SBS nails World Cup with a show of character

It was with a sense of anticipation that audiences entered the first of the upfronts at SBS.

The roar and rumble of feverish soccer crowds reverberated from the moment you stepped into the Hordern Pavilion, swelling in volume and intensity as you entered the presentation auditorium.

You didn’t have to be a genius to work out that 2026 was the return of SBS’s Jewel in the Crown — The FIFA World Cup.

Bigger than ever before — with 48 teams at the finals rather than the old 32 — the reach extends deep into the Australian communities of the 16 extra countries.

Soccer continues to grow as the world’s most popular sport, with 3.5 billion passionate supporters.

It is a true multicultural sport and we were left in no doubt that it should be nowhere other than SBS.

Former Socceroos John Aloisi and Andrew Redmayne read their lines and took us through the detail but reminded us all of why so few soccer stars have gone on to successful acting careers.

The World Cup sold itself – and with major advertisers already on board, the upfront served more as a reminder than an announcement.

Thereafter it was SBS working it hard, as it has done every year.

They rarely have the blockbuster mainstream programming of the major networks but always manage to deliver interest through what I would describe as “content of character”.

Yesterday kicked off with a legal warning about adult material and they went on to deploy nudity in its raw ’true to life’ form: always an attention grabber and a reminder of SBS’s liberal heritage and the risqué European movies of its early years.

My pick of the content — beyond the World Cup — was the promise of Alone Australia coming back in a changed-up version that will see contestants set down in the Arctic Circle. This has been a high-performing show and switching the environment beyond the Antipodes is a good move.

The scene was set with a good World Cup edit (Mumbrella)

I was also impressed by SBS’ ongoing commitment to its charter, as demonstrated by SBS national Indigenous affairs editor John Paul Janke’s presentation. Janke announced the documentary “2.6 Seconds” among other Indigenous content.

Traditional commentary on the upfronts focusses mostly on content.

Content will always be king but every element of packaging, delivery and measurement influences the traction programming achieves, its potential performance and advertiser appeal.

SBS are attuned to working this side of things, required to make the most of what they have in competing with the bigger mainstream players since advertising content was first introduced.

And they did this well, providing as much assurance as is possible in a dynamic and fast changing marketplace.

So overall how did SBS fare?

Very well in my opinion — nailing the World Cup and making the most of the other content at their disposal.

Polished and professional, yet still managing to deliver that quirky offbeat character that makes them SBS.

Could they have done anything better?

Maybe.

For me a key element that was covered — but could have been made more of — is the advantage of their more limited advertising content and the standout/attention this delivers.

Sure, it was covered, but in a blurred, fragmented overloaded marketplace, I’d have punched home a little harder.