RATINGS | ALONE AUSTRALIA becomes the most successful original commission in SBS History

Other networks take note that sometimes less is more as Alone Australia becomes the most successful original commission in SBS history.

Alone Australia has now secured its place as SBS’s most watched ever original production In terms of total consumption.

Alone Australia has redefined the model for Total TV in Australia with a broad appeal TV show, being driven by on demand BVOD viewing, consistently going to No.1 among the key advertising demo of 25-54s in seven day viewing.

The finale of Alone Australia, which aired on Wednesday, crowned rewilding facilitator Gina Chick as the winner of the series, marking the conclusion of SBS’s most watched original production to date in terms of total consumption. With the initial six episodes surpassing the one million viewer mark, the show’s success has been largely driven by online streaming through SBS On Demand.

Alone Australia has also set a precedent in Australian Total TV by appealing to a wide audience, where BVOD (Broadcaster Video on Demand) viewing exceeded overnight linear viewing. The series consistently topped ratings among the vital 25-54 advertising demographic over a seven-day period.

Kathryn Fink, SBS’s Director of Television, expressed her delight at the series’ success.

“Alone Australia has truly resonated with the public. It stands as not only SBS’s highest-rated series for 2023, but also our most successful original commission, with total consumption surpassing expectations.

With over half the episodes drawing in an audience of more than a million viewers, this success demonstrates the shift towards the multiplatform, on-demand world that television is increasingly adapting to.”

Since its debut two months ago, Alone Australia has seen a staggering 356% Total TV uplift for its first episode, largely driven by viewers on SBS On Demand. The subsequent nine episodes have also seen significant uplifts, ranging from 157% to 294%.

The Total TV audience for the first episode has reached 1.35 million, taking into account both SBS On Demand and 28 Day Timeshift, setting the record as SBS’s highest rating program for 2023. Other episodes also demonstrate strong viewership, with episodes two to six attracting a Total TV audience between 1.09 million and 1.30 million, while episodes seven to nine continue to grow, each drawing in excess of 853,000 viewers.

Moreover, a quarter of all new accounts on SBS On Demand have watched Alone Australia since the series launch two months ago, contributing to a million additional consumption hours to the Alone franchise.

SBS has been leading in the 28 Day OzTAM VPM rankings through the success of both Alone Australia and Rogue Heroes, claiming seven of the top 10 slots. Linear TV audiences also remain strong, with the last two episodes of Alone Australia garnering linear audiences of 370,000 and 391,000 respectively, further boosted by online viewers.

The Alone Australia reunion, hosted by Amanda Keller and exclusively available on SBS On Demand, has already drawn in 25,000 viewers. SBS also enjoyed a metro linear share of 7.0% on its primary channel and a 10.9% network share in total people on Wednesday night.

Alone Australia, an A&E Network format and ITV Studios Australia production for SBS, marks a new milestone in SBS’s history of successful original productions.

Episode one

Episode two  

Episode three  

Episode four  

Episode five  

Episode six  

Episode seven   

Episode eight   

Episode nine  

Episode ten  

Episode eleven  

AA Source Linear: OzTAM, Regional TAM, Eps 1,2,3,4,5,6 Cons 28, Eps 7-9 Cons 7 Ep10, 11 overnight, FTA Shr%, TTL PPL

AA Source BVOD: OzTAM, Eps 1-9 (29/3/23 – 24/05/23) Ep10,11