SBS Food

{{Infobox television channel

| name = SBS Food

| logo = File:SBS_Food_logo.svg

| logo_size =

| logo_caption = Logo used since 2018

| launch_date = {{start date and age|17 November 2015}}

| closed_date =

| picture_format = 576i (SDTV) 16:9

| network = SBS Television

| owner = Special Broadcasting Service

| country = Australia

| language = English

| area = Nationwide

| headquarters = Sydney

| former_names = Food Network (2015–2018)

| replaced =

| replaced_by =

| sister_channels = SBS
SBS HD
SBS Viceland
SBS World Movies
NITV
SBS WorldWatch

| website = https://www.sbs.com.au/food

| terr_serv_1 = Freeview SBS

| terr_chan_1 = Channel 33

}}

SBS Food (formerly Food Network) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). The channel airs programs about food and cooking, from cultures around the world.{{cite web|publisher=TV Tonight|first=David|last=Knox|url=http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2015/10/food-network-to-launch-on-sbs-november-17.html|title=Food Network to launch on SBS November 17 |date=22 October 2015|accessdate=23 October 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.mediaweek.com.au/sbs-prepares-food-network-for-november-launch/|title=SBS prepares Food Network for November launch|date=22 October 2015|accessdate=23 October 2015|work=Mediaweek}}

History

SBS first revealed it would launch a channel dedicated to food on 30 September 2015, following the Australian Government's decision to not permit the public broadcaster to increase the amount of primetime advertising it is allowed to broadcast.{{cite web|publisher=TV Tonight|first=David|last=Knox|url=http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2015/09/sbs-to-launch-fourth-channel-dedicated-to-food.html|title=SBS to launch fourth channel dedicated to Food |date=30 September 2015|accessdate=23 October 2015}} It was Australia's first and at the time only free-to-air channel to be dedicated exclusively to food-related programming.{{cite web|url=http://ausfoodnews.com.au/2015/09/30/sbs-to-launch-free-to-air-food-tv-channel-in-australia.html|title=SBS to launch free-to-air food TV channel in Australia|date=30 September 2015|accessdate=23 October 2015|work=AFN|first=Andrea|last=Hogan}} It is broadcast 24 hours a day on channel 33, and all programs aired on the channel are also available to stream on SBS on Demand.

The channel began broadcasting as Food Network on 17 November 2015 at 1 pm AEDST, replacing a simulcast of SBS.{{cite web|url=http://realscreen.com/2015/10/22/sbss-food-network-channel-set-for-november-launch/|title=SBS's Food Network channel set for November launch|first=Manori|last=Ravindran|work=Real Screen|date=22 October 2015|accessdate=23 October 2015}} The channel initially operated under a license from Discovery Inc., the operator of the American channel of the same name. The relationship included a three year programming deal with Discovery which saw numerous American Food Network programs on the channel. The first programme shown on the channel was 30 Minute Meals. The channel was first included in the official OzTAM ratings on 1 December 2015, where it recorded a 1.3% primetime share.{{cite web|publisher=TV Tonight|first=David|last=Knox|url=http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2015/12/new-channels-up-and-rating-for-nine-and-sbs.html|title=New channels up and rating for Nine and SBS |date=1 December 2015|accessdate=2 December 2015}}

On 17 November 2018, the channel changed its name to SBS Food, following the ending of the Discovery Inc. deal, which saw Discovery's American shows (which had increasingly shifted from an instructional to a reality/competition-focused direction) pulled from the channel and replaced with more premium titles, including increased domestic Australian content.{{cite web|publisher=TV Tonight|first=David|last=Knox|url=https://tvtonight.com.au/2018/09/sbs-food-network-to-drop-us-titles.html|title=SBS Food Network to drop US titles |date=27 September 2018|accessdate=28 September 2018}} Discovery's food shows later shifted to a new free-to-air channel, 7food network, which began broadcasting on 1 December 2018.{{cite web|publisher=TV Tonight|first=David|last=Knox|url=https://tvtonight.com.au/2018/10/seven-serves-up-7food-channel.html|title=Seven serves up 7Food channel |date=26 October 2018|accessdate=26 October 2018}} The move proved disastrous to Seven and Discovery, and after disappointing ratings, 7food network was shut down on 28 December 2019 and its programming dispersed among Seven's other channels, making SBS Food once again the only Australian free-to-air channel dedicated exclusively to food.{{cite web|url=https://tvtonight.com.au/2019/12/7food-to-close-broadcast-on-december-28.html|title=7food to close broadcast on December 28|date=7 December 2019|website=TV Tonight|accessdate=7 December 2019}}

SBS Food was converted into a MPEG-4 SD channel in December 2023.{{Cite web |date=14 November 2023 |title=How can I watch SBS Food? |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/food/article/how-can-i-watch-sbs-food/breqh3sff |access-date=7 January 2024 |website=SBS Food |publisher=Special Broadcasting Service |language=en}}