‘We are very clear about who we are’: How SBS continues to thrive amidst TV wars
SBS has enjoyed a monumental start to 2024, and that looks set to continue for some time to come.
While Nine gears up for the 2024 Olympics, Seven enters a new era under incoming CEO Jeff Howard and Ten zeroes in on a younger audience, SBS has arguably led the way in regards to responsible advertising standards (after it introduced an opt out for gambling, alcohol, and quick food delivery services ads on its On Demand platform last year) and now boasts one of the year’s biggest hits on TV.
Appearing on a new episode of Mumbrella’s one-on-one podcast, SBS managing director James Taylor said there is a very good reason for SBS thriving in its own lane.
SBS 2024 Upfront: L-R James Taylor, Gina Chick, Melissa Leong, Julia Zemiro, Marc Fennell, Kathryn Fink
“We are very clear about who we are,” he said.
“We have a strategy of hyper-differentiation because we think that’s a pathway to success. We have some really great franchises and large brands as part of the stable, and of course, their role is to support the strategy, but also to bring people into what is an incredibly diverse, high-quality offer.”
Just this week, SBS announced that Total TV reach for its Alone Australia series to date has eclipsed more than 3 million Australians. According to the network, three out of four people that have tuned in for the show will then stay on and watch another SBS programme.
Other major events still to come for SBS include the 2024 Tour de France in June – SBS are longest rights holder in the world for the bicycle race – Eurovision starting this month and the build to the 2026 men’s FIFA world cup.
“[That] is a really great tribute to the content, but also our personalisation and recommendation engines, which are just starting to get going,” Taylor said.
“We’re really pleased with our forward content trajectory and then some other really exciting stuff that I can’t quite tell you about, which will make fantastic additions to our slate over the coming year or two.”
Listen to the full chat with Taylor, as well as SBS’ chief marketing and commercial officer, Jane Palfreyman, here.
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Neil Griffiths is the Managing Editor of Mumbrella. He joined the company in October 2023.
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I find I am watching more SBS than the commercial FTAs that dish out increasingly crappy content amidst the endless repeats.
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