SBS is making its programming more accessible for audiences with the full launch of across a range of SBS and SBS VICELAND content on TV.
Audio description – the narration of visual and non-verbal elements of a program during gaps in dialogue – offers people who are blind or vision-impaired an understanding of what is being shown on screen. Flagship documentaries, compelling dramas, world-class movies, and cult classics that SBS is known for will feature in the selection of programming available on the live broadcast of SBS and SBS VICELAND channels.
Here's a round-up of content available for audio description this month:
Wednesday 1 July, 2020
8.30pm
SBS VICELAND - The X-Files, Movie, M
Based on the award-winning television series The X-Files, created by Chris Carter, The X-Files feature film follows FBI Special Agents Mulder and Scully as they are drawn into a web of intrigue.
8.30pm
Three women fight to keep their marriage together after their husbands fall foul of the law. Meanwhile, one woman places her own life in jeopardy.
10.40pm
SBS VICELAND - The X-Files: I Want To Believe, Movie, M
When a group of women are mysteriously abducted, it becomes a case right out of the X-Files. The best team for the job are ex-agents Fox Mulder and Dr. Dana Scully.
Friday 3 July, 2020
3.35pm
SBS ONE - Series 4, Birmingham To Stafford (Ep 2), Documentary series, PG
Michael Portillo learns how the railways helped make Birmingham the pen-making capital of the world, and hears the chilling tale of one of 19th-century Britain's most notorious murderers.
7.35pm
Using rare archive and home movies, the story of American Royalty will be seen in colour for the first time.
8.30pm
To Americans, the 1950s are the golden years. The baby boomer generation are children and enjoying peace, economic prosperity and great technological advances. See it all in colour now.
Saturday 4 July, 2020
9.20pm
Will comes up with a plan to get his family out from under the Occupation. Throwing a wrench in his best-laid plans, Katie and Broussard attempt to rekindle the fire of resistance.
10.15pm
After the Resistance kidnaps a high-value hostage, the Los Angeles bloc is placed on lockdown.
Sunday 5 July, 2020
8.30pm
SBS VICELAND - Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Movie, PG
When an alien spacecraft of enormous power is spotted approaching Earth, Admiral Kirk resumes command of the Starship Enterprise in order to intercept, examine and hopefully stop the intruder.
Monday 6 July, 2020
4.00pm
SBS ONE - Series 4 / Stoke-On-Trent To Winsford (Ep 3), Documentary series, PG
Michael Portillo explores one of the greatest locomotive factories in railway history, and discovers the dark side of the industrial revolution.
Tuesday 7 July, 2020
3.00pm
SBS ONE - Series 4 / Dudley To Bridgnorth (Ep 4), Documentary series, PG
Michael Portillo learns how Victorian blacksmithing was not for the faint-hearted, rides one of Britain's most modern trains and traverses the remarkable Victoria Bridge.
3.35pm
A one-hour retrospective special featuring 40 of Australia's most loved celebrities, from Adam Hills, Magda Szubanski, Adam Goodes, Maggie Beer and more.
9.35pm
In Wollongong, Michael unearths the Serbian history of a steel city. Generations of migrants from the former Yugoslavia have made a home in this picturesque seaside destination.
Wednesday 8 July, 2020
4.00pm
SBS ONE - Series 4 / Welshpool To Aberystwyth (Ep 5), Documentary series, G
Michael Portillo experiences Victorian entertainment in one of Wales' best-loved resorts, and hears how the railways took Welsh textiles into even the most exclusive households.
8.30pm
This episode follows the campaign to save a Bhutanese family from deportation and a couple’s ‘Sophie’s Choice’ about who gets the children if the mother is deported.
SBS VICELAND - Watchmen, Movie, MA
When an ex-superhero is murdered, a vigilante named Rorshach begins an investigation into the murder, which begins to lead to a much more terrifying conclusion.
9.35pm
SBS ONE - Inside Aldi, Documentary, PG
A documentary looking at how the German supermarket has succeeded in the UK, overcoming industry hostility and old-fashioned snobbery to win the public over with its discounted goods.
Thursday 9 July, 2020
4.00pm
SBS ONE - Series 4 / Portsmouth To Gomshall (Ep 6), Documentary series, G
Michael Portillo feeds the crew of Britain's newest battleship, and discovers how the Victorians planned to repel a possible French invasion.
