All is not well at Sky News. In the Telegraph, James Warrington reports on its desperate scramble for survival as it battles falling viewership, mounting losses and an uncertain future. Here’s an excerpt:
For Sky News boss David Rhodes, there’s a lot in a name. When the U.S. cable news veteran this week unveiled a major strategy overhaul aimed at dragging the channel into the digital age, he called it “Sky News 2030”.
The plan, announced in a town hall last week, is intended to help the channel weather the decline of traditional TV affecting all broadcasters.
But Sky News has a deadline. The funding commitments put in place by U.S. owner Comcast are scheduled to expire in 2028. Rhodes’s blueprint signals confidence it won’t pull the plug despite losses that have been in the tens of millions of pounds on a budget of £100 million.
Unsurprisingly, staff are fearful of job losses.
“The total lack of clarity around job security is worrying everyone in the newsroom,” says one insider. …
Sky News now faces a complete overhaul of its business with a highly uncertain outcome. Rhodes aims to put much of its journalism behind paywalls for the first time and multiply its sources of income.
The likes of CNN, under former BBC Director General Mark Thompson, are attempting similar revolutions while making profits. Nobody in the TV news business thinks it will be easy. Sky News, on the clock and in the red, arguably has an even tougher task ahead. …
Rhodes plans to shift focus away from live and breaking news to high-quality programming, podcasts and newsletters that people will pay for. To stand a chance, he wants original, differentiated journalism to account for 70% of Sky News, up from the current level of just 30%.
The motive is clear. Traditional TV is in retreat as audiences get their news and entertainment online. Advertising revenues have in turn dropped sharply as brands follow the exodus of viewers. …
Now, as well as questions over its financial sustainability, the broadcaster is grappling with its position in the political landscape.
Despite the regulation of broadcast news for impartiality, Sky News’s roots in the Murdoch empire gave it a political tone to the right of the BBC that stood out.
Since the 2018 takeover by Comcast, which owns the Liberal-leaning NBC News and MSNBC, observers and insiders have detected a drift to the Left. Meanwhile GB News has staked out new territory further to the Right. One executive at a rival broadcaster says Sky News has “lost sight of its purpose” in recent years.
Worth reading in full.
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It’s more to do with their woke, leftie virtue signalling news content agenda than losing out to Internet tv and they damn well know it!
Look at sky news Australia (I do) it’s doing great with its constant punishment of the leftie net zerobrain dead idiots currently running Australia
Sky News Australia (still owned by Murdoch unlike in UK) featured covid sceptical content at the height of the fake pandemic.
They had some of the first journalists to do a segment on the Great Reset, but I noticed that they were silent over the jab fascism, just like Talk TV, as expected because of the Murdoch Empire. As for GB News, talk about boat people all you like but the jabs are always “safe& effective”, as for the climate, criticise the cost but never invite a proper climate sceptic (or maybe once in a blue moon). Because if you cause a stir, like asking all the right questions (like Fox, Steyn & Robinson) Farage will say you are not a ‘Team Player’ and you are veering too far from the establishment.
I don’t recognise your description of GB News content. How often do you watch it?
‘Lefties losing it’ is a regular feature on Sky News Au. Regularly updated and available to watch for free on YouTube. Well worth a visit.
Seconded.
Watch it regularly, Rita Panahi is a gem
Whatever he means by “differentiated journalism” he has missed the boat. I do not think he will be able to catch GB News nor the many excellent authors on substack.
Oh, well, never mind.
They may not survive but, with their left wing bias, at least they can feel self-righteous.
“Since the 2018 takeover by Comcast, which owns the Liberal-leaning NBC News and MSNBC, observers and insiders have detected a drift to the Left.”
All of which have plummeting ratings and mounting losses as viewers flee their fake news and blatent loony-left bias for trustworthy internet content.
If people won’t watch Sky News free, why would any sane person imagine people would pay?
It has got worse for the Far Left media following Donald’s election win.
If people won’t watch Sky News free, why would any sane person imagine people would pay?
Simple, universities, libraries and other publicly funded institutions will buy subscriptions at inflated prices, thus creating a hidden stream of subsidies.
In modern journalism, its not who reads or watches that matters, it’s who pays.
Does that mean the ghastly Beth Rigby will lose her job? What a shame!
Went woke, went broke.
It’s pretty simple really.
I don’t really watch Sky news, however I do watch Sky F1 sports channel, and in the last 3-4 years that’s become ‘woke central’. They also appear to be cutting back as well, especially on experienced pundits etc – usually replacing them with cheaper, more box ticking candidates
Be a trend setter, become an MSM News outlet that gives unbiased truth and dares to question the prevailing narratives.