SBS will hold their first radio review in almost 20 years, and the Greek community is being urged to participate in the consultation process – that SBS plans to conduct – to determine the language radio programs.

As it stands, the Greek language program is broadcast twice a day – one hour every morning and one hour every evening, but this may change after the review.

Australia’s multicultural broadcaster is seeking community consultation to broaden their radio programming to meet the needs of the changing population in Australia.
The last major reschedule of SBS’s radio program was conducted in 1994 – with some minor changes in 2003. Since then, the migrant landscape of Australia has changed significantly and new languages are spoken with the community.

The Director of SBS’s Audio and Language Content Dirk Anthony says SBS will be devising a set of criteria to select the languages it will broadcast in analogue and digital radio.

In April, there will be a widespread community consultation on the review, with members of the public able to submit their views online through a consultation website, as well as via the post.

During this time, Greek Australians, individuals and organisations are encouraged to express their views.

Community leaders have stated that is of paramount importance the Greek language retains the same hours it is currently allocated.

SBS will assess the community feedback during May and look at how it can implement the new schedule based on the triennial funding the broadcaster receives in this year’s federal budget. SBS will also rely on census data and migration statistics to shape its review.

There will also be greater attention paid to communities with higher numbers of recent arrivals, those with higher levels of unemployment and poorer levels of English language proficiency.

SBS broadcasts programs in over 60 different languages, including English, making it one of the most linguistically diverse broadcaster in the world. And now, SBS is seeking to increase its reach by broadcasting to new and emerging migrant communities and expand its use of digital media platforms to do so.

In 1975, founder of Neos Kosmos, Dimitri Gogos, was issued with the first licence of SBS radio – then 3EA – by the then Minister for Immigration Al Grasby.