Several of those licences have been surrendered.
I’m not sure if some of those surrendered ever got to air.
I see Gundagai still listed, but not sure if that licence ever got to air.
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Gundagai was definitely on air at one point, probably 5 years ago now.
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You’d think when councils agreed to get the sites established, that they would have enquired about ongoing maintenance costs and responsibilities… I would be surprised if they did not know.
But am guessing those responsibilities don’t extend to monitoring it off air at least occasionally (for those that are “supposed” to be still on air - which is probably not many left). Obviously no one seems to listen to them, otherwise you’d think someone would said something.
In this day and age, most rural listeners are probably turning to on demand listening for their preferred language, rather than waiting for it on FM. Some may listen via digital TV audio channels too.
…
Forgot to add another one to the above list
Merriwa 104.3 - OFF
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and just found this one from 1994. “3EA” dumped from on-air branding and it’s now SBS.
I think the 2nd SBS station, 93.1 FM, followed the next year?
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Wow, the font for “Melbourne” looks identical to the one Channel Seven are using in their new graphics.
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According to their 1994-95 annual report, SBS launched its 93.1 (and its 97.7 service in Sydney) on 19th July 1994.
Also on that same document, SBS moved its Sydney AM service from 1386 to 1107 (ex-2UW) in January 1995.
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When did SBS FM roll out to the other capital cities? I remember 93.3 here in Brisbane has been SBS FM from about 1995-1996. When I first got my radio.
What were the programming differences between the 2 AM stations and the FM network?
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SBS Radio rolled out to Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth & Darwin on 26th January 1994, followed by Canberra on 21st February 1996 & Hobart on 30th April 1996.
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Depending on how accurate Wikipedia is,
SBS Radio 1 appears to be the AM stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Wollongong
SBS Radio 2 is the FM stations in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, and a 2nd AM in Wollongong
Then there is the national network which is the FM stations elsewhere plus AM in Newcastle
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I’m fairly sure SBS Radio 2 and the national network is one and the same now, but I’ve no way of comparing
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What’s the history of that?
The first SBS AM service in Wollongong on 1485AM first started broadcasting on 30th August 1979, which was a translator service for 2EA. The 2nd AM service was switched on in around 2006, broadcasting on 1035AM.
By a similar token, Canberra gained its 2nd SBS station on 1440AM after ABC Newsradio moved to 103.9FM in 2005.
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I can report that SBS Batlow (92.5) is finally off air. It was probably wiped out in the bushfires over summer.
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Statement on the passing of Wilson Younan OAM
On behalf of the team at SBS, we are deeply saddened by the death of our colleague and friend, Wilson Younan OAM.
Wilson, the Executive Producer (EP) of SBS Assyrian, passed away on Tuesday, 18 August after a long illness. His family was by his side.
There is so much to say about Wilson – it is difficult to know where to start as he was a wonderful person, a leader in his community and a hugely successful businessman.
Wilson became EP of the Assyrian language service nearly 30 years ago in 1993. He was passionate about his community and he felt a deep sense of responsibility to serve his fellow Assyrian Australians and a deep pride in helping to foster their culture and language in Australia.
Wilson was born in Iraq and graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Baghdad in 1979. He worked for Iraqi Television for two years before migrating to Australia in 1981. He completed a post graduate Degree in Journalism from the University of Wollongong and started working for SBS in 1993.
He was a leader in his community and was recognised in 2010 with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the Assyrian Community.
In 2017, he was awarded Assyrian Australian of the Year and the Assyrian Universal Alliance (AUA) and the Assyrian Australian National Federation recognised Wilson’s professionalism and approach to coverage of news and current affairs in Australia and internationally.
Away from SBS, Wilson built an extremely successful commercial cleaning company Storm International. He founded the company more than 40 years ago, and today Storm International is a nationwide, family operated company, employing hundreds of staff.
Wilson was sincere, warm-hearted, a man of integrity and always had time to stop and say hello and ask how others were going.
Wilson is survived by his wife Asmar and three children, Maria, Tania and George.
Wilson, thank you for being a wonderful friend and inspiring colleague to many. We will miss you – rest in peace.
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Listening to an AM tuner in Canberra online, I’ve noticed that its 2nd service on 1440AM is relaying SBS Chill.
EDIT: Turns out that SBS Chill is being relayed on SBS Radio 1 on AM in Sydney, Melbourne & Canberra, as well as on DAB+/DVB-T, but is not in parallel with the main SBS Chill DAB+/DVB-T station. At least that’s the case at around 2-3pm AEDT today (Saturday 21/11).
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I wonder why?
SBS AM should still have normal programming?
According to the program guide, the Hungarian program should be on at this time.
SBS Radio 93.3 and DAB SBS 1 in Brisbane also playing SBS Chill -like music. Perhaps the program was not available. The text says Serbian program at 3:00 pm
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Appears that SBS Radio 1 is back to normal today, no Chill music. Not sure what happened to them yesterday, maybe some technical difficulties?
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SBS to host Radiothon in support of UNICEF Australia’s India COVID-19 Appeal
SBS is hosting a Radiothon this Friday 21 May, to raise money to support UNICEF Australia’s India COVID-19 relief fund, and to share the message: “India, we are with you”.
Broadcasters and producers from SBS Radio’s South Asian programs will lead six-hours of special coverage via radio, Facebook Live and online. The Radiothon will be presented in a mixture of English and other languages,
Running from 4pm-10pm AEST, SBS’s Gujarati, Hindi, Tamil, Punjabi, Malayalam, Bangla, Urdu and other language programs will bring audiences live coverage from around Australia and India. The Radiothon will include interviews with special guests, performances, and messages of support from famous faces, including well-known singers and cricketers, around the globe.
David Hua, Director SBS Audio and Language Content, said: “As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to grip the world, many Australians are very worried about family and friends abroad, and are often overwhelmed, not knowing what they can do to help. Sometimes knowing that something, however big or small, is being done can ease that sense of helplessness. I hope that SBS’s Radiothon provides a way for the community – especially Australians with Indian heritage – to feel connected through a common cause.”
Tony Stuart, UNICEF Australia CEO, said: “The dire situation in India and alarming increase in COVID-19 cases in South Asia is reverberating across the globe and is very close to our hearts here in Australia. We have seen an enormous outpouring of goodwill and the donation of critical funds which are already helping UNICEF to respond with lifesaving oxygen, vaccine delivery and increased support for testing capacity. We thank the SBS community for their support."
“Much more is needed as the outbreak continues to spread rapidly.”
Donations can be made via the UNICEF Australia website: www.unicef.org.au/sbs
Listen to the SBS Radiothon, Friday 21 May, 4pm-10pm AEST via SBS Radio or the SBS Radio app.
Watch via a SBS language Facebook page by following any of these Facebook accounts: SBS Gujarati, SBS Hindi, SBS Tamil, SBS Punjabi and SBS Malayalam.
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