SBS On Demand hits stellar results on the back of Alone Australia + The Handmaid’s Tale

SBS On Demand has achieved its highest month on record* in terms of total users on the back of the successful launches of Season 3 of Alone Australia and the final series of The Handmaid’s Tale.

Consumption on SBS On Demand is also up 18.0% in FY25, with more than 2.24m active accounts logging into the platform in April. This uplift also follows the second season of Rogue Heroes which dropped over February and March.

To date, Alone Australia has had a Total TV National Reach of 2.68m, The Handmaid’s Tale has had a National Reach of 2.31m, and Rogue Heroes has had a National Reach of 2.24m.

“These are exceptionally strong audience numbers and underline the strategic importance of SBS On Demand in our broader video strategy,” said Kathryn Fink, SBS Director of Television.

“Alone Australia continues to be a hit – engaging audiences in the ultimate test of endurance. Importantly around 40% of the Alone audience is coming in via SBS On Demand and that number rises to about 50% when you look at a key demographic like 25-54s.

“We are also thrilled to see audiences returning to see June’s final battle in The Handmaid’s Tale. To date more than 2.31m Australians have watched the show and we expect that number to grow as people binge it towards the end of the season.

“We’ve also seen excellent audience numbers for the second season of Rogue Heroes, another clear demonstration of how these marquee programs can draw in significant audiences who then go on to sample other content from the fantastic offer on SBS On Demand.”

Commercially the success of all three shows has paid dividends for SBS.

Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer Jane Palfreyman said: “We are thrilled by the success of Alone Australia, The Handmaid’s Tale and Rogue Heroes. They are a clear demonstration of the power of the SBS On Demand platform and its ability to bring in audiences and engage them with strong and powerful stories.

“In particular for SBS Media, Alone Australia is performing strongly in the all-important 25-54 demographic which is a focus for our advertising partners.”

Source: Consumption: OzTAM VPM, 01 July 2024 – 30 April 2025 vs 01 July 2023 – 30 April 2024, Total People, based on Total Minutes viewed (Live + VOD) | Active Accounts: Adobe Analytics Clickstream | Ratings Snapshot: VOZ National Total TV, Total People, Reach to Date – When Watched, 26/02/2025 – 30/04/2025 (Rogue Heroes), 26/03/2025 – 30/04/2025 (Alone Australia), 08/04/2025 – 30/04/2025 (Handmaid’s Tale), Reach (TAM: 1 minute consecutive, BVOD: 15 secs); Average Audience and Consumption hours: Rogue Heroes – 26/02/2025 – 02/04/2025, Eps 1-5 C28, Ep 6 C7; Alone Australia – 26/03/2025 – 29/04/2025, Eps 1-3 C28, Eps 4-6 C7, Ep 6 Overnight; The Handmaid’s Tale – 08/04/2025 – 29/04/2025, Eps 1-5 C7, Ep 6 – Overnight (Content Consolidation + When Watched for Pre-broadcast)

*This excludes special event the 2022 FIFA World Cup