SBS Operations

It’s still a fantastic bulletin imo. Have very recently started watching again and it’s very refreshing and in terms of overseas coverage more informative than even the ABC.

1 Like

No, the dour presentation turned me off. I prefer BBC World News, CNN, euronews, Channel NewsAsia and CBSN. I guess I’ll give it another go.

Presentation has never been SBS’ strongsuit, and tbh I doubt many SBS viewers care. I like it more because there’s more international news than other free to air alternatives, and it’s relatively easier than sorting through half a dozen or so news outlets.

SBS appoints Josh Martin as Commissioning Editor, Entertainment and Food

Josh joins from Essential Media where he was Executive Producer, overseeing Essential Media’s Food & Lifestyle content, as well as contributing to the factual slate.

Josh brings a wealth of experience having worked for most of the major networks or production companies in Australia over his impressive 20-year career, producing innovative, engaging and creative content. He has also directed and produced some of SBS’s most popular food and travel series, such as Gourmet Farmer, Mexican Fiesta with Peter Kuruvita, Island Feast with Peter Kuruvita, Shane Delia’s Spice Journey, and Gourmet Farmer Afloat.

Josh joins SBS’s Unscripted team, who produce documentaries, factual entertainment, entertainment and food programs including Filthy Rich & Homeless, First Contact, Eurovision Song Contest, Mardi Gras, Gourmet Farmer, and Food Safari. He will commission and oversee the production of distinctive multiplatform content, in entertainment and food, which inspires all Australians to explore, appreciate and celebrate our multicultural society.

SBS Director of TV and Online Content, Marshall Heald, said: “I am delighted to welcome Josh to SBS. Josh’s passion and strong track record of producing engaging and entertaining content will be a great addition to SBS’s non-scripted team as we continue to tell innovative and ground-breaking stories that reflect our diverse world.”

Josh Martin said: “SBS tells stories that no one else does and I’m thrilled to be part of such a unique and passionate network. I’m looking forward to commissioning shows that will entertain and inspire all Australians to celebrate our diverse world.”

Josh will commence his role on Oct 9, 2017 and will report into John Godfrey, Head of Unscripted.

A few days late but I’ve just read that PR. Slabs and slabs of text about SBS radio but SBS television gets barely a token mention. I think that alone tells us that SBS knows they’re not fulfilling their charter on television.

1 Like
1 Like

Young and taken by cancer just before Christmas. Just awful

SBS director of media Andrew Cook, who joined the broadcaster in 2012, is quitting. He will leave SBS on March 16 and replaced by Adam Sadler, currently SBS Media’s national TV and digital sales manager.

I read that as Adam Sandler and thought whaaaaat?! :astonished:

1 Like

Statement from SBS Managing Director Michael Ebeid on Competitive Neutrality Review Terms of Reference

SBS will participate fully in the Government’s inquiry into the competitive neutrality of the national broadcasters, noting that existing, robust accountability frameworks governing SBS are operating effectively and we continue to operate within our relevant legislative frameworks to deliver on our Charter.

Undoubtedly, the rapidly increasing penetration of international operators, along with new domestic streaming services is changing our media environment. But it is difficult to contemplate how a broadcaster the size of SBS that has its commercial operations limited by legislation could be a threat to the business activities of its commercial counterparts, which benefited only recently from changes to media laws and a major reduction of their licence fees.

SBS has built its reputation over the past four decades as a trusted and highly efficient media institution with very loyal audiences, offering Australians a real point of difference. We provide audiences with a diversity of views and voices; deliver value for money to the Australian taxpayer and enormous social value to contemporary multicultural Australia.

The Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Alan Tudge said recently that successful Australian multiculturalism cannot be taken for granted. The reason SBS exists today is to contribute to the advancement of our successful multiculturalism and diversity. We look forward to demonstrating the value of our services through this review.

Top media executive John Sintras is joining SBS as chief audience and content officer.

SBS has received $14.6 million in additional funding over two years from 2018-19 in last night’s Federal Budget.

Well Lee Lin Chin’s dressing room doesn’t come cheap it needs to be maintained

3 Likes

I think you mean ‘an additional 14.6 million’?


Smells of sour grapes to me. The commercial networks have no interest in airing a majority of shows in the list and yet the networks suggest they should not be shown on SBS. Do they want the shows to be on Foxtel or streaming services only? Viewers deserve choice.

1 Like

Nine wanted the Food Network produced shows for 9Life, iirc.

SBS CEO Michael Ebeid is stepping down.

From SBS

Statement regarding SBS Managing Director Michael Ebeid AM

Michael Ebeid AM will step down as Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director after 7.5 years at the helm of Australia’s most unique and distinctive national media organisation and the world’s most linguistically diverse broadcaster.

