in brief
- SBS WorldWatch will move exclusively to SBS On Demand in September.
- The service will continue on SBS On Demand with additional bulletins.
SBS WorldWatch will soon become a digital-only service, ending its run as a broadcast television channel.
The multilingual news service, which provides news bulletins from international broadcasters, will move entirely to SBS On Demand.
SBS says the shift will allow it to increase the number of bulletins available in most languages.
SBS WorldWatch to move online only
From 18 September, the channel, which provides international news in 38 languages from 49 broadcasters worldwide, will cease broadcasting and all SBS WorldWatch programming will continue on SBS On Demand.
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
As the channel closes, SBS WorldWatch will expand its existing digital service over the coming weeks to include two or more daily bulletins in most languages.
This is more content than could be accommodated on a single linear channel, SBS says, allowing audiences to watch bulletins as soon as they become available rather than waiting for a scheduled broadcast.
SBS On Demand also features two 24-hour FAST channels for English-language news — Euronews and France 24.
SBS Director of News and Current Affairs, Mandi Wicks, said SBS WorldWatch played an important role in connecting Australians with news and perspectives from around the world, in their preferred language.
“Moving to SBS On Demand gives us the opportunity to build on that service, with more international news bulletins and greater flexibility for audiences to decide when and how they watch,” she said.
“We recognise this will be a change for some audiences who are accustomed to watching SBS WorldWatch on linear television. We’re committed to supporting them through the transition, while continuing to evolve our services for the future.”
Preparing for the SBS WorldWatch transition
SBS is providing multilingual information and guidance through SBS Audio language programs and on SBS WorldWatch channel 35 ahead of the change.
Further information is available here, with additional support available via the SBS Help Centre.
The SBS WorldWatch — News In-Language hub can be found on the SBS On Demand homepage, where audiences can also search for content in their preferred language.
Additional bulletins will be added over the coming weeks.
The full SBS On Demand offering features more than 15,000 hours of local and international programming across more than 60 languages, spanning news and current affairs, documentaries, drama, world movies, entertainment, food, children’s content and sport.
This includes dedicated language collections, as well as selected English-language programs with subtitles in Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese.
SBS On Demand is a free streaming service for all Australians, accessible via the app on Smart TVs, mobiles, and tablets, or on the SBS website. The app is free to download from the Apple App Store for iOS here and Google Play for Android here.
SBS also provides locally produced news and community stories in more than 60 languages through SBS Audio’s linear radio channels, with this programming also available as podcasts and via SBS On Demand.
The SBS Audio linear radio schedule of more than 60 language programs can be viewed here.
The SBS WorldWatch linear television channel 35 will close on Friday 18 September 2026.
For the latest from SBS News, download our app and subscribe to our newsletter.
Discussion about this post