting and Television Act 1942 was amended to found the Special Broadcasting Service. This legislation came into force on 1 January 1978, with the new broadcaster taking responsibility for 2EA and 3EA.
SBS TV
SBS TV
SBS One is a national public television channel in Australia. Launched on 24 October 1980, it is the responsibility of SBS's television division, and is available nationally...
began test transmissions in April 1979 when it showed various foreign language programs on ABV-2 Melbourne and ABN-2 Sydney on Sunday mornings. Full-time transmission began at 6.30pm on 24 October 1980 (United Nations Day
United Nations Day
In 1947, the United Nations General Assembly declared 24 October, the anniversary of the Charter of the United Nations, as which "shall be devoted to making known to the peoples of the world the aims and achievements of the United Nations and to gaining their support for" its work.In 1971 the...
), as Channel 0/28.The first program shown was a documentary entitled 'Who are we?', which was hosted by veteran news man Peter Luck. At the time, SBS was broadcasting on UHF Channel 28 and VHF Channel 0, with a planned discontinuation of the latter at some time in the future. Bruce Gyngell
Bruce Gyngell
Bruce Gyngell was a hugely influential Australian television executive, prominent for 50 years in both Australian and U.K. television. Although Gyngell began his career in radio, in the 1950s he stepped into the arena of early television broadcasting, helping to set up Channel 9, the first...
, who introduced television to Australia back in 1956, was given the task of introducing the first batch of programs on the new station.
On 16 October 1983, the service expanded into Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, Cooma
Cooma, New South Wales
-Education: is Cooma's only public high school, it serves the town and seven of the neighbouring rural towns and villages such as Berridale, Jindabyne, Nimmitabel, Bredbo and Dalgety....
, and Goulburn
Goulburn, New South Wales
Goulburn is a provincial city in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia in Goulburn Mulwaree Council Local Government Area. It is located south-west of Sydney on the Hume Highway and above sea-level. On Census night 2006, Goulburn had a population of 20,127 people...
and, at the same time, changed its name to Network 0-28. Its new slogan was the long-running "Bringing the World Back Home". The network changed its name to SBS on 18 February 1985, and began daytime transmissions. SBS expanded to Brisbane, Adelaide, Newcastle, Wollongong and the Gold Coast in the June of that year.
On 5 January 1986, SBS ceased broadcasting on the VHF0 frequency. Although many Australians at the time did not have UHF antennas, SBS's VHF licence had already been extended by a year at this stage, and not all antennas had worked well with the low-frequency Channel 0 either.
In August 1986, the Government proposed legislation that would merge SBS into the ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
. This was highly unpopular with ethnic communities, leading Prime Minister Bob Hawke
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....
to announce in 1987 that the proposed amalgamation would not proceed. The SBS Radio and Television Youth Orchestra
SBS Radio and Television Youth Orchestra
The SBS Radio and Television Youth Orchestra located in Sydney, is one of the premier youth orchestras of Australia. It was founded in 1988 by the Russian-born conductor Matthew Krel, who died in 2009...
was launched in 1988 with founding conductor Matthew Krel
Matthew Krel
Matthew Krel was a Russian-Jewish conductor who migrated to Australia and in 1988 founded the SBS Radio and Television Youth Orchestra, of which he was the chief conductor until his death. Like his Soviet friend, the composer Dmitri Kabalevsky, he was passionate about creating quality musical...
.
Plans to introduce limited commercial-program sponsorship, and the establishment of SBS as an independent corporation with its own Charter, were put in place in July, 1989. Eat Carpet
Eat Carpet
Eat Carpet was an Australian television series aired on SBS 1989–2005. It premiered alongside MC Tee Vee and The Noise. Each hour-long episode consisted of up to a dozen short films shot by amateur directors or film students from all over the world....
, showcasing local and international short films, was also launched in 1989. The proclamation of the Special Broadcasting Service Act 1991 officially made SBS a corporation in 1991. Throughout the early 1990s, SBS TV
SBS TV
SBS One is a national public television channel in Australia. Launched on 24 October 1980, it is the responsibility of SBS's television division, and is available nationally...
coverage was expanded further to include new areas such as the Latrobe Valley
Latrobe Valley
The Latrobe Valley is an inland geographical region and urban area of Gippsland in the state of Victoria, Australia. It is east of the City Of Melbourne and nestled between the Strzelecki Ranges to the south and the Great Dividing Range to the north – with the highest peak to the north of the...
