AnnuAl REPORT 2011-2012 - Sbs

Goal 1: Objective 1.1
To be a catalyst for the national discussion about
multiculturalism and social inclusion
once Upon a Time in Cabramatta
SbS commissioned Once Upon a time in cabramatta
in 2010–11. it aired in three-parts in january 2012.
this landmark history series explored the story of
vietnamese migration to Australia following the
vietnam War.
commissioned by SbS and produced by Northern
Pictures and Fredbird entertainment, Once Upon a time
in cabramatta charted the experiences of a vietnamese
community which settled in the western Sydney suburb
of cabramatta.
the series told the story of how the community overcame
adversity and immense challenges to find their place with
Australia’s multicultural society.
in a first for Australian broadcasting, the series was
simulcast in two languages – on SbS ONe in english
and with vietnamese subtitles on SbS tWO.
Once Upon a time in cabramatta was a significant
audience success for SbS, attracting an average national
audience per episode of 637,000 viewers (504,000 metro;
133,000 regional) on SbS ONe and 49,000 national viewers
(32,000 metro; 17,000 regional) on SbS tWO.
the first episode attracted an average audience of 716,000
(674,000 on SbS ONe and 42,000 on SbS tWO), making
it the second highest metro audience for any commissioned
documentary for SbS since OztAM ratings began in 2001.*
On social media site twitter, episode one trended number
two and four globally, the series was referred to by
media commentators and in the Australian Senate as
an important contribution to multicultural social cohesion.
Once Upon a time in cabramatta also featured a major
cross-platform component. the SbS vietnamese Radio
language program hosted talkback discussions before
and after broadcast and SbS Online commissioned
unique content for the website.
in addition, SbS’s Outreach program which seeks to
maximise the public value of SbS series, in partnership
with information + cultural exchange engaged with the
community on the series including through moderated
community screenings and the gathering of community
stories at an SbS street cart.
the SbS DvD for this program featured our first-ever
bilingual DvD sleeve in english and vietnamese.
Who Do You Think You are?
the fourth series of Who Do You think You Are? was
only the second series to be broadcast during the ratings
season, and was a significant success for SbS.
Who Do You think You Are? averaged 732,000 national
viewers. the metro average of 525,000 was above series
two in 2009 (397,000).*
the series featured well-known Australian actors Melissa
George, vince colosimo and john Wood as well as
prominent media identity Kerry O’brien, comedian Shaun
Micallef and Aboriginal footballer Michael O’Loughlin.
Shaun Micallef unravelled his father’s childhood wartime
story in Malta, Kerry O’brien followed his family’s trail
from ireland to Australia, and vince colosimo uncovered
his family’s past in calabria, in the south of italy. Melissa
George uncovered the story of her grandparents’ arrival
in Australian as child migrants. john Wood investigated
his father’s imprisonment in a Prisoner of War camp in
the Second Wold War and traced his great grandfather
back to Sweden. in the final episode, Michael O’Loughlin
traced the bloodlines of his family in South Australia.
the highest rating episode featured Kerry O’brien,
attracting an average national audience of 945,000 viewers.
Who Do You think You Are? series five will be broadcast
in 2013.
SBS CQ: Cultural Intelligence
in 2011–12, SbS launched SbS cQ: cultural
intelligence,** a forum series and online resource around
media practice, particularly as it relates to Australian
cultural diversity. cQ draws on research, commentary and
a range of views to take debates further around the ways
media reflects, shapes and interprets our society.
ideas are the currency of any media organisation.
SbS seeks to contribute to the national conversation
with intelligent debate, an accessible approach to new
research and an opportunity to reflect on media practices.
* OZtAM – 5 city Metro; RegtAM – Aggregated Regional excl.WA; consolidated.
** cultural intelligence (or cultural Quotient, cQ) describes the capacity to bridge or benefit from cultural complexity.
28 SBS