This contains colour coded graphs and is best printed in colour. Programs on SBS survey 2018 SaveOurSBS.org A0051182D supporters & friends of SBS Save Our SBS Inc Save Our SBS Inc PO Box 2122 Mt Waverley VIC 3149 ph: 03 9008 0644 www.SaveOurSBS.org [email protected] 12 June 2018 Programs on SBS survey 2018 Executive summary The Programs on SBS survey 2018 is the fourth in the series of periodic surveys undertaken about SBS. This was a Google Forms survey. The first Google Forms survey (n = 1176) was Survey 2017 about SBS. The earlier (non Google Forms) surveys were conducted in 2013: A study of 2044 viewers of SBS television on advertising, Charter, relevance and other matters (n = 2044); and 2008: One Minute Survey (n = 1733). In mid May 2018, 1249 people took part in this online Google Forms Programs on SBS survey 2018 . The survey was open nation-wide to anyone with internet access. Across all four surveys, four different cohorts totalling 6202 SBS viewers nationally have been surveyed in every State and Territory. The data collated here is conveyed in easy to read colour coded graphs. The survey asked questions in five categories: Program content; Program titles; SBS platforms; Competition; and Advertising. SaveOurSBS.org supporters & friends of SBS page 2 of 82 Key points Of the 1249 people who participated in the survey– Most thought SBS to be a valuable public service (range per SBS outlet/platform: 58% to 88%). Almost three-quarters (70%) said SBS currently has insufficient niche programming and 69% said the programs on SBS are now of the type expected on commercial broadcasters rather than a public broadcaster compared to more than 10 years ago. Submitted titles of programs on SBS were evaluated by participants (1 : 1.2) as programs expected on channel 7, 9, or 10 : fitting for SBS. Many in the category of programs expected on channel 7, 9, or 10, had been televised by SBS in primetime. A little more than half (52%) said SBS now competes with commercial broadcasters. More than two-thirds (69%) believe SBS has a competitive advantage over commercial broadcasters purely by the fact that SBS carries advertising on top of it being largely publicly funded. This finding is a measurement of a principle, not an endorsement of advertising on SBS. The majority of comments centre around the disapproval of advertising on SBS which viewers now see as significantly impacting on content in a manner detrimental to the purposes of SBS and public broadcasting. Overall, viewers are supportive of the institution of SBS but disapprove of advertising on the public broadcaster, especially the in-program commercial breaks, and current SBS commercial practices. Breakdowns of the above and more are covered in detail in the pages that follow. Save Our SBS Inc SaveOurSBS.org supporters & friends of SBS page 3 of 82 CONTENTS PROGRAMS ON SBS SURVEY 2018 ................................................................................................................... 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................................... 2 PROGRAMS ON SBS SURVEY 2018 (FINDINGS) ................................................................................................. 5 PROGRAM CONTENT ................................................................................................................................................ 6 PROGRAM TITLES .................................................................................................................................................... 8 SBS PLATFORMS ..................................................................................................................................................... 9 COMPETITION ....................................................................................................................................................... 11 ADVERTISING ........................................................................................................................................................ 12 DEMOGRAPHICS OF SURVEY PARTICIPANTS ................................................................................................................. 13 APPENDIX A TITLES ................................................................................................................................................ 14 APPENDIX B COMMENTS ......................................................................................................................................... 28 QUESTIONS .................................................................................................................................................... 