, Spencer Gulf
Spencer Gulf
The Spencer Gulf is the westernmost of two large inlets on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, facing the Great Australian Bight. The Gulf is 322 km long and 129 km wide at its mouth. The western shore of the Gulf is the Eyre Peninsula, while the eastern side is the...
, Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
, north-east Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, Cairns and Townsville.
In 1992, SBS's radio and television facilities were gradually moved to new headquarters in Artarmon, New South Wales
Artarmon, New South Wales
Artarmon is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Artarmon is located 9 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Willoughby.-History:...
from its original studios at Milson's Point
Milsons Point, New South Wales
Milsons Point is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. North Sydney is located 3 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of North Sydney Council....
. The new building was officially opened in November, 1993 by Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Paul Keating
Paul Keating
Paul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. Keating was elected as the federal Labor member for Blaxland in 1969 and came to prominence as the reformist treasurer of the Hawke Labor government, which came to power at the 1983 election...
. A national radio network was launched in January, 1994. The new service initially covered Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
and Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
, while original stations 2EA and 3EA were renamed Radio Sydney and Radio Melbourne, respectively. The new national service was launched on a separate frequency in Sydney and Melbourne in July of that year. Throughout 1996, radio services were expanded to cover Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
and Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, while SBS TV
SBS TV
SBS One is a national public television channel in Australia. Launched on 24 October 1980, it is the responsibility of SBS's television division, and is available nationally...
's coverage was further expanded to include the New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
north coast and Albury
Albury, New South Wales
Albury is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia, located on the Hume Highway on the northern side of the Murray River. It is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Albury Local Government Area...
.
South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
, SBS's most successful television series, was first shown on the network in 1997. A time-delay system was installed for South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
in May 1999, shortly before the establishment of the Transmission Services division (intended to manage transmission and self-help services). A New Media division, responsible for the SBS website, was established at the start of 2000, in time for the first webcast
Webcast
A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand...
of the AFI Awards
Australian Film Institute Awards
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award, known as the AACTA Award , is an accolade presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts . The awards recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry and television industry, including directors,...
. Ratings continued to increase through 2000 to 2001 - increasing to an overall 5.2 per cent average weekly audience share.
Four languages were dropped, and four added, from SBS Radio in April 2003, while hours for Cantonese, Mandarin and Arabic language
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
broadcasts (amongst others) were increased. SBS broadcast the 2004 Athens Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
in partnership with the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
.
SBS broadcasted the Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland.
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
, Vietnamese
Vietnamese language
Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...
, and Arabic language
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
broadcasts were added to SBS's WorldWatch television schedule in 2003. The Vietnamese service, taken from the government-controlled channel VTV4
Vietnam Television
Vietnam Television, or VTV, is the national television broadcaster for Vietnam. Like all media of Vietnam, its programming is directly controlled by the government.-History:...
, was protested against by the Vietnamese community, many of whom found the bulletin's portrayal of the communist Vietnamese flag
Flag of Vietnam
The flag of Vietnam, also known as the "red flag with yellow star" , was designed in 1940 and used during an uprising against French rule in Cochinchina that year. The flag was used by the Việt Minh, a communist-led organization created in 1941 to oppose Japanese occupation...
and Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh
Hồ Chí Minh , born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam...
offensive. The Vietnamese Community of Australia claimed that the program's lack of reports on political arrests and religious oppression were also offensive, especially to those who had fled the country following the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
The backlash resulting from these events prompted SBS to begin showing disclaimers before all externally-produced bulletins, distancing the broadcaster from each bulletin's editorial content.
In May 2008, SBS unveiled a new look logo, as well as a new backronym
Backronym
A backronym or bacronym is a phrase constructed purposely, such that an acronym can be formed to a specific desired word. Backronyms may be invented with serious or humorous intent, or may be a type of false or folk etymology....
ic slogan: Six Billion Stories and counting.
