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SBS2 programming revealed

SBS2 will launch at 6pm Monday June 1st with a mix of regional news, documentaries, foreign-language drama and world movies.

1121SBS2 will launch at 6pm on Monday June 1st, opening with a five minute introduction SBS 2 Launch: What is SBS2?

The channel will offer a mix of regional news, world cinema movies, documentaries and foreign-language drama.

The first programme on the channel will be the Oscar winning Harvie Krumpett by Adam Elliot, whose new feature Max and Mary is currently in cinemas.

At 6:30pm is a simulcast of World News Australia with a repeat screening of Sunday night’s Dateline. At 8:30pm is the premiere of German drama series 112 Emergency (pictured), centred around police officers, paramedics and fire-fighters. It continues on weeknights.

Movies screen from 9pm.

In the first week daily programming will consist of regional news /weather from 5am right up to World News Australia with documentaries at 7:30pm including Humanimal (France), Shadya (Israel), As It Happened (France), Lost Worlds (Germany) and two foreign films from around 9pm to close.

In July SBS2 adds the The Ashes and the Tour de France.

In announcing the launch of the channel in March, a cautious SBS boss Shaun Brown said, “But let me be clear. We are launching SBS2 ahead of Government funding assurance because we believe without new services like this the public will remain indifferent to digital take up. But only Government support will ensure we can continue with this new service.

“And without Government support we certainly won’t be able to implement the full range of SBS2 content. Which is why our intentions to expand our in-language news services and add English language tuition and in-language children’s programming are on hold.”

29 Responses

  1. Where the SBS One & Two will screened John Safran’s Speaking in Tongues just crossover to Top Gear and South Park will join the Community TV programming in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, & Perth! the next show will be a SBS TV programs joins Community TV programming. (SBS programs such as Living Black, Top Gear, South Park, HELP, Food & Wine Lovers, Oz and more SBS programs) just switch-off Analogue signals until 2013. Good Luck.

  2. At least if you want news from the U.K. you can listen to the BBC World Service as it is rebroadcast by various stations for sections of the day and overnight. It would still be good though to have a new bulletin from the BBC rebroadcast on TV. As for NZ, it’d be completely ridiculous if SBS didn’t show a news bulletin from TVNZ or any other NZ station on their new channel. After the UK, NZ is Australia’s second largest source of migrants, but NZ news stories are rarely picked up by Australian news organisations. Surely, SBS should broadcast a news programme from NZ, both for all the Kiwis living and travelling over here and because it’d be good for Australians to be able to get better acquainted with a land that in many functions as if it were an Australian state, culturally shares the most with us, and is an important trading partner.

  3. @Jeff: SBS already has a nightly US news bulletin. An NZ or UK bulletin wouldn’t go astray considering the large numbers of ex-pats from those countries living here, though of course Sky News Australia offers these already.

    Some English language news programs from places like China, India, Japan and Indonesia would make a welcome change from the (admittedly much improved) Weatherwatch.

    And of course, there’s the perennial lack of Vietnamese programming. It’s one of Australia’s largest language groups, yet there is almost never anything broadcast in the language on SBS. Part of the problem has been that almost all production in the language has been by the Vietnamese government, an organisation strongly opposed by most Australian Vietnamese speakers.

    But now VTV has competition in Vietnam (largely from more capitalist parts of the same government), there’s a commercial US Vietnamese network, and there must be some local capital available to produce something.

  4. Well done to SBS for making a better use of its 2nd channel. World News Channel has its merits but it doesn’t need to run for 18 hours a day – and even the 12 hrs a day currently proposed for SBS2 is perhaps a bit excessive but I realise $$$ may be an issue there.

    Hopefully in time SBS will be able to increase the range of programming on SBS2, although last night’s budget might be a blow in that regard.

  5. Does this mean that shows like the italian news at 8pm each night is going to disappear? Will SBS2 be as comprehensive as the current SBS World News channel?

  6. Great to have another SBS channel. I only really watch SBS and ABC. Bit disappointed with the lineup. I would love to have 30 minutes of UK news (headline from say SKY NEWS UK) before the WNA started.

  7. My understanding is SBS2 will simply appear everywhere SBS World News Channel currently appears under a new name and with new programming. Therefore Foxtel 648, regionals incl Tassie should logically continue to receive it.

    Seven was reported as announcing new channel plans by the end of March.

    Yes SBS2 will be in TV Tonight Advance Guides.

    SBS2 has Weatherwatch overnight after movies end.

  8. @ Jeff: you have good suggestions for the SBS2 line-up, however the commercial networks have snapped up rights to most news sources from the US and UK. Which leaves New Zealand. It will be interesting to see whether SBS will screen One News from TVNZ.

  9. @Mac: As David said, SBS2 will replace the SBS World News Channel on Ch 32.
    @Matt: SBS2 should be available on both Foxtel IQ/IQ2 as SBS2 will be a SD channel.
    @Steve: The Ashes will be LIVE on SBS1 (due to government) & the Tour de France will be shown LIVE on SBS2 & highlights/some LIVE action on SBS1.

    Interesting to hear the plans for SBS2 – it sounds exciting, though it left me actually a bit disappointed, because it’s basically WorldWatch from 5am – 6:30pm, simulcast of WNA until 7:30pm, docos until 9pm & two movies from 9pm until close.

    I would have WorldWatch from 5am – 5pm, have repeat programming from SBS1 from 5pm-7:30pm (maybe also try to get rights to air a US/UK/NZ news bulletin at around 5:30pm/6pm as a lead-in to WNA on SBS1), primetime programming (SBS2 exclusive shows, first airing of some SBS1 shows) from 7:30pm – 10pm/11pm & then have movies from then until close. Lets hope SBS gets the funding from the Budget it needs so that SBS2 can implement the full programming line-up.

    Two questions for David – will TV Tonight offer SBS2 advance guides & do we know when SBS2 closes each night & what will it broadcast until 5am?

  10. Can’t wait for SBS2 to arrive. 😀
    Shame about it replacing the World News Channel. Maybe it will come back then SBS3 or 4 comes to be?

    Now come on Seven and Nine! Time to get your butts into gear! Well at least Nine have announced their intentions, but Seven are delayyyinnnggggg. Weren’t they meant to have released plans in March? 😛

  11. Will this be on Foxtel (in particular IQ1 subscribers), or will SBS2 be only available on IQ2 as well as people who have a HD box like a topfield or TIVO etc???

  12. Sounds like a good mix and a great use of the 2nd SD (just like ABC2) now if only 7&9 would do the same allowing them to show programs instead of holding on to them for 2 years in storage.

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