The Special Broadcasting Service – or SBS – is budgeted to spend $380 million in 2018-19, and $1.5 billion over the forward estimates. About $100 million of this is funded through advertising and sales of merchandise, with the balance coming from the Budget. SBS is the fifty-fifth largest Commonwealth expenditure.
SBS currently provides services through traditional free-to-air television broadcast (four channels), radio (AM/FM and digital) and the internet. Services are broadcast predominantly in English but also in a multitude of other languages – over 50 languages in television and 68 in radio.
The costs of SBS services are not publicly available by type of transmission, type of content, or language. The cost of free-to-air transmission is publicly identified, and is subject to a long term contract with Broadcast Australia in partnership with the ABC. The SBS share of this contract is $73 million in 2018-19, or just under 20% of its total funding.
Funding for the SBS declines in real terms over the forward estimates, but nevertheless remains close to its long term average level of funding.
You can choose:Funding for transmission services is subject to a long term contract and is quarantined from potential savings. In the longer term savings from transmission services will be realisable.
The model does not take account of second round effects, such as the impact of funding changes on its ability to generate revenue from advertising or merchandising.