2003 - 04 Annual Report - Sbs

67Despite increased competition from single language (non-English) radio stations retransmitting large amounts ofoverseas radio broadcasts, SBS Radio sustained its audiences in most key communities. In some communities,listening numbers increased. Radio completed four more in-language independent audience surveys in languages ofthe former Yugoslav republic. Those for Serbian and Croatian showed small audience declines to around 50%, whilethose of Macedonian and Bosnian increased to more than 60%. The top rating ‘mainstream’ radio stations in Sydneyregularly attract only about 10-11% of their potential audiences. Re-surveys in the six major languages – Italian, Greek,Cantonese, Arabic, Vietnamese and Mandarin – were commenced at the end of the financial year. To date, SBS Radiohas conducted 60 in-language surveys across 41 languages.SBS expanded its online presence and there has been significant and consistent audience growth. Traffic to SBSwebsites during the year increased by 35%, the same annual increase recorded for the past four years. Each month inthe second quarter of 2004, the overall SBS Online audience reached 350,000 unique visitors who viewed more thanfive million web pages. In June 2004, a record 5.7 million page impressions were recorded.1.2OBJECTIVE:Increase diversity of our audienceMEASUREMENT:Audience growth in identified demographicsDuring 2003-04, 52% of all programs broadcast on SBS’s principal channel were in languages other than English(LOTE), the same proportion as in 2002-03. An additional 3,005 hours of news programs in LOTE were broadcaston the digital SBS World News Channel during 2003-04. SBS again gave emphasis to programming by and aboutAustralia’s Indigenous people, with drama dominating on screen and major documentary projects, including FirstAustralian Nations, being commissioned for future broadcast.Among women, two of the most popular programs were SBS’s coverage of the Danish royal wedding, and the dramaseries from Austria, Inspector Rex. Younger audiences were drawn to Pizza Live, a satire of cultural stereotyping,and Sandman in Siberia, Steve Abbott’s journey to the land of his forebears. Redressing the traditional underrepresentationof women and younger people in SBS audiences is a key element of the new Corporate Plan.SBS Television does not underestimate the challenge of increasing the size and diversity of its audience. As a resultof changing work and leisure habits and competition from other media, the days of inexorable audience growth forfree-to-air television are over. Within this sector, competition has never been fiercer. Recently, for example, the ABC hasemulated a successful SBS program format (The Movie Show).In 2003-04, SBS demonstrated its commitment to ensuring Australians have access, on free-to-air television, to thebiggest global sporting events by securing complementary coverage of the 2004 Olympic Games (scheduled forAugust) and exclusive rights to the 2006 FIFA World Cup.On 1 July 2003, SBS Radio introduced four new languages to its schedules – Malay, Somali, Amharic and Nepalese.These replaced four languages where the number of speakers in Australia was smaller – Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic,Welsh and Belarusian. The changes gave the four new and emerging communities access to SBS Radio services forthe first time and also increased its potential national pool of listeners by more than 15,000. The schedule changesalso gave additional hours to five languages – Cantonese, Mandarin, Hindi, Filipino and Arabic – where the population