SBS’s 24-hour news channel WorldWatch records “ZERO viewers” despite $29 million in government funding.
SBS’s 24-hour news channel WorldWatch has proved a flop with viewers.
Launched last May with $29 million in federal funding, the platform, which hosts bulletins from news outlets in 30 different countries, has consistently achieved a “zero” in OzTAM ratings.
This means that the viewership count is so small on average that it’s not meaningful enough to create a score.
SBS’s 24-hour news channel WorldWatch has proved a flop, viewers reported in the Sydney Morning Herald on Friday. Pictured: SBS CEO James Taylor (left) with SBS news anchors Ali Bahnasawy and Rena Li
Meanwhile, the SBS-produced Arabic and Mandarin news service hosted on WorldWatch continues to struggle to attract an audience, reports The Sydney Morning Herald.
According to the publication’s report released on Friday, SBS Arabic news has averaged 151 viewers per night since May.
Her Mandarin-language evening bulletin has averaged 858 fans over the same period, according to OzTAM.
News services appearing regularly on WorldWatch include bulletins produced by 20 Heures in France, YTN in South Korea and Portugal’s RTP.
Launched last May, the platform, which includes bulletins from news outlets in 30 different countries, has consistently achieved a zero in OzTAM ratings. This means that the viewership count is so small on average that it’s not meaningful enough to create a score
There are also bulletins from Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Poland.
The service also features news produced in languages such as Punjabi and Hindi, Arabic and Indonesian.
A total of 35 languages are represented on WorldWatch.
News services that appear regularly on WorldWatch include bulletins produced by 20 Heures in France, YTN in South Korea and Portugal’s RTP. Pictured: WorldWatch by SBS
SBS management has responded to the Sydney Morning Herald’s ratings report with a statement suggesting that “thousands” tune in to WorldWatch each month.
The metric used by the broadcaster takes into account the number of people who tune into the platform to watch for more than five minutes at a time.
Mandi Wicks, director of news and current affairs at SBS, told the publication that the platform’s audience is “stable and growing.”
Meanwhile, the SBS-produced Arabic and Mandarin news service hosted on WorldWatch continues to struggle to attract an audience