Sky News Australia

Sky News Channel's parent company, Australian News Channel (ANC), was owned equally by British Sky Broadcasting, Seven Network Limited (later Seven Group Holdings then Seven West Media) and Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (later PBL Media then Nine Entertainment), each with a 33% stake in the company from its founding until December 2016, when it was acquired by News Corp Australia. Sky News Australia launched at 5 pm on 19 February 1996, as the first Australian-produced television news channel. The channel aired its 50,000th unique newscast on 23 April 2003 at 11 am. Sky News was added to Austar on 1 April 2000. In 2004, Sky News began broadcasting Sky News Active, its on-demand interactive TV news service. In 2008, Sky News launched the Sky News Business Channel, and on 20 January 2009, Sky News launched Australian Public Affairs Channel (A-PAC). It began widescreen broadcasting on 17 May 2009. In 2013, Sky News Australia was granted 20 million in funding from its parent company to be used over three years. Sky News Australia began broadcasting in high definition on 1 December 2015. With the sale of Murdoch's remaining shares in Sky UK to Comcast in 2018, Sky News Australia no longer has any direct ownership ties to its UK counterpart, but continued to use the Sky News branding under licence from Comcast. In November 2018, Sky News terminated the contract of former Liberal Party MP and late-night presenter Ross Cameron for using sinophobic language to describe Chinese people. In mid-2019, the channel began expanding its digital operations. This included a content partnership with YouTube, Microsoft News, Facebook and Taboola. That led to new, opinion-focused videos being uploaded more frequently and across News Corp platforms, after having previously not uploaded any videos from February 2017 to April 2019. Rebranding as News24 News Corp's license to the Sky News brand is expected to expire in late 2026, and Sky Limited is not expected to renew the agreement due to the change in ownership and the divergence in editorial direction between Sky News UK (which must provide an impartial service per British broadcasting regulations) and Sky News Australia (which has increasingly broadcast conservative opinion content). It was reported that News Corp were considering rebranding the network as either "Australian News Channel" or a name containing either "Fox News"—derived from the U.S. sister network owned by Fox Corporation, or "Talk"—coming from News UK brand Talkradio, which operates a spin-off internet television service. ==Programming ==

