Media agencies praised SBS' Demand Different positioning, its sustainability and diversity metrics plus its strong content slate announced at the broadcaster's upfront.
SBS also revealed that On Demand users will soon be able to opt-out of advertising for gambling, alcohol and fast food in 2024, a move endorsed by both Tabcorp and Endeavour Drinks.
Other major announcements included the return of the FIFA Men’s World Cup in 2026 to the SBS screens, an achievement of net zero on its direct emissions and a content line up that’s headlined by the return of Alone Australia.
Louis Mayne, head of investment, Foundation, says the most successful original show in SBS’s history Alone Australia is back for a second season, this time set in the South Island of NZ.
“The ability for contestants to take bow & arrows next year adds another dimension to the show and I can see this outperforming the record numbers from this year,” says Mayne.
“The network will also see a return of fan favourite The Handmaid’s Tale for its last ever season and season 2 of Rogue Heroes, these are two of the biggest BVOD shows in the country and have helped SBS to a 25% commercial BVOD share so far in 2023.
“SBS talked through the success of its agnostic audience first strategy, which has seen real digital transformation across its television and audio products. Half of Alone Australia’s average 1m audience came from SBS on Demand, which must be the highest percentage for any key pillar show in the country.
“Giving consumers a choice is also part of SBS’s audience first strategy, which is why they have announced SBS Ad Control where users will have the ability to opt out from receiving advertising for the wagering, alcohol and QSR categories. This is beneficial for advertisers within these categories as it will help minimise wastage, as it isn’t worth paying to reach people who have no interest in your product.
“As announced by multiple networks in this year’s upfronts, there is a big push across the industry to improve personalisation on the BVOD platforms. Core to this for SBS in 2024 is the introduction of both video and audio FAST channels and an improved recommendation engine. Both should hopefully enable users to find more relevant content on the platform and then keep them there for longer.
“SBS announced they are the first Australian TV network to reach net zero on their direct emissions (covering Scope 1 and 2) and have set an ambitious date of 2045 for Net Zero on all emissions, including Scope 3. This is an environment a lot of our clients are starting to lean into and SBS’s progressive agenda means they are leaders in this space, I expect there to be more campaigns focussed on sustainability in 2024.
“SBS wants us to demand different and it’s clear from the content that was showcased yesterday, that they are a different proposition for our clients to any video network in Australia.
“While there were no big reveals in the content presented (outside of announcing the FIFA World Cup rights for 2026), I think SBS is going to have another great year. They want us to demand different and with content that culturally reflects contemporary Australia, they continue to be a unique proposition for our clients.”
Catherine Rushton, chief strategy officer, This Is Flow, says SBS quietly impressed with a diversity and substance of announcement that reflects its wide-ranging community and audience.
“The theme was ‘Demand Different’ and the consistency of this challenger position was palpable throughout the event.
“SBS lived up to its brand when it came to its upcoming content slate- it was diverse in topic and style and inclusive in talent and language.
“From the return of the FIFA World Cup broadcast rights and the backbone of the Tour de France, to everyone’s surprise favourite Alone Australia returning for S2 and the final season of Handmaid’s Tale, to a patchwork quilt of local drama, food and documentaries that cater to all tastes and moods. It is hard to sum it all up due to its diversity in nature. Especially when you include the call for NITV to deliver a “new era of truth telling’ post referendum.
“It was a bold, yet smart, move to wrangle back control from the algorithms and introduce Australia’s first personalised ad experience. Even better was the buy-in from launch partners Tabcorp and Endeavour Group. This adds credibility to this initiative. For all the talk about attention, this move signals positive action that will benefit the humans at the other end of the screen.
“One of my personal highlights was when Anna Dancey from NITV provided a clever angle on how to get more brands closer to committing to ‘Beyond 3%’- accessing Reconciliation Action Plan budgets to essentially increase brand’s media budgets. Backing this up with 7.7% prime time metro audience growth means it should be an even easier conversation with clients.
“Perhaps I am biased as a Strategist but my other highlight was Cultural Connect offering ‘SBS Sprints’. These are guided working sessions to help brands and agencies understand how to better connect with their diverse audiences including First Nations and the 5.6 million Aussies who speak a language other than English. This point was made clear throughout and reminded those listening that this is not an ‘or’ choice to include SBS but an ‘and’ incremental extension of a brand’s presence.
