The government has decided against a full-scale relocation of SBS from Artarmon to Western Sydney, instead opting to invest in an additional production hub to expand the broadcaster’s news and current affairs, multilingual audio services, and screen production.
SBS will commence work in early 2025 to explore options for the Western Sydney production facility, with plans to feature a TV studio to host live audiences, radio/podcasting booths, collaboration spaces for talent incubation, and a modest workspace to support production output.
The broadcaster will engage with local councils, education institutions, business and economic development bodies in the region to progress the project, which is subject to the completion of a business case.
As per an announcement from Communications Minister Michelle Rowland, the hub will enable SBS to deliver approximately 360 hours per year of new first-run Australian screen content and 1,440 hours per year of original audio and podcast content – including multilingual content.
It comes after the government commissioned a feasibility study last year into the relocation of SBS from its headquarters in Artarmon to Western Sydney, an option it has now shelved due to the “significant costs” involved.
In a statement, Rowland thanked the SBS Board and management for proposing the alternative project.
“SBS connects with multilingual, multicultural, and First Nations communities, including in Western Sydney, and is vital to bringing diverse voices to Australian audiences,” she said.
“The Albanese Government is committed to growing and supporting SBS and to ensuring its unique value benefits all Australians.”
SBS board chair George Savvides said expanding SBS’s storytelling capability and infrastructure tied in well with the broadcaster’s 50th anniversary next year.
“When SBS makes content with communities, especially those who are under-represented in the Australian media, those communities feel more included in society,” he said.
“The SBS Board is delighted at the opportunity to embed SBS within Western Sydney, and to keep growing SBS’s contribution to social cohesion through community access to trusted, impartial media and even greater opportunities for local communities to be part of our diverse storytelling.”
Fellow public broadcaster ABC reached a new milestone with its own Western Sydney project on the weekend, with ABC NEWS broadcasting its NSW 7PM News bulletin from the Parramatta studios on Sunday.
ABC Parramatta – located at 6-8 Parramatta Square – will house presenters and journalists from ABC Sydney, ABC News, and ABC RN as part of a five-year plan to see 75 per cent of content makers working outside the Ultimo head office by 2025.