, host of Credlin, in 2025 Sky News programming consists of a mix of live news bulletins, live broadcasts from events (such as Parliament Question Time and selected press conferences), original commentary panel programs and simulcasts of international sister station Sky News UK. Sky News has broadcast every sitting of Question Time from the House of Representatives since its launch in 1996. On weekdays, throughout most of the day, rolling news coverage is presented from one of Sky News Australia's studios. From 5 pm (AEST/AEDT), commentary programs begin, and continue through primetime until 11 pm AEST/AEDT. Most of these programs are presented by conservative commentators discussing the news of the day, often with a panel of other commentators, and feature a news update at the beginning of the program (and sometimes further updates during the program). Rolling news continues from 11 pm AEST/AEDT before coverage switches to an overnight simulcast of Sky News UK at 1 am AEST/AEDT. Beginning in 2007, Sky News aired local breakaway programming for New Zealand viewers in primetime, filmed at Prime NZ's Auckland studios and produced from Sydney. The debut of Sky News NZ Evening News was watched by just 1,500 viewers and panned by critics. Sky News Australia continued to produce news programming for Prime until 2015, when MediaWorks New Zealand took over production of Prime's news programming via its own news department. On 16 June 2018, Sky News Australia premiered New Zealand Agenda, a political program hosted by New Zealand bureau chief James O'Doherty from Wellington, New Zealand. Current programmes Daytime • First Edition with Peter Stefanovic (Monday to Friday) • Weekend Edition (Saturday to Sunday) • Sky News Breakfast with Jaynie Seal and Samantha Chiari (Only on Sky News Regional & Sky News Weather) (Monday to Friday) • AM Agenda with Laura Jayes (Monday to Friday) • Weekend Agenda with Andrew Clennell (Saturdays) • Outsiders with Rowan Dean, Rita Panahi, and James Morrow (Sundays) • Business Weekend with Ross Greenwood (Sundays) • NewsDay with Tom Connell and Ashleigh Gillon (Monday to Friday) • Weekend Live (Saturday to Sunday) • Afternoon Agenda with Kieran Gilbert (Monday to Friday) • Politics Now (Monday to Friday) • Business Now with Ross Greenwood (Monday to Friday) • The Kenny Report with Chris Kenny (Monday to Thursday) • NZ Edition with Jack Nyhof (Saturday to Sunday) Nighttime (Sky After Dark) • Credlin with Peta Credlin (Monday to Friday) • The Bolt Report with Andrew Bolt (Monday to Thursday) • The Steve Price Show with Steve Price (Fridays) • The World According to Rowan Dean with Rowan Dean (Fridays) • Opinionated with Danica De Giorgio (Fridays) • The US Report with James Morrow (Fridays) • Sharri with Sharri Markson (Monday to Thursday) • Paul Murray Live with Paul Murray (Sunday to Thursday) • The Rita Panahi Show with Rita Panahi (Monday to Thursday) • The Late Debate with James Macpherson, Danica De Giorgio and Caleb Bond (Monday to Thursday) • The Media Show with Jack Houghton (Fridays) • The Papers with James Macpherson, Liz Storer and Caleb Bond (Fridays) • In Conversation with Laura Jayes (Sundays) • Danica and James with Danica De Giorgio and James Macpherson (Sundays) • The Sunday Showdown with Caleb Bond (Sundays) • Lefties Losing It with Rita Panahi (Sundays) • The Royal Report (Sundays) • NewsNight (Saturday to Sunday) == Presenters and reporters ==

in Canberra News presenters • Peter Stefanovic • Jaynie Seal • Laura Jayes • Tom Connell • Ashleigh Gillon • Kieran Gilbert • Tim Gilbert • Kristie Lloyd • Ortenzia Borre • Rhiannon Elston • Cheng Lei Program presenters • Rowan Dean • Rita Panahi • James Morrow • Peta Credlin • Andrew Bolt • Paul Murray • Jack Houghton • Jenna Clarke • James Macpherson • Sharri Markson • Laura Jayes • Kieran Gilbert • Cheng Lei • Danica Di Giorgio • Caroline Di Russo • Gabriella Power Reporters • Julia Bradley, Caroline Marcus and Crystal Wu – Sydney • Georgie Dickerson, Holly Stearnes and Jack Nyhof – Melbourne • Trudy McIntosh, Cameron Reddin and Reuben Spargo – Canberra • Kaiser Shields and Harry Clarke – Brisbane • Lauren Forbes – Gold Coast • Monique Van Der Heyden – Adelaide • Ciara Hain – Perth • Matt Cunningham – Darwin • Aspen Blomfield – Hobart • Jack Nyhof – Wellington, New Zealand • Staś Butler – Taipei, Taiwan • Annelise Nielsen – Washington DC, United States Former presenters and reporters • Alan Jones • Cory Bernardi (2023) • John Gatfield 1996–2008 now with Sky Racing. Co-anchored the first bulletin on 19 February 1996 with Juanita Phillips • Samantha Armytage • Dan Bourchier • Ross Cameron (2013–2018) • Brooke Corte • Freya Leach • Helen Dalley • Craig Emerson • Georgie Gardner • Amy Greenbank • Stan Grant (2013–2017) • Leigh Hatcher • Patricia Karvelas (2016–2017) • Kristina Keneally (2014–2017) • Chris Kohler • David Koch • Mark Latham (2016–2017) • Prue Lewarne • Samantha Maiden • John Mangos • Sharon McKenzie • Piers Morgan • Melanie McLaughlin • Jim Middleton • Erin Molan • Kelly Nestor • Janine Perrett • Juanita Phillips • Cameron Price • Chris Roe • Celina Edmonds • Vanessa Grimm • Nina Stevens • Amber Sherlock • David Speers • Greg Thomson • Karen Tso • Jacinta Tynan • Peter van Onselen (2010–2017) • Terry Willesee • Michael Willesee, Jr. • Ahron Young • Craig Norenbergs • James Bracey • Ticky Fullerton • Peter Gleeson • Olivia Caisley ==Bureaus==

