SBS OnDemand announces new initiatives giving audiences & advertisers a new ad experience

SBS has used its 2023 Upfront to underline its ongoing investment in digital aimed at retaining its position as the preferred Australian BVOD platform of both advertisers and audiences.

SBS used its 2023 Upfront event in Sydney today to highlight its digital transformation journey over the last five years outlining how the broadcaster has positioned SBS OnDemand uniquely to have a clear and differentiated offering, including with more than 15,000+ hours of content.

Adam Sadler, Director of Media Sales, SBS, said: “SBS had a clear digital strategy from the outset for SBS On Demand and continues to over-index in the commercial BVOD market. It is a destination in its own right, and we have held our share of on-demand viewing with 26% of total on demand BVOD minutes.”

“This is an incredible result, driven by consistent and distinctive programming that defines SBS On Demand.”

Lee Callagher National Operations and Commercial Product Manager spoke about how the broadcaster’s investments in technology were ensuring SBS was delivering the strongest UX experience, but also had the right suite of partnerships to drive results for advertisers.

“We are immensely proud of the position which SBS OnDemand has carved out in Australian streaming space,” said Callagher. “We remain the highest rated streaming platform in the Apple Store – not just against BVOD platforms but also SVOD – and that comes from how we put our audience first through our unique, personal and targeted ad experience.

“SBS is unique in the BVOD space in offering a decluttered, tailored and targeted ad experience, which understands and caters to the needs of audiences.”

In 2022, SBS OnDemand passed 11 million registered users but Callagher argued that it wasn’t simply the size of a broadcaster’s data lake which mattered but also the number of monthly active users.

In 2022, SBS has rolled out a number of key partnerships with the implementation of Adobe Experience Platform as SBS’s customer data platform (CDP), a new partnership with Boltive, the launch of the ‘Solus Spot’ which aims to give a brand the exclusive access within an ad break and a shoppable advertising format, all aimed at giving the 1.7 million monthly active users of SBS OnDemand an uncluttered, seamless ad experience.

“We are very proud of the partnerships we have built out for SBS OnDemand,” said Callagher. “Our partnership with Boltive blocks obtrusive display ads and leaves more room for your message.

“Our users also receive a frictionless ad experience thanks to our implementation of SBS’s Server-Side Ad Insertion (Google DAI), which has increased customer satisfaction by a massive 80 per cent.

“We are innovating with ad product through Solus and Shoppable advertising products to drive a premium user experience. SBS enriches their platform by supporting the 5.5 million Australians that speak a language other than English to view their content and their ad breaks in their language of their choice. All of this is aimed at giving the best experience to both the consumer and the advertiser.”