Free-to-air multilingual service, SBS, has announced it will launch two new locally produced primetime news bulletins in Arabic and Mandarin in 2022.
The programs will be part of SBS’ new free-to-air channel, SBS WorldWatch, which will focus on news bulletins from around the world in more than 30 languages.
The new 30-minute Arabic and Mandarin language news programs – titled SBS عربي News and SBS 中文 News – will be broadcasted every weeknight, and will provide Australia’s extensive Arabic and Chinese communities with trusted coverage, context and insight into the major national and international stories of the day.
The programs will be produced and presented by SBS journalists for an Australian audience, and will premiere on SBS’s On Demand service in January, ahead of the new channel launch.
The initiatives build on SBS’s already extensive multilingual services, which include news and information programs in more than 60 languages across SBS Radio services, podcasting, and digital platforms.
The new programs also follow the introduction of SBS 中文, which was launched earlier this year as a dedicated digital service for Australia’s Mandarin- and Cantonese-speaking communities.
SBS Managing Director, James Taylor, said the expansion of SBS’s multilingual offering is an exciting opportunity to build on the network’s unrivalled services for the one in five Australians who – according to the 2016 Australian Census – speak a language other than English at home.
“Since it was established, SBS has been providing opportunities for Australians to connect with news, information and entertainment in their preferred language,” he said.
“That connection supports a strong sense of belonging and inclusion in our increasingly diverse and complex multicultural society.
“The launch of a free-to-air multilingual news channel, along with the creation of new TV news bulletins in Arabic and Mandarin tailored to the needs of these communities in Australia, demonstrates our commitment to the core, critical and unparalleled services that SBS provides.”
SBS Director of News and Current Affairs, Mandi Wicks, added that SBS’s 2022 offerings cement the network as Australian audience’s most comprehensive provider of global news and current affairs.
“SBS is uniquely placed to reach and engage the many Australians who speak a language other than English, and our truly global newsroom is a real point of difference in the media landscape,” she said.
“In 2022, we’re thrilled to be increasing our commitment to more multilingual news through a new, dedicated channel, as well as adding bespoke SBS news programs for two of the nation’s largest and fastest growing language groups, Arabic and Mandarin.
“Ensuring access to relevant, up-to-date news and information for all Australians promotes civic, cultural and social participation, which is at the heart of our purpose.”
When launched, the new free-to-air channel – which will be SBS’ sixth free-to-air service – will become a destination for the SBS Arabic and SBS Mandarin TV news services, in addition to many of the multilingual TV news bulletins from around the world, which are currently broadcast on SBS and SBS VICELAND.
The free-to-air channel is also adding more bulletins to its already extensive collection, with all programs to be available on SBS On Demand.
SBS will share further details about the new channel in 2022. They will also provide audiences with more information about how to access the news in their language.