Radio
SBS RadioSBS Radio
SBS Radio is a service provided by the Special Broadcasting Service '..to inform, educate and entertain Australians, especially those of non-English speaking backgrounds'. SBS Radio originally began as two stations based in Melbourne and Sydney, set up to provide pre-recorded information about the...
broadcasts in 68 languages in all Australian states, producing an estimated 13,500 hours of Australian programming for its two frequencies in Sydney and Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
as well as its national network. Much like SBS TV
SBS TV
SBS One is a national public television channel in Australia. Launched on 24 October 1980, it is the responsibility of SBS's television division, and is available nationally...
, SBS radio is funded by a mix of government grants, paid-for government information campaigns and commercial advertising.
SBS Radio had broadcast the Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland.
Following "extensive community consultation" in 2003, a range of new programs were introduced, including services in Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
, Somali
Somali language
The Somali language is a member of the East Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Its nearest relatives are Afar and Oromo. Somali is the best documented of the Cushitic languages, with academic studies beginning before 1900....
and Amharic
Amharic language
Amharic is a Semitic language spoken in Ethiopia. It is the second most-spoken Semitic language in the world, after Arabic, and the official working language of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Thus, it has official status and is used nationwide. Amharic is also the official or working...
in addition to the expansion of many existing programs.
Television
SBS One is also available on the encrypted Optus Aurora
Optus Aurora
Optus Aurora is a free-to-view satellite television platform in Australia, aimed at providing television and radio services to remote and black spot areas using the Optus C1 and B3 satellites...
service in standard definition 4:3 on the Optus C1 satellite and SBS One and SBS Two are available free-to-air on the Optus D1 satellite in high definition 16:9 widescreen.
SBS ONE devotes a significant part of its morning television schedule to news bulletins in languages other than English as well as showing many subtitled, foreign-language films. Its own news and current affairs aim to have a higher concentration on international affairs than the ABC or the commercial networks. It also shows many documentaries and current-affairs programs, while its sports coverage has a strong focus on international sports.
Advertising
On 1 June 2006, the SBS managing director Shaun BrownShaun Brown
Shaun Brown is the former Managing Director of the Special Broadcasting Service in Australia. He was appointed to the position on 14 February 2006 for four years. In 2008, the SBS Board extended his contract until July 2011. During his time at SBS, the broadcaster's ratings share has risen to 6.2...
announced the corporation's desire to initiate in-show commercial breaks. He claimed that the move would raise $10 million in the first year, as he believes that SBS's current strategy of showing ads between programs "is unpopular with viewers". "On average we lose more than half our audience during these breaks - this is 30 per cent more than other broadcasters", claimed Brown upon announcing the new move.
SBS's commercial breaks remained at their existing statutory limit of five minutes per hour, as opposed to the fifteen minutes per hour permitted on Australia's fully commercial stations. An individual break lasted between one and two minutes. A related change was the launch of a one-hour edition of World News Australia, replacing the half-hour World News Australia and World Sport programs. In-show advertising commenced on 9 October 2006 during the broadcast of MythBusters
MythBusters
MythBusters is a science entertainment TV program created and produced by Beyond Television Productions for the Discovery Channel. The series is screened by numerous international broadcasters, including Discovery Channel Australia, Discovery Channel Latin America, Discovery Channel Canada, Quest...
.
Callsign
Regardless of state or territory, SBS television services always use the callsign 'SBS'. In capital cities, SBS is broadcast on analogue UHFUltra high frequency
Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres...
channel 28, while regional and digital television
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
frequencies may vary.
Digital television
SBS has been one of the most progressive networks with regard to digital broadcasting. Much like the ABC, this is primarily due to government restrictions on commercial multi-channelling. Since 2001, SBS One has been broadcast via digital television to Sydney, MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
and Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, and since 2003, in Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
.
On 14 December 2006, SBS announced its intention to change to 720p
720p
720p is the shorthand name for 1280x720, a category of High-definition television video modes having a resolution of 1080 or 720p and a progressive scan...
as its high-definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
transmission standard for SBS HD. SBS had previously up converted its schedule to the 576p
576p
576p is the shorthand name for a video display resolution. The p stands for progressive scan, i.e. non-interlaced, the 576 for a vertical resolution of 576 lines, usually with a horizontal resolution of 720 or 704 pixels. The frame rate can be given explicitly after the letter.-576p25:In other...
standard. It is now using the 720p
720p
720p is the shorthand name for 1280x720, a category of High-definition television video modes having a resolution of 1080 or 720p and a progressive scan...
standard.
