By Travis Johnson
SBS Viceland will be filling in the slot on the spectrum previously occupied by SBS 2 from November 16, 2016, it has been announced. Although the channel will be owned and operated by SBS, the key change – and attraction – will be the inclusion of extensive programming from Viceland, the US-based lifestyle and documentary channel honchoed by Spike Jonze. This is in addition to extant SBS programming, with the whole shebang covering culture, music, sports, fashion, technology.
Back in June, SBS’s Michael Ebeid said “Exploring diversity through culture is at the heart of SBS’s purpose and we are excited to be partnering with VICE to bring some of the best available content from across the world, never before seen in Australia, in documentary, journalism and inspiring entertainment, free to all Australians on SBS channels and platforms.”
There’s precedent being set here, of course, with SBS being the first public broadcaster to enter into this kind of commercial relationship with a for-profit organisation (the ABC’s de facto position as a colony of the BBC until the late ’90s notwithstanding). The question is whether the partnership is exclusive, and what strictures SBS might be under in terms of producing their own content for the channel as well as licensing content from other providers.
In the meantime, marketing has kicked off across the SBS network as of today. Lo!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rryv7G6bwhw
