 Logo used since 2019 | |
| Type | News channel |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| Broadcast area | Australia New Zealand |
| Headquarters | Macquarie Park, New South Wales |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 1080i HDTV (downscaled to 16:9 576i for the SDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | News Corp Australia |
| Parent | Australian News Channel |
| Sister channels | Sky News Weather Channel Sky News Extra |
| History | |
| Launched | 19 February 1996[1] |
| Links | |
| Website | skynews |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Freeview (Australia) | Channel 56 (Regional Victoria, Queensland and southern NSW) Channel 53 (Regional South Australia, northern NSW and Griffith, NSW) |
| Foxtel (Australia) | Channel 691 Channel 600 (HD) |
| Sky Television (New Zealand) | Channel 85 |
| Streaming media | |
| Australia Channel | Watch live outside Australia |
| Flash News | Watch live within Australia |
| Foxtel GO | Watch live within Australia |
Sky News Australia is an Australian conservative news channel owned by News Corp Australia. Originally launched on 19 February 1996, it broadcasts rolling news coverage throughout the day, while its prime time lineup is dedicated to opinion-based programs featuring a line-up of conservative commentators.[2][3][4]
Sky News Australia is distributed on pay television in Australia and New Zealand, while a free-to-air version of the service, Sky News Regional (which features programming from Sky News Australia and Fox Sports News) is distributed on digital terrestrial television by Southern Cross Austereo and selected WIN Television stations. The channel also operates two spin-off services, Sky News Weather Channel, and public affairs service Sky News Extra (formerly A-PAC).
The channel was originally a joint venture between British broadcaster BSkyB (thus making it a spin-off of the Sky News channel in the United Kingdom), Seven Media Group, and Nine Entertainment Co., as Australian News Channel Pty Ltd. The company was acquired by News Corp Australia in 2016;[5] with the subsequent sale of Murdoch's remaining shares in Sky UK to Comcast,[6] Sky News Australia no longer has any direct ties to its UK counterpart, despite still using the Sky News brand.
Especially since the acquisition of the channel by News Corp Australia, Sky News Australia has faced scrutiny from the press over its increased focus on opinion programming. Comparisons were drawn to Rupert Murdoch's American news channel Fox News, and there have been accusations that the channel's opinion programming has promoted misinformation and untrue conspiracy theories.[7][8]
- ^ "About Sky News". Sky News Australia. Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
- ^ Lallo, Michael (27 May 2019). "Sky's jump to the right has boosted ratings – but at what cost?". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ "Dark side of Sky After Dark: Anti-Labor comments seven times more likely". The New Daily. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
In News you have a very politically motivated news outlet –online, print, free to air and subscription. All of this is building a very strong right-wing media. It is an appalling vision of the future.
- ^ Muller, Denis (15 February 2017). "Sky News is not yet Fox News, but it has the good, the bad and the uglies". The Conversation. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
- ^ Pannett, Rachel (2 August 2021). "Sky News Australia temporarily suspended from YouTube for allegedly spreading coronavirus misinformation". The Washington Post. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
The Murdoch family took full control of Sky News Australia in 2016, through the local arm of News Corp.
- ^ "Rupert Murdoch's Sky reign to end as Fox sells all shares to Comcast". The Guardian. 26 September 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
- ^ Muller, Denis (21 February 2021). "Is Sky News shifting Australian politics to the right? Not yet, but there is cause for alarm". The Conversation. The Conversation. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
- ^ Davies, Anne (23 February 2021). "Sky News Australia is tapping into the global conspiracy set – and it's paying off". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 21 September 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.