“The other big newsworthy moment was a clear commitment to measuring and reducing carbon emissions. SBS announced it is the first Australian broadcaster to have achieved Net Zero on its direct emissions for Scopes 1 and 2. The most ambitious of any broadcaster. As they pointed out, SBS is already demonstrating this leadership position as measured by Nielsen so this proclamation feels believable… time will tell. This announcement also felt necessary if they wanted to maintain their leadership position based on the range of sustainability claims made recently.”
Daniel Cutrone, managing partner, Avenue C, says the SBS Upfront is an annual gathering that celebrates fantastic food, limitless powerful, entertaining and captivating content, all among media friends.
“It’s almost overwhelming, but somehow, we leave with an exhaustive list of programs to add to the ‘watch’ list,” he says.
“Excited by the launch of two initiatives; ‘SBS Ad Control’ which will provide SBS On-Demand subscribers the ability to opt-out of ad messages from Wagering, QSR & alcohol categories, and SBS Solus Impact, which will allow advertisers exclusivity target individuals with greater SOV.
“Unlike the other FTA networks, SBS proudly promote BVOD first, linear second. And rightly so! Their On Demand product is a leader in Australian VOD UX & has bragging rights to 25% commercial share (vs its 10% linear share).
“2024 will include new series of hit programs including A Handmaid’s Tale (final season), Fargo, and Alone Australia. Plus, there is a host of new talent-laden programming to hit the screens with Swift Street, Sherlock’s Daughter and The Doll Factory to name a few. The sporting content continues to focus upon the many cycling competitions, incl. Tour de France, plus many of the lesser telecast sports, such as Volleyball, Badminton. BUT, the big sporting announcement, which was mentioned excitedly and numerous times, revolved around SBS securing of the exclusive broadcast rights of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“But, in true SBS form, that was not all.
“We had updates across NITV, which continues to drive awareness of our industry’s under-investment across our only national network that speaks for and to Indigenous & First Nations people. NITV’s ‘Stories from the Great Southern Land’ promised more content, HD (from December 2023) and even more indigenous language’s represented. Programming is to include Eddie’s little Hero’s, Little J & Big Cuz, Going Places with Ernie Dingo, Our Law, Her Name is Nanny Nellie, The Green Veil (us story of a stollen generation) as well as the highly anticipated: Journey Home: David Gulpilil.
“SBS Food, now records up to 4 million viewers per month, will continue to do what it does best PLUS SBS Audio will continue to be a true National, multi-platform & multi-lingual hub, and will launch Insight Podcast across the new year.
“SBS are leading the way in diversity, inclusion, sustainability, and has challenged the industry to “demand different” and they will deliver.”
Conor Riordan, client director at Kaimera, said SBS invited the Australian media buying community to “demand different” from them in 2024 at their upfronts.
“In a punchy presentation, SBS focused on the things which make their offering so appealing to Australian advertisers, including their audience-first approach to content, UX and ad experience,” he said.
“While factually not a niche offering, reaching 13.9M unique Australians each month, SBS’ content reaches into the niche interests of Australians.
“As the makeup of Australia’s population becomes more and more diverse, SBS is well positioned to continue attracting audiences across those interests. Planners not thinking about these high-value audience niches, often incremental to their standard buys, are missing a trick.
“From a content perspective, we see new and recurring programming across their key content pillars - food, travel, sport and drama. Highlights include the return of Alone for season two, the final season of The Handmaid’s Tale, and retention of the FIFA World Cup for 2026 and the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes until 2030.
“After the result in our most recent referendum, I hope to see advertisers putting their money where their mouths are in supporting the NITV platform, which continues to see YoY audience growth.
“Across UX, improvements to content recommendations on the on-demand platform were spruiked along with a continued commitment to low ad-loads across video content.
“And in a very interesting move, SBS will give more control to their viewers in relation to ad-experience, allowing users of their platforms to opt out of wagering, alcohol and QSR advertising, a likely welcomed innovation for users and advertisers-alike.