Since joining SBS as its Managing Director in June 2011, Ebeid has led the organisation through a period of immense transformation, growth and achievement. He has led organisational strategies and introduced new initiatives which have led to more Australians engaging with SBS than ever before. These strategies ensure the organisation is well-equipped to deliver on the responsibilities of the SBS Charter, with programs and services which are relevant to an increasingly diverse Australian society, in a tough environment for media operators.

On his departure, Ebeid said: “My decision to step down has been one of the most difficult decisions I’ve made. Serving as the SBS Managing Director has been a real honour and privilege and I depart feeling confident that this is the right time for a new Managing Director to take the organisation forward.
“SBS is the strongest it has been in over 40 years. We are more relevant than ever and we are ready for the future. Considering the struggle of societies globally to integrate diverse communities harmoniously, SBS today performs a critical role in the Australian community. We are the media organisation audiences can come to, on their preferred platform or device, for distinctive programs and different perspectives that create a better shared understanding within our diverse, multicultural society.

“We have been through a lot of change over the past seven years and our successes have only been achievable with the support of the SBS Board of Directors, our SBS Executive team and of course, our dedicated SBS employees. The SBS team is the most passionate and committed that I’ve worked with in my 30 year career. Our people come to work every day motivated to make an impact and I’ve learned a lot from them during my tenure.

“Importantly, I depart the organisation knowing that we have a very strong and experienced leadership team to help guide SBS forward. The organisation is honoured and humbled that SBS is valued by the communities we were created to serve four decades ago, and whom are at the heart of our organisation and the decisions we make today.”

Chairman of the SBS Board of Directors, Dr Bulent Hass Dellal AO said: “On behalf of the SBS Board of Directors, I thank Michael enormously for his service and dedication to SBS as our longest serving Managing Director.

“Whilst we are very disappointed that Michael is leaving us, there is no doubt that he departs an organisation which is stronger, sustainable and backed by an important and valued purpose to contribute to the ongoing social and economic development of our nation through media services which foster greater understanding and encourage social cohesion.

“In particular, I commend Michael for his focus on negotiating sustainable government funding, whilst also improving commercial revenues, which have secured SBS’s financial capacity to deliver on its Charter. The Board has valued Michael’s attention to extracting value from SBS activities to position the organisation as a distinctive media provider as changes in the media sector continue to present challenges and opportunities.

“Michael had the foresight to recognise early that the SBS Charter and the organisation’s commitment to diverse multicultural communities provided an opportunity for relevant digital evolution and in-depth storytelling on new and emerging platforms; a strategy which continues to serve the organisation well. He has also invested significant time in improving employee engagement which is critical for the organisation’s future success. We certainly would not have been able to achieve such success without the absolute dedication and professionalism of our SBS people and Michael also leaves with a strong and capable leadership team in place. We wish him all the very best in his next endeavours.”

During Ebeid’s service, SBS has arrested its declining television audiences to achieve seven years of continuous growth in reach in a rapidly fragmenting market, with an average of 13 million Australians each month engaging with the network’s channels. SBS today is regularly considered among the most trusted and impartial news sources. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander broadcasting is part of mainstream media since the launch of the National Indigenous Television (NITV) as a free-to-air channel in 2012. Migrants to Australia are well-serviced having modernised SBS’s language programs on radio and digital platforms, which are aiding their participation in Australian life with 2.8 million unique visitors coming to SBS language and audio sites each month. SBS’s many Australian-made television programs continue to earn critical acclaim and drive bigger national conversations about the country’s success and challenges.

Under Ebeid, SBS has transformed its content-making and distribution models to leverage its unique capability for diverse storytelling on digital platforms afforded by the SBS Charter and launched two new free-to-air television channels in addition to NITV, in Food Network and SBS VICELAND. Having launched SBS On Demand in late 2011, it has evolved to be a highly-regarded streaming service now with almost five million registered users and the respected SBS News app is engaging more Australians than ever before.
Ebeid also secured long-term rights agreements for the FIFA World Cup™ through to 2022, a 10-year deal for the Tour de France and negotiated Australian representation in the Eurovision Song Contest. In addition, innovative distribution and transmission agreements have produced significant efficiencies for SBS, and the organisation has been found by various independent reviews to be lean and efficient.

In 2017, Ebeid was made a Member of the Order of Australia for services to broadcast media and multicultural affairs as an executive, innovator and business leader, and was also named CEO of the Year for 2017 by CEO Magazine.

Ebeid will depart SBS on 1st October 2018 and will make an announcement in coming weeks about his next role.

The SBS Board of Directors will immediately begin a recruitment process to recruit a new SBS Managing Director.

1 Like