Celebrating 50 Years of SBS: A Look at Australia's Multicultural Broadcaster

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It all started in the year 1975. Two radio stations, then known as 2EA in Sydney and 3EA in Melbourne, went to air for the first time.

Broadcasting began in seven languages on 2EA and eight languages on 3EA, with the first ever broadcast in Greek.

“SBS has been a constant companion of multiculturalism in Australia,” SBS Managing Director James Taylor said.

“It was born of an idea of the Whitlam government and implemented by the Fraser government in 1975, and at the time Fraser spoke of multiculturalism being not an act of passivity, but an act of active engagement.

“I think SBS … actively embraces the idea of multiculturalism, helps all Australians — whether you’re members of the oldest continuous culture on Earth or some of the newest Australians — really feel part of this extraordinary story of difference and collegiality and compassion for one another.”

A group of six broadcasters inside the broadcast studio.

SBS began in 1975 as two ethnic radio stations: 2EA in Sydney and 3EA in Melbourne. Source: SBS News

Domenico Gentile has been a journalist with the Italian program since 1977.

“We had 15 minutes for news, and then the other 30 minutes were designed to inform the community,” Gentile recalls.

“We were lucky because all of the prime ministers had been our guests, the ministers for immigration were regularly our guests, the premiers, the Ethnic Affairs Commission and so on.”

A journalist sitting in a studio. In front of him is a microphone that says "SBS Audio".

Domenico Gentile from SBS Italian Credit: SBS.

Gentile sums up the impact of SBS in one word: “Immense”.

“We brought together ethnic communities because we didn’t create a division with them, but we united them because that was what we had to do — cohesion,” he said.

“We had to make sure that the experiment that was started on 9 June 1975 was going to be successful because we needed this radio station, this broadcasting station.”

A man at a wildlife park holding a microphone in front of some lorikeets that are eating food from a plate being held by another person.

Domenico Gentile collecting sound effects for a special program produced in collaboration with Italian broadcaster, RAI. Credit: Supplied.

Bringing audiences a slice of home, SBS has long been the champion of football.

“If you would’ve gone on air without mentioning football, you would’ve had a riot outside the station,” Gentile said.

“I can guarantee you that football has been our lucky charm.”

Two men posing for a photo. They are laying on the ground at an oval and are sticking their heads through a prop that looks like a television. One is holding a microphone and there is a soccer ball on top of the prop.

Johnny Warren and Les Murray were iconic figures in Australian football and on SBS. Source: SBS News

‘A sense of belonging’

Joe Axiaq started with the Maltese program in the late 1980s.

“To switch on the radio and all of a sudden you hear your language, and you hear your music, oh, that was out of this world,” he said.

“The [Maltese] community had been here for a while … from the late 1970s until now, the number of people that actually arrived in Australia were not huge numbers. They arrived in the 1950s and 1960s after World War Two.

“You had this community which was established here in Australia, and all of a sudden they realised, ‘I’m not the only Maltese in Australia’, there are hundreds, there are thousands …. they started going to these events and they started meeting each other, so [SBS Radio] was a big influence on the Maltese community.”

A man smiling as he looks at photos while sitting at a table.

Joe Axiaq from SBS Maltese arrived in Australia in the late 1970s. Credit: SBS.

He says this connection to the community and between community members formed a strong attachment to the program for many.

“There is this sense of belonging. This is ‘our’ radio station, this is ‘our’ program.”

Joe Axiaq broadcasting on Melbourne’s 3EA. Credit: SBS.

The introduction of television

SBS television launched in 1980. Today, SBS is a multi-platform media organisation with a free-to-air service spanning six channels: SBS, NITV, SBS Viceland, SBS Food, SBS World Movies and SBS World Watch — as well as its digital offerings on SBS On Demand.

“We are Australia’s most trusted news service. This is a really important foundation for public broadcasting,” Taylor said.

“We’ve got a really strong focus on being impartial, on sharing a pluralistic set of views with audiences — not telling them what to think, but giving them information so that they can make their own informed choices.

“We are the podcaster of the year, three years in a row.”

50 years of SBS: More than simply sexy movies and soccer REDO image

SBS has been telling First Nations stories all along — whether on radio or television, in news and current affairs.

NITV joined SBS in 2012, with its first broadcast from Uluru.

“Indigenous stories, it’s just so important that we tell them, and this for the first time opened the door to be able to bring broader Australia along the journey with us,” said Natalie Ahmat, NITV Presenter and SBS’s Head of Indigenous News and Current Affairs.

“Particularly multicultural and new Australians are hungry for these stories and really want to learn more about the First Peoples of the country that they’ve come to call home.”

A woman smiling as she poses for a photo.

NITV presenter Natalie Ahmat at the Garma Festival.

50 years on, SBS Audio broadcasts in more than 60 languages, chosen on a needs-basis, informed by the census.

One of the new additions, SBS Malay, was created in 2023.

“In the past 10 years, there has been an influx of younger semi-skilled and non-skilled Malaysian migrants coming to Australia to seek a better life,” SBS Malay’s Zaini Ahmad said.

“They get exploited and they have very little or no English and they really need SBS Malay to navigate their way through their new homeland.”

Zaini Ahmad from SBS Malay. Credit: SBS

In 2025, SBS holds a unique place in the Australian media landscape.

“Next year, in the middle of the year, we get to bring the world’s largest sporting event to Australians, again, which is the FIFA Men’s World Cup — over 100 matches exclusively on SBS through SBS television and On Demand,” Taylor said.

“And over the next year, we’re working on a business case to government to create a production presence and talent incubator in Western Sydney.

“It’s a really great opportunity for us to move to the next stage of this project to deliver a production presence, to allow us to make thousands of hours more content and to engage with young content creators in this incredibly vibrant part of Australia.”

As Australia’s most diverse broadcaster, SBS aims to inspire all Australians to explore, respect and celebrate our diverse world and in doing so, promote an inclusive and cohesive society.

There are exciting plans to bring even more distinct SBS content and storytelling to your screens and devices, at home or on the go.

Your stories have shaped SBS for half a century. Together, we’re just getting started. Join us as we celebrate 50 years of belonging on our SBS50 portal and SBS50 content hub.