“As an advertiser, I’m not about to opt-out but I expect families with young kids at home will be jumping at the chance to avoid all three categories.”
Anna Rudd, OMD Sydney’s group investment director, said SBS has a clear strategy for 2024: Demand Different, an invitation to advertisers and consumers to have high expectations of the Australian media sector.
“SBS has shown they have the guardrails in place to deliver on this statement through their sustainability credentials including already achieving net zero on their direct emissions, as well as a continued focus on responsible advertising,” she said.
“And in a BVOD first, will give consumers improved control over the advertising they consume.
“As always, SBS has a culturally diverse and interesting content line up planned for 2024 with exciting, intriguing and contemporary documentaries, delicious food content, continued growth and investment for NITV as well as supporting underrepresented sports in Australia.
“It’s also exciting to hear that SBS has secured the rights to broadcast the FIFA Men’s 2026 World Cup, marking 40 years of the SBS and FIFA relationship. SBS is an expert in this space with a proven track record of quality coverage and commentators as well as delivering huge audiences across previous World Cups, giving advertisers consistency and security around their investments in this product.
“From a technology perspective, user experience for SBS on Demand is key and announcing SBS Demand Control (allowing viewers the option to opt out of certain genres of advertising on SBS on Demand) takes the current UX further.
“While it may be a small proportion of consumers who take up this option, audiences now have control over not just the content they consume but additionally, the advertising they see on SBS on Demand.
“This ensures a continued positive user experience for both consumers and advertisers,essentially delivering less wastage against audiences that may not be interested in a certain product or category.
“There was also a short announcement on SBS Connect, SBS’s dynamic TV buying platform. To ensure it remains best in class and future proofed, SBS will be tying it in to VOZ and will be rolled out in the new year. This is an important update for media buyers and will be interesting to hear more about the rollout plans for this next year.
“Finally, it would be remiss not to mention SBS’s Solus Impact product, allowing advertisers to run solus ad breaks on SBS on Demand. This is great for cut through and, also pleasingly, SBS announced they can track the carbon impact of a solus ad break through their sustainability partner Scope Three.
“Last year’s upfront theme centred around differentiation with SBS creating a world of difference around investing in brave creators, powerful stories, premium content and ‘doing good’.
“Arguably, the Demand Different strategy for 2024 is not too dissimilar, showing that SBS is a network that knows what it stands for and advertisers can expect consistency from the network, year in and out.
“SBS is not trying to reinvent the wheel, their strategy clearly works, it’s aligned to their business charter, and they are staying true to their roots. SBS is known for only having five minutes of content per hour that aligns with the approach we are seeing from some SAVOD partners in this market.
“SBS is strongly grounded in DE&I, sustainability, cultural inclusion and produce excellent content that culturally reflects contemporary Australia.”
Mollie Cross, trading manager at The Media Store, said as the last broadcaster Upfront on the calendar, SBS didn’t disappoint.
"The set-up alone was different, with food throughout and a more formal – but decidedly less conference-like – setting, they engaged me from the moment I entered the building," she said.
"SBS continues to lead the way on purpose. Not only are they already achieving their NetZero commitment on direct emissions, with their sights set on NetZero indirect emissions by 2045, introducing their responsible advertising opt-out opportunity for on-demand changes the game, handing control back into the hands of the consumer.
"While other media have been touting the value of AI and algorithm-based content recommendations, SBS has opted to keep SBS On Demand decidedly more “discoveration” focused, holding 25% share of commercial BVOD speaks to the success of this approach.
"And while SBS are setting increasingly high standards, they continue to break down barriers, with an increasingly expansive slate of languages supported via their On Demand and Audio platforms, Audio Description is earmarked for improvement, highlighting their commitment to accessibility for all Aussies.
"SBS’ content slate for 2024 proves to be equally impressive. With returning high-impact programming like Das Boot, Fargo, the final season of the beloved The Handmaid’s Tale, and the return of Alone Australia, SBS content remains hard-hitting and appointment-to-view content.
