SBS will launch its sixth free-to-air television channel that will provide news bulletins in more than 35 languages in May this year.
is part of the multicultural and Indigenous broadcaster’s new content slate for 2022, unveiled on Monday, that will see it explore stories from across the country, spanning cultures and communities and connecting with Australia in all its diversity.
SBS is also expanding its commitment to on- and off-screen inclusion through new commissioning guidelines and reporting.
SBS Managing Director James Taylor said SBS in 2022 is “natively multilingual, digital-first, truly innovative, and trusted by a growing audience”.
“Come to us on any platform and you’ll find stories that give a voice to communities otherwise unheard, perspectives that break down barriers, entertainment and sporting moments that unite us, news that Australians turn to, and programs that are capturing the hearts and minds of people around the world,” he said.
SBS Acting Director of Television and Online Content Chris Irvine said 2022 is set to be another enormous year for the network.
“We are a home for all Australians, and the true diversity of Australia needs to be celebrated and reflected both on our screens and behind the camera,” he said.
“Examining issues central to our Charter, we continue to uncover what it means to be Australian today. This year, impactful and powerful storytelling across SBS screens will continue to inspire, inform and emotionally connect with our audience.”
SBS will further expand its multiplatform, multilingual services this year, with SBS WorldWatch launching on 23 May.
It will be the home of two new locally-produced news programs, and , .
New guidelines and reporting commitment for diverse representation
SBS on Monday also released its Commissioning Equity and Inclusion Guidelines, which outline genre-specific targets across documentaries, drama, entertainment and food programming commissioned by SBS.
The guidelines include commitments to select people who identify as culturally and linguistically diverse, First Nations, people with disability, LGBTIQ+ and women in roles on- and off-screen.
The multi-year targets are designed in consultation with industry stakeholders to remove barriers when casting on-screen talent or hiring off-screen crew, with a focus on increasing represention of those from the five key under-represented groups, and recognising intersectionality and diversity in other ways.
“At SBS, we want to ensure that everyone in our sector can participate with equal opportunity to succeed and we have expanded our commitment to on-screen and off-screen inclusion through new commissioning guidelines and targets we’re sharing today - the most ambitious, nuanced and comprehensive commitment in our industry,” Mr Taylor said.
“As we grow more diverse as a nation, all Australians will continue to recognise themselves and their communities on SBS.”
SBS Content Industry Diversity Manager, Michelle Cheng, said the new guidelines represent SBS's commitment to create a level playing field for those from under-represented backgrounds.
The SBS Commissioning Equity & Inclusion Guidelines build on SBS’s multicultural and multilingual content reporting each year. Source: SBS
"As Australia’s multicultural and Indigenous broadcaster, we’re leading the conversation about representation in the media and building a way forward, supported by our equity and inclusion targets and guidelines," she said.
The guidelines apply to SBS, not individual productions or production companies, for commissions and internal productions across programming in its scripted and unscripted projects.
They form part of the SBS 2022-2024 Inclusion, Equity and Diversity Strategy, which builds on SBS's previous diversity and inclusion plan.
The guidelines outline a requirement for new reporting each year, over a three-year period.
SBS will also this year launch its next Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP): an Elevate RAP, the highest status available from Reconciliation Australia.
SBS Director of Media Sales Adam Sadler announced two new multicultural communications teams - Cultural Connect and Cultural Consultancy - that “will work with marketers and agencies alike, providing bespoke and independent research, data and insights that SBS is uniquely positioned to offer”.
Jess Hill returns with documentary on consent
This year, investigative journalist Jess Hill will return to SBS with a new documentary series exploring consent in Australia, called Yes, No, Maybe.
It follows See What You Made Me Do, a three-part documentary series exploring domestic abuse which aired on SBS last year.
Premiering on 16 March, Wentworth’s Danielle Cormack will host an Australian-first series called Life on the Outside, which follows convicted criminals as they’re placed into households for the first 100 days of their release.
Commissioned by National Indigenous Television (NITV), Our Law follows the Indigenous officers and cadets attempting to break the cycle of Indigenous incarceration and repair a deeply-troubled Aboriginal-police relationship.
Off Country follows the lives of seven Indigenous students over a year at the prestigious Geelong Grammar School, while Larapinta, hosted by Tahlia Little, follows the historical, cultural and artistic journey of the oldest river in the world.
SBS has also secured exclusive rights to commission an Australian version of the smash-hit series Alone. The show will see 10 Australians dropped in the remote wilderness where they will be forced to survive on their own in harsh terrain.
First look at True Colours
SBS and NITV on Monday revealed the first glimpse of the new drama co-commission , which takes viewers into the world of a First Nations community. In a first for Australia, 30 per cent of the series is in the First Nations language of Arrernte.
It is one of six new Australian dramas on SBS in 2022, including feature drama Safe Home, and four new short-form dramas from Digital Originals - a joint initiative between Screen Australia, SBS and NITV supporting screen creatives that are currently under-represented in the sector.
SBS Director of Indigenous Content Tanya Denning-Orman said First Nations storytelling will be "loud and proud" in 2022 - “a year that will see us mark a decade of NITV being available free-to-air as part of the SBS network”.
NITV's 'True Colours' takes viewers into the world of a First Nations community. Source: SBS
FIFA World Cup on SBS
Later this year, all 64 matches of the will be aired live and exclusively on SBS, setting the scene for some of the biggest audiences on the network and across free-to-air television in 2022.
SBS will continue to broadcast the Tour de France after securing the exclusive broadcast rights until 2030.
This year will also see the premiere of the inaugural Tour de France Femmes - the highly-anticipated stage race for women.
SBS has been delivering multilingual services to Australian audiences for more than 45 years, with news provided in more than 60 languages across SBS Radio, podcasts and digital platforms.
There are now over 10 million registered users of the streaming platform, which includes programs in more than 50 languages along with the option of a multilingual login.
