SBS celebrates 50 years of reflecting a diverse and contemporary Australia
28 May, 2025
Media releases
Marking 50 years of broadcasting on 9 June 2025, SBS reflects contemporary Australia like no other media network. With its bold and inclusive storytelling reaching more Australians than ever before, our hybrid funded national public broadcaster is celebrating its SBS50 birthday week with a special line-up of programming that pays homage to its unique past and looks forward to its distinctive future.
The thing that I love about SBS is it doesn't tell me what to think.
It just opens my eyes and my heart to see the world differently.
Rachel Griffiths
Fifty years ago, we were given the chance to see the world from a different point of view.
And fifty years today, the world has had a chance to see us.
Ernie Dingo
It's a true reflection of the Australian story and the Australian experience.
Melissa Leong
Program highlights:
Special SBS50-themed episodes of Insight, Living Black, Mastermind,
The Cook Up with Adam Liaw, and The Weekly Football Wrap.
Reruns of cult classic South Park and new episodes of If You Are The One.
An SBS World Movies collection featuring original commentary from The Movie Show with iconic duo Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton.
Community features with SBS Audio's 60+ language services, including video interviews with original 2EA/3EA radio presenters and exploring the changing multicultural faces of Australia.
Watch SBS50 birthday video messages here from Rachel Griffiths, Hugh Jackman, Ernie Dingo, Melissa Leong, Benjamin Law, Courtney Act, Marc Fennell, Karla Grant, Adam Liaw, John Paul Janke, Joel Creasey, Jenny Brockie, Nornie Bero, Voyager, Lily Serna, Lydia Williams, John Aloisi, Maeve O'Meara, Peter Kuruvita, Kathy Lette, Claudia Karvan and Shane Delia.
In a country home to the oldest continuous culture and where almost one-third of people were born overseas, SBS has long been holding up a mirror, enabling all Australians to see themselves and their stories through a distinctive media offering that can't be found elsewhere.
The Australia you see on SBS is the Australia we all see when we walk out our front door every day, said James Taylor, Managing Director of SBS. SBS's role is to protect a plurality of perspectives, foster deeper understanding, and promote a sense of belonging for all Australians - regardless of their background and where their story began. As Australia's most trusted news brand, trust is the foundation that drives our innovation-led news and multilingual content and that's never been more important than in today's global landscape of misinformation and distrust.
We don't tell people what to think, or feel, but provide opportunities for everyone to experience the world around them. For 50 years, SBS has been unafraid to entertain, educate and provoke audiences with bold, human stories that amplify diverse voices and connect us all. I am proud that we never stand still, continuously evolving to meet the needs of a diverse, contemporary Australia. Today we are reaching the highest audience numbers in our history with the largest volume of original Australian content.
Where we have been
Founded in 1975 as two small multilingual radio stations, 2EA and 3EA, to help promote the Australian Government's public health care scheme to non-English speaking communities and legislated in 1978, SBS's multi-platform services are today free and available for all Australians in over 60 languages. And since premiering the nation's first major prime-time Indigenous current affairs TV program, First In Line, in 1989, SBS has continued to pioneer First Nations representation, including welcoming National Indigenous Television (NITV) to its network as a free-to-air channel in 2012.
Affectionately referred to as Sex Before Soccer' in the 1980s - a reference to its raunchy foreign films and European football called by iconic sports presenter and former refugee, the late Les Murray AM - SBS over the decades has also been synonymous with bringing South Park, Scandi Noir and the Eurovision Song Contest to Australians.
Just as important has been SBS's sustained investment in locally-produced content and Australian talent, which is focused on supporting diversity both on and off screen to reflect a contemporary Australia often not otherwise fully seen or represented.
The results are real, restless and daring stories that audiences love across news, current affairs, drama, documentary, food, sport and more.
SBS has always punched well above its weight, from the ground-breaking factual series First Australians and Go Back to Where You Came From, to more recently Gina Chick winning the premiere season of Alone Australia, hard-hitting drama Safe Home, and Courtney Act and Tony Armstrong hosting this year's Eurovision watched by over 2.2 million Australians.
Where we are going
Today, SBS is an award-winning multiplatform, multilingual network that has been named Australia's most trusted news provider[1] and national podcaster of the year three years running[2]. It is also the first broadcaster to allow viewers to opt-out of advertising related to alcohol, gambling and quick-service restaurants, as well as being on track to reach Net Zero by 2045.
SBS is for all Australians, by all Australians, and we've never been afraid to take risks and boldly go where others won't. Whether that's through content that reflects and helps shape our collective national identity, digital innovation that delivers world-class audience experiences, or socially and environmentally responsible practices that show care for community, said Taylor.
We've always known who we are and what we stand for at SBS. Our success is grounded in the deep trusted relationships w
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