"Beyond entertainment, lifting the lid of human-centered stories continues to form a key pillar of SBS’s strategy, with The Hospital: In the Deep End and Who Do You Think You Are? sitting alongside NITV’s new HD offering. Sport is not forgotten either, with the major cycling events (Tour de France, Tour de Femmes, La Vuelta and Giro d’Italia) all broadcast via SBS alongside badminton and table tennis, among others.
"The announcement of the day was that SBS secured the exclusive rights to the men’s 2026 World Cup, which should garner more eyeballs than previous years thanks to the valiant effort of the Matildas spotlighting soccer this year.
"From an advertising perspective, much is the same. The SBS On Demand solus break will deliver heightened impact and recall in a de-cluttered ecosystem, while the Responsible Advertising opt-out will mean reduced wastage for alcohol, gambling and QSR brands.
"But it’s not what's new that makes SBS stand out. For me, “Demand Different” looks a lot more like consistency, commitment and community; being a broadcaster for all Australians."
Christine Chen, PHD Sydney investment director, says the upfront led with a strong proposition to “Demand Different” that stayed true to SBS' unique position in market.
"Their distinctiveness was weaved throughout the presentation, be it through their focus on sustainability, their market leading BVOD offering or their diverse and premium content slate, heralded by the announcement that they had secured exclusive broadcast rights for the FIFA World Cup 2026," says Chen.
"Unsurprisingly, SBS On Demand continues to be their focus for growth, with an impressive 25% in share across BVOD driving a halo effect to their growing 10% linear TV share – delivering a monthly reach of 13.9m across linear and digital. They reiterated the importance of their lighter ad loads, delivering 26% greater ad recall as well as their strong user experience which will see further development going into 2024.
"The launch of SBS Ad Control in 2024 will offer a unique opportunity to market for consumers to now be able to customise their own advertising experiences across wagering, alcoholic beverages, and quick service restaurant categories. This was promised as a solution to not only drive improved user experience but also minimise wastage for advertisers in those segments, ensuring that content is served to relevant, in market audiences. It will be interesting to see whether their move to put the onus back on consumers to control not only their viewing, but their ad consumption habits will see the rest of the industry follow suit. It is an alternative approach and I would say it would have minimal reduction in audiences due to the opt-out nature.
"SBS has cemented their lead in market through their focus on sustainability, already reaching Net Zero for direct emissions while setting themselves an ambitious target of 2045 for reaching Net Zero across supplier emissions as well. Now also supported by their measurement partnership with Experian to validate the impact of their campaigns through to the path to purchase, this undoubtedly offers a compelling reason for brands to invest in their product.
"The importance of elevating First Nations storytelling continues to be displayed through NITV’s growth over the last decade. SBS have set a clear path for advertisers to operate in this space through the evolution of the Beyond 3% initiative which was rolled out in March 2021. This provides a clear partnership framework to meet brands where they are at in the journey of understanding the role and value of First Nations media within their media campaigns.
"We continue to await the roll out of SBS Connect – their highly anticipated dynamic buying product, currently tied into VOZ’s Total TV approach expected to come next year."
Media analyst Steve Allen, Pearman’s director of strategy & research, found this year’s presentation similar to last year but exhausting.
“Whilst I get SBS wear their multicultural status on their sleeves, the welcome to country and other bits and pieces throughout, overly long and superfluous to what I believe we all were there for," he says. "A lost opportunity.
“Last year I corresponded with their Comms team in wonderment, that sales, AKA Adam Sadler, occupied the smallest by far of the presentation. Happened again this year, and everything Adam said, James Taylor managing director, had already said
“Cannot work out SBS selling strategy as a consequence. Another huge miss(ed opportunity).
“Sustainability/Carbon Footprint/Net Zero a big item, and naturally very worthy, and because SBS is semi government, something they no doubt had to tackle and say. Doubtful it will sway many advertisers, but no doubt of appeal to younger media buyers.
“As to programming, and as a consequence audience prospects, for 2024 it seems SBS have at least as much inventory, if not more, and I believe with some upside i.e. some stronger series programs. This portion of their presentation a success (however the way they pitched it, not so much!)
“SBS probably, in amongst all the smoke and mist of poor presentation strategy, has better prospects for 2024. I made this kind of prediction last year, and at least SBS halved its audience decline of 2022, and did much better than its competitors.”
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.