SBS's blog

SBS has cemented itself as the home of football securing the exclusive Australian television broadcast rights to the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups™.

SBS is already the exclusive broadcast rights holder to the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ in Brazil.

“SBS has a long and proud association with football and with the FIFA World Cup™ having been the official broadcaster since 1986,” SBS Managing Director Michael Ebeid said.

“It is our dedication to football and to giving the most comprehensive live and free-to-air television coverage in Australia that cemented our bid.

“SBS has been the spiritual home of football for the past 30 years and this new deal with FIFA ensures that the greatest of all sporting events – the FIFA World Cup™, will remain on SBS until at least 2022.

“A dedicated bid team at SBS has been working hard over many months to shore up this deal and I congratulate them for ensuring the long-standing partnership between SBS and FIFA continues for the next decade.”

The 2018 tournament will be hosted by Russia with the 2022 edition being hosted in the Middle East for the first time, with Qatar handed that honour.

“We are particularly pleased with the development of our media rights and the reach of our events,” Director of FIFA’s TV Division Niclas Ericson said.

“For every cycle we are reaching more fans than ever, and with the channels and media platforms of SBS we remain in very good hands for the 2015-2022 period.”

As the broadcast partner for the past seven FIFA World Cups, and the 2014 event, SBS has brought the world’s biggest sporting event to life for Australian audiences.

“This is fantastic news for football fans and a great coup for SBS,” Ken Shipp, SBS Head of Sport, said.

“We can only build on this and expand in areas like The World Game mobile app.

SBS’s successful bid is also well-deserved acknowledgement of our passion, dedication and football expertise which is unrivalled in Australia.

Thursday, April 15 at 8.00pm on SBS

The last of the series which follows the extraordinary lives of the UK’s offshore fishermen as they do the most dangerous job in Britain. Jimmy, skipper of the prawn boat Amity, is a hundred miles offshore fishing in one of the most hazardous areas of the North Sea, The Devil’s Hole. The engines which bring in his nets are on the brink of failing. If they stop altogether, then he’ll have to cut loose his nets, worth £30,000, and return to port with no prawns and no pay. 80 miles away, new recruit 17 year old Ryan, is desperate to impress the boss, skipper Kevin West. Time is running out for Ryan who is desperate to show that he’s tough enough for the job.

Thursday, April 8 at 8.00pm on SBS

Offshore fishing, the most dangerous job in Britain, has a problem when it comes to getting new recruits. But 17 year old Ryan wants to take up the challenge. He sets out on his first trip on one of the most successful pair trawlers in Britain as they head into the rough Norwegian waters looking for Cod and Haddock. If he doesn’t work hard and impress the skipper, Kevin West, he’ll be looking for a new job when they come back to port. Elsewhere, skipper Jimmy Buchan on Amity has had to shift grounds and return to the Devil’s Hole, one of the most hazardous fishing areas in the North Sea. One unlucky trawl could at worse put his crew and boat in jeopardy, at best could mean the loss of his nets. And John Buchan, skipper of Ocean Venture returns to port with his deep water catch. He’s got to get top prices to pay for the boat and the crew, but the market is full and he’s facing a lot of competition.

Thursday, April 1 at 8.00pm on SBS

Ocean Venture has headed north and are fishing at The Edge, only 150 miles south of the Arctic Circle. Having failed to catch enough fish, skipper John Buchan is taking a huge risk in the deep and treacherous waters of the North Atlantic in a bid to find the perfect catch that will make it all worth while. With the previous night’s storm over, Amity gets back to the business of trying to catch prawns. Skipper Jimmy Buchan and his crew are getting desperate. They’ve been at sea nearly a week and have nothing to show for their efforts except some ripped nets. For a while the fishing is good but as the catches pick up they face a more serious set-back to their trip. But Fruitful Bough, the competition, are filling their hold and are on their way home. The question is, will the get a good enough price at market to give the crew a decent wage?

Saturday March 28 at 7.30pm on SBS

On Saturday March 28 at 7.30pm, join the inventors of Prototype This as they attempt to find a cure for road rage. Road rage is the cause of over twelve thousand automobile accidents each year.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the US, sixty six percent of traffic fatalities are caused by aggressive driving. That figure is enough incentive for the team of inventors to create an automobile that will prevent driving, if it senses the driver is becoming agitated and aggressive.

In order to do this, the automobile itself must be able to sense tension from the driver, so with the help of scientists at Emotiv Engineering, the inventors began to research the concept of biofeedback technology. Biofeedback technology is a system of electromagnetic circuits that is wired to brainwaves and connected to several sensory areas throughout the body. Once connected, the technology records the levels of perspiration on the fingertips, heart rate and breathing patterns and presents the data for analysis.

After finding the technology they needed to decipher stress and tension, the Prototype This team had to figure out a way in which this info could trigger the engine and transmission of a car. The car and the readings must be connected on a similar electronic frequency so they could work in parallel.

With the help of several electronic engineers, computer coding the system was the easiest solution, and after hours of laborious work, the connection between the biofeedback technology and automobile was complete.

To test the success of this prototype, the team of inventors decides to let loose and have themselves a demolition derby. Each inventor was actually controlling the automobile from a virtual pseudo car on the side of the track, but would the cars stop using their emotion?

