Sky News Australia
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 |
| Links | |
| Website | skynews |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Freeview (Australia) | Channel 56 (Regional Victoria, Queensland and southern NSW) Channel 53 (Regional northern NSW and Gold Coast, Queensland) |
| 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 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.
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. With the subsequent sale of Murdoch's remaining shares in Sky UK to Comcast, Sky News Australia no longer has any direct ties to its UK counterpart, but continues to use the Sky News branding under license from Comcast. News Corp. has explored a rebranding of the network once the licensing agreement with Sky expires.
Especially since the acquisition of the channel by News Corp Australia, Sky News Australia has faced scrutiny from the press over its current focus on conservative opinion programming—including comparisons to Rupert Murdoch's American news channel Fox News, and accusations that Sky News Australia commentators have promoted misinformation and conspiracy theories.