SBS World Movies: Халықаралық фильмдер арнасы

Australian free to air television channel

SBS World Movies is an Australian free to air television channel showing international movies. The channel features foreign language films, documentaries, independent, annual films, art films and mainstream cinema and interviews with international movie stars. It was previously known simply as World Movies and was available on Foxtel. Its library of movies is currently available on the SVOD service Stan and Netflix, and it was revived on Channel 32 as a free to air channel, on 1 July 2019.

The channel began broadcasting in October 1995, coinciding with the launch of Foxtel. It launched on Optus TV in May 1998. World Movies was created by its founding CEO Laurie Patton on behalf of a syndicate that included the private company of Seven Network chairman Kerry Stokes, the Australian Radio Network (ARN) and public broadcaster SBS. SBS provided access to its inventory of English language subtitles and the other shareholders funded the setup costs. In October 2009, SBS announced its intention to buy out the other shareholders, giving it full ownership of the channel. World Movies was owned and operated by SBS Subscription TV, a subsidiary of SBS. The two have a close working relationship, with films premiering on World Movies 12 months before becoming available on the SBS free to air channels. On 3 November 2014, World Movies launched a HD simulcast on Foxtel. On 31 January 2018, World Movies ceased broadcasting on Foxtel, although movies could still be seen On Demand in a section called "World Movies".

The channel was revived on free to air television on 1 July 2019. It is available on channel 32 in high definition, replacing the standard definition broadcast of SBS Viceland, which will continue to be broadcast on channel 31 in HD. A promo loop started broadcasting in some areas on 18 June 2019, and in the rest of Australia on 23 June 2019. The channel launched on 1 July 2019 at 10am with the 2018 French film Remi Nobody's Boy.

World Movies broadcasts foreign films spoken in over 200 languages and covers all genres of film, including action, adult, horror, vintage foreign film, as well as independent cinema. The channel also broadcasts documentaries and interviews with high profile members of the foreign film community. Past interviews have included German Director Wim Wenders, Spanish actress Paz Vega, and French star Clotilde Hesme.

World Movies aims to promote the importance of foreign film in Australia through partnerships and events. The channel works closely with local foreign film festivals, including the Italian Film Festival, French Film Festival and German Film Festival. In September 2011, World Movies launched a free foreign marathon event at Palace Verona Cinema in Sydney. The event invited guests to attend a marathon of free foreign films at the cinema including the French comedy Amélie.