. Sky News Australia has a bureau in every capital city in Australia, completing this with the opening of its Hobart studio in 2013. In 2017, a Gold Coast bureau was opened marking the third non-capital city studio after Cairns and Geelong. The base of Sky News Australia is in the Sydney suburb of Macquarie Park, from which the majority of its news and programming is broadcast. Its Melbourne studio was upgraded in 2014, allowing it to be used as a secondary broadcast studio. Hinch Live became the first regular program to be broadcast from Melbourne. The third major bureau is in Parliament House, Canberra, opened in 2000. Lyndal Curtis became Bureau Chief of in October 2015. Additionally, Sky News has a small office in the Channel Seven building in Martin Place, which includes a small street-level single camera studio which looks onto Elizabeth Street, Sydney. Internationally, Sky News's only foreign bureau is in Wellington, New Zealand, opened in 2015. == Resources ==

Apart from its own resources, at launch Sky News Australia used the news resources of its former parent companies Seven News, Nine News and Sky News UK, as well as sister networks Sky News UK and Fox News Channel. ABC America and CBS were founding international partners of Sky News Australia. In 2010 it had agreements with CCTV China, ABC America, CBS, Reuters, APTN, Bloomberg, Dow Jones and Newshub, when it signed a four-year partnership deal with CNN International, commencing on 1 January 2011. == Content ==

In 2017, Denis Muller, a senior research fellow at the University of Melbourne's Centre for Advancing Journalism, described the channel as having a "split personality", running straight news bulletins and reporting during the day with professional and independent journalists and presenters, while moving toward "right-leaning punditry" (which has been colloquially referred to by the media as "Sky After Dark") while being supportive of right-wing parties such as the Liberal-National Coalition (except for the Moderate Faction Drawing a strong comparison to Fox News, the network began moving towards panel-based programming from 2010, with most of its highest profile prime time commentators being conservative. Hosts Andrew Bolt and Paul Murray have been compared to Fox News presenters Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity respectively. Andrew Bolt and Alan Jones frequently spread claims about the mental health of then-United States president Joe Biden, claiming he was unfit to be the president and suggesting he was suffering from dementia. Misinformation and conspiracy theories On 13 December 2020, Rowan Dean promoted the Great Reset conspiracy theory on Sky News Australia, claiming that "This Great Reset is as serious and dangerous a threat to our prosperity – to your prosperity and your freedom – as we have faced in decades". The Daily Exposé's claim was debunked by the BBC, Full Fact and Reuters. Sky News Australia subsequently removed the broadcast and issued a correction on its website. Upon the channel's return to the platform, Sky News Australia published a piece titled "Uncancelled: Sky News Australia Set Free" wherein Digital Editor Jack Houghton claimed the channel's temporary banning was the result of Silicon Valley and left-wing media attempting to stifle free speech. A 2022 analysis by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a British think tank, found that Sky News Australia was a major source for climate change misinformation. Sky News Australia rejected the findings of the analysis, saying that they would "continue to encourage debate" on climate change. In 2022, Sky News Australia promoted a now retracted journal article from the European Physical Journal that claimed to have found no evidence of climate change in two video segments. The two segments were viewed more than 500,000 times. ==Reception==

