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SBS (Australian TV channel)
SBS is a multicultural public TV network in Australia. Launched on 24 October 1980, it is the responsibility of SBS's television division, and is available nationally. In 2024, SBS had a 9.3% audience share, compared to 2023 when SBS had an 8.5% audience share.
As of 2024, the SBS is the fifth-rated television network and primary channel in Australia, behind the Seven Network, Nine Network, ABC TV and Network 10.
SBS began test transmissions in April 1979 as SBS Ethnic Television when it showed various foreign language programs on ABV-2 Melbourne and ABN-2 Sydney on Sunday mornings. Full-time transmission began at 6.30 pm on 24 October 1980 (United Nations Day) as Channel 0/28. At the time, SBS was broadcasting on UHF Channel 28 and VHF Channel 0. 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. The first program shown was a documentary on multiculturalism entitled Who Are We? which was hosted, produced and directed by well-known Australian journalist Peter Luck.
When transmission began for the night, the opening announcement would be as follows with "Fanfare for the Common Man" by Aaron Copland playing in the background:
"Welcome to Channel 0/28 Multicultural Television, Sydney and Melbourne. A section of the Special Broadcasting Service, transmitting on VHF Channel 0 with a vision carrier frequency of 46.25MHz and on UHF Channel 28 with a vision carrier frequency of 527.25MHz. As well as from the Hyatt Kingsgate Tower in Kings Cross, Sydney, on UHF Channel 54 with a vision carrier frequency of 737.25MHz."
Gyngell opened the channel by believing that the network's main target were, on equal footing, ethnic communities and monolingual Anglo-Saxon Australians, with a gradual understanding between the groups, as well as the promise of changing viewing habits of Australians. In 1981, a study surveyed that Channel 0-28 was the first viewing choice of viewers in Sydney and Melbourne, followed by 25% of Australians more than once a week, per a new survey in January 1982. About 98% of each ethnic group watched the relevant language-specific programming. Gyngell left SBS in late 1982 (who would later join TV-am in the United Kingdom in 1984) and the channel was starting to be plagued by repeats.
On 14 October 1983, the service expanded into Canberra on UHF28, Cooma and Goulburn on UHF58 and at the same time changed its name to Network 0–28. Its new slogan was the long-running "Bringing the World Back Home".
On 18 February 1985, the station changed its name to SBS and began daytime transmissions from 11am to 2pm, while pushing back the starting time of the evening transmissions to 5:30pm. In June that year, SBS expanded to Brisbane, Adelaide, Newcastle, Wollongong and the Gold Coast. 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 license had already been extended by a year at this stage and not all antennas had worked well with the low-frequency Channel 0 either. Following this, on 16 March 1986, SBS commenced transmission in Perth, Mount Gambier[citation needed], Loxton-Renmark[citation needed], Port Pirie[citation needed], Broken Hill[citation needed], Toowoomba[citation needed], Townsville[citation needed], Bendigo[citation needed], Ballarat[citation needed], Traralgon[citation needed] and Hobart. Darwin was the last capital city to receive the channel, with a local signal launched on 20 May 1994. Other cities that have launched the channel on, between and beyond those days included Maryborough/Wide Bay–Burnett, Rockhampton, Mackay, Katherine, Cairns, Bunbury, Albany, Kalgoorlie, Esperance, Geraldton, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Mount Isa, Orange, Griffith, Mildura, Swan Hill, Wagga Wagga, Albury-Wodonga, Coffs Harbour, Lismore, Tamworth and Taree. Shepparton was the last city to launch SBS in November 2001.
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SBS (Australian TV channel)
SBS is a multicultural public TV network in Australia. Launched on 24 October 1980, it is the responsibility of SBS's television division, and is available nationally. In 2024, SBS had a 9.3% audience share, compared to 2023 when SBS had an 8.5% audience share.
As of 2024, the SBS is the fifth-rated television network and primary channel in Australia, behind the Seven Network, Nine Network, ABC TV and Network 10.
SBS began test transmissions in April 1979 as SBS Ethnic Television when it showed various foreign language programs on ABV-2 Melbourne and ABN-2 Sydney on Sunday mornings. Full-time transmission began at 6.30 pm on 24 October 1980 (United Nations Day) as Channel 0/28. At the time, SBS was broadcasting on UHF Channel 28 and VHF Channel 0. 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. The first program shown was a documentary on multiculturalism entitled Who Are We? which was hosted, produced and directed by well-known Australian journalist Peter Luck.
When transmission began for the night, the opening announcement would be as follows with "Fanfare for the Common Man" by Aaron Copland playing in the background:
"Welcome to Channel 0/28 Multicultural Television, Sydney and Melbourne. A section of the Special Broadcasting Service, transmitting on VHF Channel 0 with a vision carrier frequency of 46.25MHz and on UHF Channel 28 with a vision carrier frequency of 527.25MHz. As well as from the Hyatt Kingsgate Tower in Kings Cross, Sydney, on UHF Channel 54 with a vision carrier frequency of 737.25MHz."
Gyngell opened the channel by believing that the network's main target were, on equal footing, ethnic communities and monolingual Anglo-Saxon Australians, with a gradual understanding between the groups, as well as the promise of changing viewing habits of Australians. In 1981, a study surveyed that Channel 0-28 was the first viewing choice of viewers in Sydney and Melbourne, followed by 25% of Australians more than once a week, per a new survey in January 1982. About 98% of each ethnic group watched the relevant language-specific programming. Gyngell left SBS in late 1982 (who would later join TV-am in the United Kingdom in 1984) and the channel was starting to be plagued by repeats.
On 14 October 1983, the service expanded into Canberra on UHF28, Cooma and Goulburn on UHF58 and at the same time changed its name to Network 0–28. Its new slogan was the long-running "Bringing the World Back Home".
On 18 February 1985, the station changed its name to SBS and began daytime transmissions from 11am to 2pm, while pushing back the starting time of the evening transmissions to 5:30pm. In June that year, SBS expanded to Brisbane, Adelaide, Newcastle, Wollongong and the Gold Coast. 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 license had already been extended by a year at this stage and not all antennas had worked well with the low-frequency Channel 0 either. Following this, on 16 March 1986, SBS commenced transmission in Perth, Mount Gambier[citation needed], Loxton-Renmark[citation needed], Port Pirie[citation needed], Broken Hill[citation needed], Toowoomba[citation needed], Townsville[citation needed], Bendigo[citation needed], Ballarat[citation needed], Traralgon[citation needed] and Hobart. Darwin was the last capital city to receive the channel, with a local signal launched on 20 May 1994. Other cities that have launched the channel on, between and beyond those days included Maryborough/Wide Bay–Burnett, Rockhampton, Mackay, Katherine, Cairns, Bunbury, Albany, Kalgoorlie, Esperance, Geraldton, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Mount Isa, Orange, Griffith, Mildura, Swan Hill, Wagga Wagga, Albury-Wodonga, Coffs Harbour, Lismore, Tamworth and Taree. Shepparton was the last city to launch SBS in November 2001.