It’s the first report card for SBS and not a bad one at that. For a reasonably underfunded government niche broadcaster it continues to bat well above its weight in quality and variety of content. How else would Australia have learned about South Park?! Food programming, News and sport from around the world, documentaries and stories you wouldn’t otherwise see – there’s gems spread right across its schedule every day.

Now with three distinct channels SBS has more than grown up…

HITS
Once Upon A Time In Cabramatta – Stories from the people that have and are shaping the region they live in. As much a history lesson as a news documentary, the Once Upon A Time In series doesn’t pull any punches and paint over some of the darker times in the community. Authentic multicultural Australian stories.
Danger 5 – The most outstanding mix of Bond, World War II propaganda and euro film ever. Remember: Kill Hitler.
NITV – A whole new channel launched on 12/12/12 to sharin Indigenous Australian stories with the nation and the world. Not before time.
Insight – Jenny Brockie continues to hold court over some of the most diverse panels we’ve seen across the year, asking difficult questions of them all.
World News Australia/World News Late – Anton Enus, Janice Peterson & Ricardo Goncalves deliver solid news bulletins that stretch well beyond Australia’s borders. An insightful & important News service.
Mythbusters – Just keep blowing shit up and we’ll keep watching.
Housos – Entirely irreverent and hilarious as, bro.
Destination Flavour – Adam Liaw, Renee Lim & Lily Serna celebrate the best of Australian food. One of many quality food programs that celebrate the diversity of the Australian palate.
2012 Eurovision Song Contest – Julia Zemiro & Sam Pang host with aplomb the Australian broadcast of the craziest song competition ever.
24 Hours In Emergency – A fine pick up from the BBC the showed the variety of issues faced in an Emergency department.
2012 Tour de France – Award-winning coverage from the broadcast again this year.
RocKwiz – Music nerds assemble at the Espy for their big chance to get on stage/screen in what is the best music panel program going around – 10 years strong in 2012!

CONCEDED PASSES
Go Back To Where You Came From (S02) – Not as strong as S01, possibly due to the involvement of ‘prominent Australians’ like Angry Anderson & Michael Smith. It continued to push the conversation around the refugee debate in a way that can only be described as confrontingly positive.
Bollywood Star – SBS’s first run at a reality TV show that revealed a thirst for all things Bollywood. The Saturday timeslot did it few favours.
Who Do You Think You Are (S04) – The curse of the broadcaster… not enough people watched. Seeing John Wood, Michael O’Laughlin, Shaun Micallef, Melissa George, Kerry O’Brien, et al, discover their past was powerful and engaging.

MISSES
Mad Men (S03) – Too little, too late. Everyone that wants to see it has already seen it.

Overall result: C plus. The network continus to deliver well above its pay grade and we’re all the better for it.