Current services
SBS has 4 digital services:On 1 June 2009, SBS TV was renamed SBS One to coincide with the launch of sister channel SBS Two.
As of Thursday 29 January 2009 SBS announced an Australia wide upgrade to their Digital service, with equipment that permits SBS to increase the resolution of its High Definition programs, provide a 7 day Electronic Program Guide and give new logical channel numbers for all of SBS’s television services. The new SBS logical channel numbers are below.
| LCN | Service | Resolution | Notes: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03 | SBS One | 720x576i | SBS One (also broadcast in analogue). |
| 30 | SBS HD | 1280x720p | 720p HD simulcast of SBS One |
| 32 | SBS Two | 720x576i | SBS Two offers foreign news bulletins and other selections of programs such as World Movies and Sports. |
| 33 | SBS Three | 720x576i | For Future use (Currently Broadcasts Simulcast of SBS One) |
| 34 | SBS Four | 720x576i | For Future use (Currently Broadcasts Simulcast of SBS One) |
| 38 | SBS Radio 1 SBS Radio SBS Radio is a service provided by the Special Broadcasting Service '..to inform, educate and entertain Australians, especially those of non-English speaking backgrounds'. SBS Radio originally began as two stations based in Melbourne and Sydney, set up to provide pre-recorded information about the... |
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| 39 | SBS Radio 2 SBS Radio SBS Radio is a service provided by the Special Broadcasting Service '..to inform, educate and entertain Australians, especially those of non-English speaking backgrounds'. SBS Radio originally began as two stations based in Melbourne and Sydney, set up to provide pre-recorded information about the... |
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These services are available nationally through digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...
, and all the digital TV services are also available through the VAST
Viewer Access Satellite Television
The Viewer Access Satellite Television service, or VAST, is a satellite television platform in Australia, providing digital television and radio services to remote and black spot areas using the Optus C1 satellite. It is partly funded by the Australian Government and managed through a joint-venture...
free-to-air satellite service. Only the primary SBS channel is available on the Optus Aurora
Optus Aurora
Optus Aurora is a free-to-view satellite television platform in Australia, aimed at providing television and radio services to remote and black spot areas using the Optus C1 and B3 satellites...
satellite platform.
Former services
- SBS EssentialSBS EssentialSBS Essential was a Special Broadcasting Service television channel available to digital television viewers in Australia. It began broadcasting on 14 October 2002, and was discontinued on 25 January 2007...
- LCN 31, Screened multi-view sporting events known as "Sports Highlights", and other digital only projects, when available - SBS World News ChannelSBS World News ChannelThe SBS World News Channel was an Australian television channel broadcast by SBS Television that launched on 12 June 2002. The channel, that used to be only available to digital television viewers in Australia, was the first digital-only multi-channel for the Special Broadcasting Service...
- LCN 32, Foreign news service - former morning simulcast of the primary channel's morning World WatchWorld WatchWorld Watch is a program on SBS One and SBS Two in Australia that carries news bulletins from countries around the world. The World Watch service gives viewers the opportunity to see news bulletins in their native language...
mix of foreign-language news bulletins, which it then repeated in the afternoon and evening.
In October 2008, the SBS applied for funding to expand SBS News into an "SBS World" channel. This would be mainly in languages other than English, with an aim to expand Australia’s understanding of and exposure to the Asia Pacific region. It would also have children's programming for language learning and expand the World Watch news service. These services were not funded by the Government.
Language services
SBS has been providing multi-lingual services since 1975. The SBS In Language units in both Sydney and Melbourne, provide a range of language services for medium to large organisations, private and government businesses including accredited translations, typesetting, voice-overs/re-narration, subtitling and video services in over 68 languages.Other
The network provides a rehearsal venue for the SBS Radio and Television Youth OrchestraSBS Radio and Television Youth Orchestra
The SBS Radio and Television Youth Orchestra located in Sydney, is one of the premier youth orchestras of Australia. It was founded in 1988 by the Russian-born conductor Matthew Krel, who died in 2009...
, an orchestra that records many broadcasts for the network and tours regularly overseas.