80 PUBLICATION ................................................................................................................................................. 81 SaveOurSBS.org supporters & friends of SBS page 4 of 82 Programs on SBS survey 2018 (findings) 1249 survey participants. Google Forms survey conducted online mid May 2018. All findings in the charts and graphs are expressed as a percentage (%) of the total number of participants. SaveOurSBS.org supporters & friends of SBS page 5 of 82 Program content ● Comparing the current period (of SBS interrupting every program with mu ltiple commercial br eaks) to the period of more than 10 years ago (wh en advertisements were b etween programs only), is the over all program content on SBS now of the type you would expect to see on a commercial or public broad caster, compared to more than 10 years ago? → Commercial → Public → Undecided Assessment of overall program content type on SBS now compared to 10+ years ago 19% 69% Now more commercial broadcaster type programs 12% Undecided Now more public broadcaster type programs SaveOurSBS.org supporters & friends of SBS page 6 of 82 ● Comparing the current period (of SBS interrupting every program with mu ltiple commercial br eaks) to the period of more than 10 years ago (wh en advertisements were b etween programs only), in your view, does SBS-TV now provide sufficient or insufficient niche programming – of the type not available on the ABC or commercial networks – compared to more than 10 years ago? → Insufficient → Sufficient → Undecided Evaluation of niche programming on SBS 70% Insufficient niche programs 20% Sufficient niche programs 10% Undecided SaveOurSBS.org supporters & friends of SBS page 7 of 82 Program titles ● Thinking of recent years, name the TITLES of programs or movies on SBS that seemed like the typ e you would expect to see on channel 7, 9, or 10 – not SBS → Type answers in text box ● Thinking of recent years, name the TITLES of programs or movies on SBS that seemed fitting for SBS – compliant with SBS's Charter goo.gl/Oz5O4L → Type answers in text box Programs and movies on SBS evaluated as... 45% ... fitting for SBS 55% ... the type expected on channel 7, 9, or 10 – not SBS The text of the SBS Charter was provided to all survey participants. See Appendix A SaveOurSBS.org supporters & friends of SBS page 8 of 82 SBS platforms ● Tick any number of boxes to indicate which SBS outlets have a high proportion of commercially oriented programs:- → SBS’s primary TV chann el → VICELAND → The Food Network → NITV → SBS On Demand Measure of survey participants identifying SBS outlets with a high proportion of commercially oriented programs SBS's primary TV channel 63% VICELAND 52% 48% The Food Network 21% NITV 7% SBS On Demand SaveOurSBS.org supporters & friends of SBS page 9 of 82 ● Does SBS television fulfil a valuab le public service? → Yes → No → I do not wish to comment ● Does SBS On Demand fulfil a valuab le pub lic service? → Yes → No → I do not wish to comment ● Do SBS digital services (website and apps) provide a valu able public service? → Yes → No → I do not wish to comment ● Does SBS Radio fulfil a valu able public service? → Yes → No → I do not wish to comment Value of SBS services 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% Positive score 40% Negative score 30% No comment 20% 10% 0% SBS-TV SBS On Demand SBS digital SBS Radio services (website and apps) SaveOurSBS.org supporters & friends of SBS page 10 of 82 Competition ● In your view, does SBS appear to compete with, or complement commercial broadcasters? → Compete → Complement → I do not wish to comment SBS competes/complements commercial broadcasters 7% 41% SBS complements SBS competes No comment 52% SaveOurSBS.org supporters & friends of SBS page 11 of 82 Advertising ● As SBS is largely publicly funded and commercial broadcasters ar e not, does SBS have a comp etitive advantage or disadvantage in carrying advertising? → Advantage → Neither advantage nor disadvantage → Disadvantage Measure of competitive advantage/disadvantage principle: SBS/commercial sector - given SBS has advertising on top of public funding 11% 69% SBS advantage 20% SBS disadvantage Neither advantage nor disadvantage The finding above does not imply endorsement of advertising on SBS. SaveOurSBS.org supporters & friends of SBS page 12 of 82 Demographics of survey participants State & Territory breakdown of survey participants 36% NSW 5% ACT 24% VIC 15% QLD 8% SA 8% WA 3% TAS 1% NT SaveOurSBS.org supporters & friends of SBS page 13 of 82 Appendix A titles Survey participants were provided with the SBS Charter and asked to list programs televised on SBS that were either– ‘fitting for SBS’ (denoted with a tick in the table below), or ‘of the type expected on channel 7, 9, or 10 – not SBS’ (denoted with a cross