Wednesday, March 25 at 8.00pm on SBS

Fishermen fear nothing more than the power of the sea, especially during a Force 10 winter storm and Jimmy Buchan, skipper of the prawn trawler Amity, is no exception. He has just hours to decide whether to run through the storm to their home port 100 Miles away or try and ride out the storm and hope for the best. Fruitful Bough, another prawn boat, is also wondering what to do – should they face the mountainous seas and gale force winds or lose vital fishing time by taking shelter in the Shetland Islands? Away from the storm, the whitefish boat Ocean Venture isn’t catching any valuable haddock. All they’re hauling up is cut-price coley and skipper John Buchan is in danger of losing the confidence of his crew. To regain their trust he must make some very tough choices.

Saturday March 21 at 7:30pm on SBS

New Series

On Saturday March 21 at 7.30pm, the Prototype This gang attempt what could be their most challenging assignment all season. In this episode, the team set out to revolutionise modern day lifesaving. According to the US Lifesaving Association, sixty to eighty percent of beaches are unguarded, with many people swimming at their own risk. This week, the guys aim to provide the coasts with lifesaving security that does not require an actual lifeguard to be present.

The first step was brainstorming ideas for getting a lifesaving device out to a swimmer in distress. Immediately, the team came up with two ideas. The first is a remote controlled plane that flies high over the water with an eight foot wingspan, and has the ability to carry up to three times its own weight. The second idea was to construct an air cannon that could use air pressure to fire the inflatable lifesaving device out over the water.

But things are not as easy as they seem, and almost immediately problems began to surface. It seemed the electronically programmed plane was having issues taking off with the amount of weight attached to it. Adding length to the runway, and attaching a rather large rocket for momentum seemed to correct the problem.

As for the cannon, battling the wind to get a consistent landing estimate was no easy task because the cannon sought the exact location and had to change its coordinates to reach its target. It seemed the barrel was throwing off the precise landing by moving slightly in either direction. Once again, the inventors put their skills together to program the cannon to remain completely still during firing

After watching the US Coast Guard show off their lifesaving skills with pin-point accuracy, the inventors were ready to try out their new inventions. After all tests are completed and every kink in the system has been completely ironed out, the team sends out a swimmer for a mock rescue with the GPS location device strapped comfortably to his arm.

Could an electronically programmed air cannon and a rocket propelled airplane delivering a flotation device really save a life?

March 18 at 8.30pm on SBS

Join Bruce Parry as he embarks on another series of adventures exploring life in the world’s most secluded areas.

In episode 4 of the series, Bruce ventures deep into the heart of Eastern Africa just south of Mt.Kilimanjaro. There, he meets the indigenous tribe, Akie.

The Akie tribe was regrettably pushed out of the rich hunting land by the much more powerful Maasai tribe. Because of this, the Akie are very weary of new faces and refuse to accept a stranger’s presence without them proving themselves as both a peacemaker and a brave hunter.

Despite the joyful welcoming, Parry had a touch initiation before the Akie would allow him to live and work within their community. Under the hot sun, Parry assisted in game hunting in the open plains of Africa and captured honey from the deep crevices of bee hive covered tree trunks. At sunset, he participated in Akie rituals including sniffing “snuff” and tobacco products long into the night to try to prove himself as a trustworthy member of the tribe.

The next morning from sunset, Parry followed the tribe hunters as they searched for some form of meat to replenish the people of the village. He learns that even facing a drought and no food, the Akie tribe remained optimistic and still managed to smile in when times were tough.

After spending several days immersing himself deep into the culture of the Akie tribe, Parry learned the values of hard work and kinship and believed that many could learn from their approach to life.

Wednesday March 18 at 8.30pm on SBS

In this episode of Tribe, Bruce journeys to the villages of Laya and Lunana in the Bhutanese Himalayas. Bhutan is situated between India, China and Tibet and is home to some of the highest, and most remote human settlements on earth.

Bruce decides to break up his time with the Laya people and their neighbours, the Lunana Tribe. The divide between the two groups goes much deeper then the huge mountains of the Himalayas that separates them. A strong rift exists between the two communities with cultural differences that extend to dialect, traditional dress and rituals.

Bruce decides to spend some time first of all with the Laya people and then make the gruelling trek to Luana.

The Layaps and the Lunaps, are both semi-nomadic yak herders who spend time between the villages and the high altitude yak herding camps.

The villages and yak camps cling to the sides of immense river valleys and reach altitudes of 6,000m where resources are few and hardiness is a pre-requisite for survival.

After spending time with the Laya’s spiritual leader, the time comes for Bruce to start his journey to live amongst the Luana tribe. He sets off with some Layap men and a herd ofl yaks who will take him over the mountains when he will be met by the Lunaps.

But the journey is compromised after heavy snow prevents the yaks from treking through the difficult terrain. After days of gruelling efforts trying to create a path through the thick snow, Bruce and his travelling companions are forced to return to the village.

The disappointment of the journey is quickly forgotten when Bruce is treated to festival full of colour, spirituality, food and culture.

Whether we sit down to eat a hearty fish pie at home or tuck in to fish and chips from the local takeaway, we give little thought to how the food came from the sea to our plates. It never occurs to us that what we’re enjoying has only been made possible by men who risk their lives in one of the most dangerous professions going, a profession which every year sees 20 men die in Britain alone.

Trawlermen, is a high energy, high adventure observational documentary series, which follows the fortunes of crews who fish for everything from cod and haddock to prawns and monkfish, in some of the most dangerous waters around Britain. The five part series begins on SBS on Wednesday March 18, at 8pm.

Setting sail from the historic harbour of Peterhead in Northeast Scotland, the crews battle the arctic waters of the North Sea and the North Atlantic, where 30 foot waves are commonplace and Force 10 storms an unremarkable event.

Trawlermen offers high action, emotional drama as men pit their wits against sea and nature to bring home food for our tables and wages for their families. They are truly the last great hunters of the wild.