Ratings The highest rating broadcast on Sky News Australia was an episode of Paul Murray Live on 26 June 2013 (following the 2013 Labor leadership spill), averaging 197,000 viewers across a special two-hour broadcast. The highest audience share Sky News Australia has achieved was during coverage of the 2009 Victorian bushfires. On 15 December 2014 during the Sydney Lindt café siege, coverage of the unfolding incident took 16 of the 20 most watched programs on the Foxtel platform. The 7 pm (AEST) hour was the highest rated at 109,000 viewers. Sky News achieved a day time share of 2.6% (behind ABC News 24's 3.8%) and a primetime share of 1.5% (behind ABC News 24's 2.5%). Sky News Live rated 56,000 viewers for early evening coverage of the 2015 Queensland state election, and 83,000 viewers for later coverage, beaten by ABC News 24's coverage which was watched by 195,000 viewers nationally. For its coverage of the failed Liberal leadership spill on 9 February 2015 between 9 am and 10 am, Sky News Live was the second most watched subscription channel and the coverage was the third most watched program of the day with 69,000 viewers. Sky News Live reached a total audience of 700,000 viewers on 14 September 2015 (including simulcast on Sky News Business) during the 2015 Liberal leadership spill. It was the most watched subscription television channel for the evening and outrated all free-to-air television channels between 11 pm and midnight AEST. The highest rated hour of coverage was from 10pm, achieving 190,000 viewers, the second highest ratings since the 2013 Labor Party spill. A March 2016 article in The Guardian Australia reported Sky News averages 12,000 national viewers between 6 pm and midnight, with a peak of 18,000 between 8 pm and 10 pm, although the report did not specify what days or dates this average refers to. During the 2016 federal election, Sky News averaged 96,000 viewers, an increase of 46% from the 2013 election. In July 2018, Sky News claimed to have achieved its highest ratings on record, with viewership up 9% overall and its weeknight primetime (6pm–11pm) viewership 25% higher on the same period last year, according to OzTAM figures. In August 2018, coverage of the Liberal Party of Australia leadership spill, 2018 saw Sky News gain its highest Tuesday primetime audience ever with a 4.2% audience share. Speers, Credlin and Jones & Co all had their highest-rated episodes on record. The Sky News 2022 Australian federal election debate had 415,000 viewers. The Sky News 2025 Australian federal election debate had a viewership of 410,000. Criticism In August 2018, Sky News was heavily criticised for providing a platform to Blair Cottrell, leader of the far-right, Neo-Nazi organisation United Patriots Front in a one-to-one discussion about immigration on The Adam Giles Show. Sky News presenter Laura Jayes and ABC journalist David Speers were among those critical (both on-air and off-air) of his appearance on the programme due to the fact that he has expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler and claimed to have manipulated women "using violence and terror." Sky News commentator and former Labor Party minister Craig Emerson resigned in protest after the interview was broadcast, stating that "My father fought Nazis in WWII and was interred in a German POW camp", and that the decision to give Cottrell a platform on Sky News was "another step in a journey to normalising racism & bigotry in our country". Several high-profile figures have criticised Sky News, including former prime minister Kevin Rudd, who told a media inquiry in February 2021 that it was following the "template" of Fox News in becoming a "legitimising echo-chamber for this increasingly far-right, extremist worldview". In December 2023, former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews, who was a frequent target of scorn from Sky News pundits during his premiership, referred to the channel's prime time coverage as "bullshit" and "the worst of American politics imported into ours". Accolades == Broadcast ==

Sky News began broadcasting in widescreen, along with its sister channels on 17 May 2009. Sky News began broadcasting in high definition on 1 December 2015. == Other services ==

