SBS wants to double the number of its television channels to four and launch nine digital radio channels in the next five years as it seeks to boost Australian multicultural programs and offer more services for the nation's increasing Asian and African populations.
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The plans include almost doubling the production of original programs aimed at showing multicultural life in Australia - such as EastWest101 and The Circuit - to up to 250 hours a year and replacing the SBS World News Channel next year with a world channel specialising in foreign-language programs, including international films and subtitled children's programming.
SBS's head, Shaun Brown, outlined the plans in a discussion paper, which the broadcaster sent out to stakeholders such as ethnic community organisations and independent TV producers this week. The SBS board has yet to endorse the push but the ideas are expected to be at the core of the broadcaster's triennial funding submission to the Government later this year.
SBS received $188 million in government funds in 2007-08, which it topped up with about $50 million in advertising revenue. SBS's director of strategy, Bruce Meagher, said the plans meant it would be asking for "a reasonably significant increase" in its funding submission.
The new TV channels, to
be launched in 2013, depend
on gaining access to an additional channel spectrum after analogue television is switched off.
SBS said these could be an Asian and a European-focused channel or channels split by genre, offering documentaries and sporting events on one, and quirky programs such as Latin American telenovelas and Japanese anime on the other.
The new radio channels would be added to SBS's existing two channels over the next
four years.
"New and emerging groups demand new services, the price of which is that some languages - mainly European languages - will lose airtime," SBS said. "Digital radio, with adequate funding, solves this problem."
The ABC's managing director, Mark Scott, has said he will urge Canberra to raise the ABC's $850 million budget, seeking to boost Australian content and tripling the number of television channels and radio services over the next 12 years.
