Sky News ‘in Freeview talks’
Talks have taken place for Sky News to be given a Freeview slot, it has been reported.
The pay TV news service – Australia’s only 24 hour news channel – is jointly owned by Nine owner PBL, Seven Media and BSkyB.
If a deal is done, then it would be a major selling point for the Freeview platform, which is the digital offering of Australia’s free to air channels. So far there is little content on the platform to drive subscribers, with Ten’s Sports channel One, ABC2 and SBS 2 the only content that analogue free to air households cannot receive.
It would also give Rupert Murdoch – whose News Corp controls BSkyB – his first foothold in Australia’s free TV market. But it would come as a blow to the ABC, which has its own ambitions for a 24 hour news channel.
Why wouldnt Nine and Seven both take Sky News content for their nightly editions as well as Freeview,,, They own it dont they? its a great , many times awarded news service and they would save a shit load of dosh, rather than try and kill each other in the ratings each night, Then with the tens of $Millions saved concentrate on quality australian entertainment…which they are very good at .
Just a ten million dollar thought
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Graham, Sky News would probably invest more in their own reporting if they gained access to Freeview… the entire channel would probably get a substantial leg up.
I’m not that keen to see the biased, alarmist reporting that Murdoch’s news channels are famous for on free-to-air TV, though.
Kind of surprised Fox 8 isn’t getting a look in somehow – I’d always figured they’d very deliberately named the channel “Fox 8” to fit in with the free-to-air channel names at some point.
Yeah, Fox8 does make a certain amount of sense. Sky UK created a Freeview version of its Fox8 equivalent (Sky1), with different content, used as a way of encouraging users to subscribe to Sky.
In Australia, Fox8 is owned by Foxtel. If it was owned by News Corp I wonder if they’d want to spin off a Fox8-like channel. Maybe they’re exploring/negotiating their own FTA channel with Nine anyway.
You know – Australian Freeview is laughable – which is a shame. I wonder if Sky will have the famous red button interactivity. Oh I forgot its Australia. So No.
What do you mean “Wonder if Sky will have interactivity”. Do you mean Freeview, or Foxtel? Foxtel already has red button interactivity like Sky.
When quality journalism returns to Free To Air TV, then I might raise an eyebrow about another news service becoming available. Over the past two decades, TV journalism has sunk to an all-time low.
What a joke when Ms Grimshaw got her nose out of joint about the Ramsay ravings, after her outrageous interview with Matthew Johns virtually destroyed his career and personal life. Seems second-rate journos can stick-it but can’t take it!
I’m not a fan of Ramsay, Johns or Grimshaw, but I do recognise low quality journalism when I see and hear it.
Freeview – I happen to have mentioned it in the sentence. Sky is potentially coming to freeview…
Thanks – does Freeview UK have “red button” interactivity on some channels?
I thought that was limited to BSkyB satellite TV (like Foxtel has here).
hope this happens, and it will be the first step into FTA tv for other provides that we have now(ABC/SBS/7/9/10 etc) and then in the future foxtel or other providers could start to provide channels on freeview, but in a way i hope it doesn’t replace channel 7 or 9 second channel as i hope sky news would just be a extra channel using its own bandwidth, and for all of yous who say that the space shouldn’t be used for this channel, should remember if this channel doesn’t get launched its not like the other networks are going to fill the space available anytime soon/if ever.
As far as the red button goes, ii dont know if freeview/over-the-air tv supports it but my set top box does have a read button which does nothing, and im not sure but in the uk i do think they have ‘red’ button services but not sure, i know for sure SKY does.
Greg, – yes, UK Freeview does have red button interactivity. I’ve used it to choose which court to watch during Wimbledon on BBC. Their stations are only limited to a) the bandwidth costs and b) the fact there is no return path- so unlike Foxtel which is usually connected back via a phone line, it cannot be used to order movies, etc.