A nation of soccer fans are already glued to SBS TV, but Australia's multicultural broadcaster -- Special Broadcasting Services - is hoping some of that devotion will rub-off online.
SBS has an ambitious plan to launch as many as six speciality Web sites by the end of the year. The first is soccer site theworldgame.com.au, set to go live Monday.
The digital TV plans of both SBS and the ABC, were thwarted by the government this week when it forbid the public broadcasters from setting up extra channels on digital TV spectrum at least until 2005. In contrast, free-to-air channels are permitted to screen sports events on separate digital channels, although they cannot offer entirely new channels.
In a move that further protects Pay TV interests, Australia's legislation also tightly restricts the services that may be allowed by aspiring datacasters.
"The datacasting legislation is quite restrictive but we're still planning to be ready for future changes or developments in the area. We really don't know where the market will go. It could be to use different technology or different incarnations. Whatever it is, we need to be ready for the move," SBS Head of New Media Will Berryman told ZDNet Australia.
The soccer web site could help SBS regain turf. It's "probably the most comprehensive site in the country," Berryman said. "In the minds of many people, SBS means soccer, he said, although admitting the sports market is more competitive than ever with increased pressure from channels such as free-to-air Seven and pay-based Fox Sports.
SBS plans to use all upcoming interest-based sites as revenue earners, although exactly how this will take place is inclear. "In our charter we have conditions that allow us to engage in a limited amount of commercial activity, sponsorships and partnerships. Our public Web developments will have sound business and revenue models, but will be different to the way public companies are run."
Berryman confirmed that there will be no banner ads on theworldgame.com.au.
News, food and travel are the themes of the next sites scheduled for release. These are expected by the end of June.
Theworldgame.com.au has been developed with the local arm of UK company Sportal -- a sponsor of the Euro 2000 championships. The Soccer site has been under construction for just 11 weeks. Work started shortly after the broadcaster combined its IT and multimedia departments and enticed Berryman from a two-year stint at Fox Studios.
SBS is also a radio broadcaster, providing programming in 68 different languages. Much of this multi-lingual material may also end up online. "We want to put as much of that audio on the Web sites as possible," Berryman said.
