A bold move indeed by SBS to change up how SBS two is being used to deliver it as, essentially, what Channel Ten was doing and now isn’t doing but is trying to do. The delivery of entire seasons to their catch up app up front will draw not only the target demo in, depending on content. From the press release:
SBS 2 pushes boundaries for younger audiences.
SBS today unveiled plans to relaunch SBS 2 on April 1 as a bold, provocative channel for younger audiences aged 16-39. SBS 2 will be a new home for the ‘thinking 30 somethings’ and a place to share their passion for emerging cultural ideas and experiences with diverse content from around the world that is edgy, adventurous and fun, and connects audiences with the world.
The channel will offer viewers free-to-air and Australian premiere content including the channel’s first commissioned program; dedicated sport programming and – in a first in
Australian broadcasting – a flexible approach to content delivery with the launch of Back 2 Back episode viewing via SBS ON DEMAND.Michael Ebeid, SBS Managing Director, said: “The new-look SBS 2 will deliver on SBS’s commitment to be a broadcaster which is there for all Australians by broadening and deepening our reach with younger audiences. “We know that younger audiences engage with SBS when we broadcast key content like Go Back to Where You Came From, East West 101 and Housos but we want to give that audience a channel they can call their own and that is fully integrated with an online offering. SBS 2 will be a channel which is fun and inclusive and all about giving our younger audiences content in the fast-paced way they want it, when they want it and on a device they choose to view it.”
Tony Iffland, SBS’s Director of TV and Online Content, said: “Our mission with SBS 2 is clear – to provide thought-provoking and entertaining content for younger viewers. The key target of that younger audience is the thinking thirty something – those who are still toying with the wild experimentation of youth whilst thinking about embracing responsibility for the first time. Our programming line-up delivers a rich and innovative combination of adventurous documentaries, fresh comedy and drama, hit entertainment, quality sport and tailored news and current affairs. I am confident that we offer something different and attractive in the multichannel market place.”
For the first time in Australian broadcasting, SBS 2 will launch Back 2 Back where viewers get to watch the whole series of selected new programs via the SBS ON DEMAND service before they broadcast on the channel.
Iffland continued: “We’re delighted to bring Back 2 Back to our audiences meaning they can watch all the episodes of a new series via SBS ON DEMAND. We know our audiences don’t necessarily want to wait eight weeks or more to make an appointment-to-view a series and now they don’t have to. They can go straight to SBS ON DEMAND and watch all the episodes back-to-back or whenever they want.”
Back 2 Back will offer three series at launch from April 1 with all episodes in each of the series available to watch via SBS ON DEMAND once the first episode has broadcast on television. Bullet in the Face starts Monday April 1, 9.30pm available Back 2 Back from 10pm, Don’t Tell My Mother starts Tuesday April 2, 8.30pm available Back 2 Back from 9.30pm and The Tales of Nights starts Wednesday April 3, 11.30pm available Back 2 Back from midnight.
SBS 2 will launch its first commissioned show in May, a 15 minute daily dedicated news and current affairs program (title to be announced), available to audiences whenever, however and wherever they want it. It will combine news of the day, topical commentary, pop culture and in-depth feature content and will use a free-flowing format to explore issues and news, enlisting young, multi-skilled journalists both on and off screen to create and present the stories.
The channel will launch in April with regular 30-second dedicated channel newsbreaks throughout the evening and online and social media news updates.
Friday night football comes to SBS 2 when the 2013-14 season of the Hyundai ALeague kicks off in October. SBS 2 will broadcast one live blockbuster match every Friday night as well as all Hyundai A-League Finals matches on a one hour delay. This will be the first time that the Hyundai A-League is broadcast on free-to-air TV.
CONTENT HIGHLIGHTS
Drama
SBS 2 will show some top acquired drama series including, Threesome, Him & Her and Skins series seven – all Australian premieres. Threesome is an outrageous dramedy about three inseparable friends on the verge of thirty, who after a wild night out end up having an unplanned threesome which results in an even more unplanned pregnancy. Together they decide it’s time to ditch the party lifestyle and have the baby – as a threesome.Him & Her is an anti-romantic comedy about Steve (Russell Tovey) and Becky (Sarah Solemani) – a young couple deeply in love, often in bed and rarely in employment. BAFTA Award winning series Skins will return with an edgy new season as a fresh generation of four boys and four girls love each other, hate each other, screw each other, and get smashed together. SBS 2 will also show the seventh and final season of Skins later in the year which will see the return of first and second generation cast favourites Cassie, Effy, and Cook.
Humour
Bullet in the Face, a viciously funny, wildly violent, bloody and unabashedly politically incorrect action comedy series from Canada starring Eddie Izzard and Eric Roberts, will premiere on the channel. Joining Bullet in the Face on Mondays will be Emmy Award winning Belgian hidden camera comedy series Benidorm Bastards which stars seven senior citizens who roam the streets pulling absurd stunts on unsuspecting young people.SBS 2 aims to turn cult into popular and brings Community to the channel for a dose of regular nightly comedy. Starring Chevy Chase and Donald Glover, Community follows a band of misfits who form a study group at Greendale Community College where together they end up learning more about themselves than they do about their coursework.
Russell Howard is one of the UK’s most successful stand-up comedians and his show Russell Howard’s Good News will be a staple late night show on the channel. With his boy next door charm and seamless mix of irreverent pop culture chatter, cynicism and satire, he offers a hilarious and unique take on the news. Filmed in front of a live studio audience, Good News combines Russell’s stand-up routines with funny clips from the internet and quick-fire sketches, as he presents a brand new perspective on the big stories dominating news outlets across the world.
Documentaries and Factual
Charismatic host Diego Buñel has travelled extensively as a foreign correspondent, reporting from countries including Iraq, Afghanistan and the Congo. Before he would leave to report on these international news stories, he would always tell his production crew “Don’t tell my mother I am in a dangerous place, it makes her really nervous”. After years of travelling, covering news stories that only ever focussed on the negatives, Diego decided a change of focus was needed, and the idea for Don’t Tell My Mother was born. In this powerful, heartfelt documentary series, Diego travels to some of the world’s most troublesome places, looking beyond the headlines to reveal the rich cultures and the true interests of the people.Be Your Own Boss is an inspiring entrepreneurship program where the charismatic and successful founder of UK brand ‘Innocent drinks’ Richard Reed looks to invest in three big ideas presented to him by aspiring young entrepreneurs.
Warrior Road Trip is a cross-continental exploratory journey which introduces viewers to America through the eyes of warriors from the Maasai culture – Boni and Lemarti. These warriors, who rarely abandon their traditional clothes or spears, embark on a cultural odyssey to experience the Western world while staying true to their tribal values.
Insightful documentary series The Pitch takes cameras behind the closed doors of the world of advertising as two top American creative advertising agencies go head to head to win a real campaign from a major brand.
SBS 2 will also screen three provocative graffiti inspired documentary films. Graffiti Wars, questions whether graffiti is the work of mindless vandals or creative practitioners; Antics Roadshow – Banksy’s ‘incomplete guide to total anarchy’ taking a greatest hits approach to wayward behaviour, sedition and sabotage; and Exit Through the Gift Shop the inside story of Street Art, and a brutal and revealing account of what happens when fame, money and vandalism collide.