SBS champions an inclusive Australia with entertaining, genre-bending and impactful 2019 program line-upTuesday, 20 November 2018
News Release
SBS has today revealed its 2019 program slate, with entertaining, genre-bending and impactful content that audiences won't see anywhere else.
SBS will remain Australia's most distinctive network in 2019, offering a world of difference' with a multi-platform line-up exploring diversity in Australia in all of its forms.
SBS Managing Director, James Taylor said: As our sector continues to experience unprecedented change, SBS has embraced the opportunities this presents, and today we are proud to be connecting with more Australians than ever before.
In a cluttered market, SBS continues to offer a genuine point of difference, championing the benefits of an inclusive society to inspire Australians to better understand and respect each other.
As we navigate the changing face of modern Australia and the shifting needs of audiences, SBS's 2019 line-up will continue to exemplify our unique Purpose with distinctive multiplatform content relevant to all Australians.
Director of TV and Online Content, Marshall Heald, said: At SBS, we tell stories and show people on screen that you don't see anywhere else, giving a voice to communities that would otherwise go unheard. We thrive on telling stories that explore complex issues and can have meaningful impact; we look for creative approaches that scare us and concepts that will emotionally connect with audiences.
We also want to celebrate the ways in which diversity enriches Australia, so even if we're grappling with a serious issue, we are optimistic in our approach, and are always looking for the light in the dark.
Today SBS also revealed a sneak peek of its new brand positioning for 2019 - SBS, a world of difference, which builds on past iconic brands including - Bringing the world back home'; The world is an amazing place' and Six billion stories and counting'.
Director of Marketing, Jane Palfreyman said: Over the last 40 years, SBS has become a trusted and much loved part of our culture, as the only network to reflect the true make up of Australia. In 2019 SBS's new brand proposition beautifully sums up our belief that together, our collective differences make for a better society and better entertainment.
These differences don't just make a difference; they make a world of difference'.
The network will achieve this in 2019 through an impressive list of new programs, including two new commissioned Australian drama series, currently in production.
Hungry Ghosts is a new four-part Australian drama series produced for SBS by Matchbox Pictures (Safe Harbour; The Family Law) that takes elements of the Japanese and Korean supernatural thriller genre to explore the lives of three generations of Vietnamese Australian families dealing with the aftermath of war. It's about lost loves, buried secrets, and how unresolved trauma can be handed down through generations until a young woman, planning for the future, connects with her past as a way forward.
The Hunt delves into one of the biggest issues of the social media era - cyberbullying.
The new drama series intimately imagines the lives of four teenagers, their friends, their families, their teachers, their communities during the lead up, revelation and aftermath of a nude photo sharing scandal. Produced by Closer Productions with major funding from Screen Australia, and using teenagers and non-actors to tell the story, it is the kind of provocative local drama that only SBS would make.
Following the success of SBS On Demand's first drama commission, Homecoming Queens, comes new comedy Robbie Hood. The six-part online series produced by Ludo Studio and Since1788 with major investment from Screen Australia follows Robbie, a teenage troublemaker with a heart of gold living in a remote Aboriginal community, and is the heart-warming story of three friends who are fixing injustices they see. While they have the best of intentions, it doesn't always go quite to plan.
After a hugely successful 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, SBS will continue to unite communities through sport in 2019, as the exclusive free-to-air broadcaster of the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup France from 7 June. Australians can follow The Matildas in their pursuit of football's biggest prize with every Matildas match, and the complete finals series, live and in HD as well as daily highlights and analysis shows from the SBS team at home and on the ground in France.
SBS's commitment to women's sport doesn't stop there, with coverage of the Australian domestic football competition the W-League, and the WNBL Women's National Basketball League, highlighting our home grown female athletes at the elite level.
SBS will also continue to deliver the best in international sports you won't see anywhere else, including the beloved Tour de France, Premier League, International Figure Skating and Gymnastics, Dakar Rally racing, and the glorious French Open, live and exclusive to free-to-air.
SBS is a leader in original documentaries that inform, entertain and capture the national conversation around issues central to its Charter; exploring ideas that no other network could or would pursue. Next year, SBS will explore the complex multicultural history of everyday Australians with new commissioned series including My Family Secret (working title), hosted by Noni Hazelhurst, Australia in Colour which features archival footage brought to life in glorious colour showing this country's true multicultural face, and Medicine or Myth in which Dr Charlie Teo leads an expert panel as they put family remedies to the test.
The network will also have more returning commissioned documentary series tha