Friday 10 July, 2020
7.35pm
From humble beginnings, Hollywood becomes the world’s leading industry of glitz, glamour, money and fame. Powerful studio moguls control the business, and stars become global icons.
8.30pm
This is a decade of revolution that delivers the modern America we recognise today. The civil rights struggle and Vietnam War divide the nation, and assassinations rock the world.
Sunday 12 July, 2020
8.30pm
SBS VICELAND - Star Trek 2: The Wrath Of Khan, Movie, M
The past returns to haunt Admiral James Kirk when he and his crew become locked in a battle of wits with an old nemesis. His enemy Khan is looking for revenge and a potentially destructive device.
Monday 13 July, 2020
12.00pm
It's day one of the first ever Child Genius Australia competition, overseen by quizmaster Dr Susan Carland. Nineteen gifted children will be tested on their knowledge of science and memory.
4.00pm
SBS ONE - Series 4 / Working To Clapham Junction (Ep 7), Documentary series, G
Michael Portillo gets close to some precious Victorian botany at Kew Gardens, tries his hand at croquet and discovers a very surprising 19th-century place of worship.
Tuesday 14 July, 2020
12.00pm
It's day two of the competition to find Australia's brightest child, and the remaining 17 competitors will be flexing their maths muscles and taking part in a challenging memory round.
3.55pm
SBS ONE - March Of The Penguins Part 1, Documentary, PG
At the end of each Antarctic summer, the emperor penguins of the South Pole journey to their traditional breeding grounds in a fascinating mating ritual that is captured in this documentary.
9.30pm
Michael's journey ends in Shepparton, a city with four mosques, thirty different nationalities, and an Islamic history that stretches back over a century.
Wednesday 15 July, 2020
12.00pm
It's midway through the competition, and the remaining 14 children face a complex spelling round and a do-or-die card recall challenge.
3.45pm
SBS - Series 4 / London Victoria To Abbey Wood (Ep 8), Documentary series, PG
Michael Portillo learns how volunteer Victorian fire fighters liked a tipple, discovers how even 19th-century sewerage pumps were a celebration of design and puts in a shift at the oldest fish market.
8.30pm
For the first time, cameras record a hearing inside Australia’s Administrative Appeals Tribunal as a Peruvian man fights for his life. Meanwhile, a wealthy English family faces deportation.
SBS VICELAND - Gattica, Movie, M
Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman star in this movie about a man who is genetically inferior, and destined to die at age thirty.
Thursday 16 July, 2020
12.00pm
The Child Genius finals begin with the remaining 11 competitors facing their toughest challenge yet. There are no second chances as one child faces instant elimination before the Top 10 battle it out.
4.00pm
SBS ONE - Series 4 / London Kings Cross To Peterborough (Ep 9), Documentary series, G
Michael Portillo discovers how derelict Victorian London is being rejuvenated, puts in a shift at Cambridgeshire brick factory and meets the immigrant community built from it.
Friday 17 July, 2020
12.00pm
It's the Semi-Final of the Child Genius Competition, and today sees a fierce general knowledge battle and an advanced spelling challenge where a single mistake will end their round.
Saturday 18 July, 2020
9.20pm
SBS VICELAND - Fear The Walking Dead Series 1 / Pilot - Ep 1, Drama series, MA
A highly dysfunctional blended family is forced together when they realise a reported virus is actually the onset of the undead apocalypse.
10.30pm
SBS VICELAND - Fear The Walking Dead Series 1 / So Close, Yet So Far - Ep 2, Drama series, MA
While Madison struggles to keep Nick from crippling withdrawal, Travis ventures out to find his son before the city of Los Angeles falls.
Sunday 19 July, 2020
8.30pm
SBS VICELAND - Star Trek 3: The Search For Spock, Movie, PG
Admiral Kirk and his bridge crew risk their careers stealing the decommissioned Enterprise to return to the restricted Genesis planet to recover Spock's body.
Monday 20 July, 2020
12.00pm
It's the first ever Child Genius Australia Grand Final, and the five remaining competitors have just two demanding rounds standing between them and the title.
4.00pm
SBS ONE - Series 4 / Spalding To Grimsby (Ep 10), Documentary series, G
Michael Portillo sees how Lincolnshire farmers utilised rails to improve their harvests, visits Lincoln's most impressive cathedral and looks to the future of rail freight.