Sky News social media The popularity of Sky News Australia's YouTube channel has grown rapidly compared with other news outlets. At one point it ranked among the top 10 most-watched news channels in the world on YouTube, surpassing the BBC and Sky News UK in total video views. This growth has been driven by opinion-led segments that attract international audiences, especially in the United States. On more than one occasion, Sky News Australia has had its social media accounts temporarily restricted or suspended for breaching platform rules on misinformation. For example, YouTube once suspended the network's account for a week over alleged COVID-19 misinformation. Sky News Multiview With the roll-out of Foxtel Digital, Sky News Australia launched the Sky News Active interactive news service based on the Sky News UK service with the same name. The service offered a choice of eight news screens, some with original content not seen on the main channel they vary depending on the days news or events and include the latest news, business, sport, showbiz and weather in text. Other features included interactive polling and the latest news headlines via text. On 15 November 2009 Sky News active re-launched with a new look as well as 5 additional local screens (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide. Sky News Now (mobile service) Sky News Now was a mobile service available on Vodafone, Telstra and 3. It offered a wide variety of news in both video and text. As of 2015, the service was no longer available. Sky News Alerts Sky News Alerts is a SMS and MMS breaking news service available on all mobile phones inside Australia. Breaking news alerts are sent to a subscriber via SMS or MMS at a cost per message. Qantas In November 2014, Sky News Australia was contracted to provide Qantas with in-flight news bulletins replacing a longstanding contract with the Nine Network. Radio and podcasting In Australia, since June 2023, Sky News partners with Nova Entertainment to offer an audio simulcast of its television channel via the free Nova Player app (nationally) and DAB+ digital radio (Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane only). Various programs podcasts including First Business, Market Day, Showbiz, Agenda, Australian News Week, Credlin and The Rita Panahi Show are also available on the app. Previously, it was on IHeartRadio from March 2020 until June 2023, as part of a deal with ARN. Sky News Regional Sky News Regional is a free-to-air version of Sky News Australia, which was launched on 2 September 2018 as Sky News on WIN. The channel features Sky News Australia and Fox Sports News programming, as well as the morning newscast Sky News Breakfast commissioned for this channel that also airs on Sky News Weather. The channel was originally established as part of a partnership with WIN Television. In 2021, WIN's contracts with both Network 10 and Sky News expired; with WIN returning to its previous Nine Network affiliation on 1 July 2021, and Sky News's contract expiring on 1 August 2021 (the allotments were, in turn, used for 9Life). The channel is available on digital channel 56 across Southern Cross Austereo's regional markets in Regional QLD, Southern NSW & ACT and Regional VIC, and on WIN digital channel 53 in Northern NSW and the Gold Coast. It is not available in Broken Hill/Spencer Gulf, Tasmania, Mildura, Darwin, Remote & Central Australia and Regional WA. WIN-owned stations in Mildura, Tasmania, and Regional Western Australia previously broadcast the channel until August 2021 when it switched to 9Life's feed. The channel was previously on WIN digital channels 83 and 85, prior to the rebrand as Sky News Regional on 1 August 2021. Sky News Regional ended its broadcast on channel 53 in Griffith and South-East South Australia/Riverland on 30 June 2024 after an unsuccessful renewal of the affiliation agreement with WIN. In July 2025, Sky News and Network 10 signed an agreement to continue airing Sky News Regional, following 10's acquisition of its affiliated stations in regional Queensland, Southern New South Wales, regional Victoria (formerly owned by Southern Cross Austereo) and Northern New South Wales (formerly owned by WIN Television). Sky News Election Channel In April 2016, Sky News Australia announced a temporary spin-off channel known as the Sky News Election Channel. The channel carried extended coverage of the Australian federal election, the United Kingdom referendum on remaining in the European Union, and United States presidential election, including coverage and programming from partners such as Sky News UK, ABC News (United States), CBS News, CNN, C-SPAN, and Fox News, as well as encore showings of Sky News Australia opinion programmes. The channel temporarily replaced A-PAC on Foxtel; A-PAC remained available on Sky News Multiview. On 28 June 2024, the Sky News Election Channel was revived, focusing upon coverage of the 2024 United Kingdom general election, French legislative election, and United States presidential elections, and the 2025 Australian federal election. The channel once again replaced Sky News Extra on Foxtel. Sky News Now On 23 March 2023, the network launched a free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channel on Samsung TV Plus and LG TV Live Channels known as Sky News Now; the channel features highlighted content from Sky News, Sky News Weather Channel, and Sky News Extra. == See also ==