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SBS VICELAND to replace SBS 2 from Nov. 15

SBS 2 will cease in mid-November to be replaced with content predominantly produced by US-Canadian youth Vice Media.

vicelandSBS has announced a launch date for SBS VICELAND which will replace SBS 2, from 4pm Tuesday November 15.

It follows SBS announcing a content partnership with the US-Canadian youth Vice Media in June. Local commissions including The Feed, plus international News are expected to remain, with the channel to be owned and operated by SBS.

Programming details are yet to be announced, but SBS said in a statement, “SBS VICELAND will feature the best of SBS 2 news, sport and entertainment alongside the best programs from VICELAND – the distinctive channel of VICE-produced programs overseen by award-winning Director Spike Jonze, which launched to critical acclaim in the United States earlier this year. The line-up will include new shows covering culture, music, sports, fashion, technology and more, from around the world.”

SBS previously partnered with Scripps Networks in the US for SBS Food Network.

22 Responses

  1. I used to brag about sbs2 and it’s foreign movies to friends abroad. What went wrong? I don’t watch it now just the same garbage as the others.

  2. The UK version of this noted that during peak viewing time it achieving the dreaded zero rating audience figure. It achieved zero live viewers, hope it does better for SBS.

  3. Is this the charter of SBS? I Thought it stood for Special Broadcasting Service. Nothing special about this. Remember their old slogan ‘ Bringing the world back home’ and now it seems America & Canada is the world.

  4. SBS, this is a smart move on your part. I don’t understand why you copied ABC’s decision to drop the numeral on your primary channel, but having SBS and SBS2 would have made no sense, so you finally made the right decision.

  5. I agree to rebrand the whole channel is ridiculous – by all means partner with vice and have a vice night but so far removed from what SBS was designed for and surely shows the current management has lost the plot. Wonder if a league stays where is or will get promoted to main channel . Will be bad look if NBL gets run on main channel but the soccer doesn’t

  6. Having liked what they are doing with SBS2, which has its own identity and suite of programming, it seems unecessary to rebrand in this way. Couldn’t they have just bought in some of the Viceland content to integrate into the SBS2 line up? Looking at the Viceland website they only seem to have about 12 shows anyway. I also agree with the comment that the Food Network is a wated opportunity. Terrible selection of shows. SBS, if you’re listening, which apparently you’re not, the direction for SBS2 would be better served as a cult/offbeat channel provding a mix of content from around the world. COntent noone else is showing. Sort of what you’re already doing, but more so. P.S. the name Viceland sounds like a sex shop (but it’s better than “7 Mate” I suppose).

  7. I am going to get political here… Considering Shorten, Xenophon, Hanson, Lambie all want royal
    commissions into one thing or another when is there going to be one investigating the SBS.

    This is a national public broadcasting network with four channels.. By mid November two out of the four channels will be heavily US based. Are Australian tax payers still getting good value? At the same time whilst we get US trash quality Australian content is left to rot in the archives.

    What SBS should be offering is a “classic” channel showcasing the best of SBS past programming and Australian content.

  8. Gee and I thought ABC ME was a bad name, but this is simply atrocious. “VICELAND”, really? Not even just SBS VICE? I mean how much content from VICE are they expecting to put on? Most of the VICE stuff I have seen is like 15 min vids they pump on YouTube. This seems like a horribly short-sighted mistake.

    Not to mention VICE hasn’t got the best rep in all circles. For example VICE Gaming has a terrible reputation.

  9. Why can’t they just leave S.B.S 2 alone?I’m quite happy with their programming of world movies,independent movies and horror movies.This new youth American channel sounds like a complete turn off,for me at least,anyway.

  10. I personally think SBS would’ve been wiser to relaunch SBS2 into a channel targeted at an older, broader demographic (perhaps like the SBS TWO primetime content of 2009-13?) rather than relaunching the channel and targeting it at a seemingly narrower youth demographic.

    Let’s be realistic here, the youth audience that SBS2/VICELAND is targeted at is most likely one that is increasingly giving up on traditional terrestrial TV in favour of online streaming.

  11. Well, I guess that’ll remove the few remaining reasons to watch SBS. Or for it to even to continue to exist as a government-funded commercial broadcaster.

    (Don’t get me wrong. Was a big fan of SBS, particularly the wide range of foreign TV & movies, but it got sicker and sicker as they moved away from their remit, & pretty much died for me on 9/10/06. Since then, the only times I’ve gone out of my way to watch anything on the network has been the odd movie / programme on SBS2.

    I still miss the old SBS, but I won’t mourn the inevitable death of the new…)

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