Tuesday 21 July, 2020
12.00pm
Explore the chaotic and colourful road to intercultural relationships. Six couples try to straddle the gulf between cultures and the gap between their parents' relationships and their own dreams.
3.35pm
SBS ONE - Series 9 / Noni Hazlehurst (Ep 1) An SBS original documentary series, PG
Veteran performer, Noni Hazlehurst, goes in search of the secrets her parents held so tightly. This journey will be a revelation to Noni. She'll come to understand the impact of war on her family.
Wednesday 22 July, 2020
12.00pm
Sri Lankan Hindu Lalith has gone against his parents' wishes for an arranged marriage and chosen Chinese Australian, Louise. His parents refuse to speak to her and they won't be attending the wedding.
3.00pm
Michael takes to the tracks with his copy of Bradshaw's Victorian railway guidebook, and he travels the length of the British Isles to see what of Bradshaw's world remains.
8.30pm
An Italian family faces being torn apart, an Irish couple fight for their son, and a man in detention makes his last desperate bid to prevent his deportation to a country he barely knows.
Thursday 23 July, 2020
12.00pm
When Travis swiped right on Tinder, he found himself in a fast-moving relationship with Rabia, a Pakistani-Australian. Travis converted to Islam and agreed to marry Rabia immediately.
4.00pm
Michael learns how Victorian whisky trains were raided by robbers, travels along one of Scotland's most impressive viaducts and discovers that life is not always sweet on a shortbread production line.
Friday 24 July, 2020
12.00pm
The journey to every wedding day brings tears and tension, chaos and compromise. But what happens when two people from vastly different religions and cultures, go down the aisle?
Saturday 25 July, 2020
9.20pm
SBS VICELAND - Fear The Walking Dead Series 1 / Dog, The (Ep 3), Drama series, MA
After escaping a violent riot, Travis, Liza and Chris seek refuge with the Salazar family. Meanwhile, Madison defends her home.
10.15pm
SBS VICELAND - Fear The Walking Dead Series 1 / Not Fade Away (Ep 4), Drama series, MA
Madison and Travis witness different sides of the National Guard's occupation of their neighbourhood as our family tries to adapt to the new world.
Sunday 26 July, 2020
4.50pm
Michael explores the stunning scenery of rural and coastal Scotland, travelling from Stirling, through the industrial east coast and dramatic Highland landscapes, to the beauty of the western lochs.
8.30pm
SBS VICELAND - Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home, Movie, PG
To save Earth from an alien probe, Admiral Kirk and his fugitive crew go back in time to 20th-century Earth to retrieve the only beings who can communicate with it, humpback whales.
Monday 27 July, 2020
12.00pm
When Aussie plasterer Scott fell head over heels in love with Ethiopian nanny Eskii, he had no idea how complicated planning their wedding would be.
4.00pm
SBS ONE - Series 4 / Invergordon To John O'groats (Ep 15), Documentary, PG
Michael learns how one man's vision helped bring train travel to the Highlands, and discovers how farming has changed since Bradshaw's day.
Tuesday 28 July, 2020
12.00pm
Iranian-Australian Pariya has found her perfect match in Macedonian migrant, Viktor. Pariya's mother is expecting a full Persian wedding for her only child, and Viktor is keen to oblige.
3.00pm
SBS ONE - Series 4 / London Paddington To Warminster (Ep 16), Documentary, PG
Michael is following in the footsteps of the master engineer of the Great Western Railway, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, beginning at the line's London gateway, Paddington Station.
3.35pm
SBS ONE - Series 9 / Charlie Teo (Ep 2). An SBS original documentary series, PG
Having always struggled to understand culturally who he is, renowned neurosurgeon Charlie Teo is looking for answers.
Wednesday 29 July, 2020
3.05pm
SBS ONE - Series 4 / Salisbury To Castle Carey (Ep 17), Documentary, PG
Michael visits a world-famous tourist hotspot that's been captivating visitors since the Victorian era, takes to the air in Yeovil and tries his hand at cloth making, the 19th-century way.
Thursday 30 July, 2020
3.00pm
SBS ONE - Series 1 / They Have Come To Stay (Ep 1), An SBS original documentary series, PG
This landmark series chronicles the birth of contemporary Australia as never told before, from the perspective of its first people. The story begins in 1788 in Sydney.
