Overview
Based at a news centre in London, Sky News started broadcasting on 5 February 1989 as part of the then four-channel Sky Television service. Sky News provides an hourly news radio service to multiple radio networks in the UK and Ireland. The channel currently has seven UK bases each with their own correspondents, and the channel can also call upon a wide range of resources and global bureaux provided by its primary share holder News Corporation such as reporters from Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network (its sister news and business channels).
Sky News has built its schedule around the main anchors with appointment to view broadcasts regularly being supplemented by landmark broadcasts. Although most of its programmes feature one main presenter, when major breaking news reaches the channel it has recently started to revert to the old double-headed style with two presenters anchoring. Sky News is known for its innovations in news broadcasting and regularly wins awards for this and also for its broadcasting in general.
Sky News has started to revamp its graphics almost every year, with the latest revamp unveiled on 6 May 2010.
In late December 2008, Sky News began broadcasting from Studio B at Sky News centre, while work on the main newsroom was being carried out. On 4 February 2009 at 6 am broadcasting resumed from the revamped newsroom. This coincided with the channel's 20th anniversary on 5 February 2009.
From 30 March 2010, Sky News again began broadcasting from Studio B as the final preparations took place for the launch of Sky News HD. Broadcasting returned to the main newsroom at 9 pm on 6 May 2010, for the launch of Sky News HD and the results of the 2010 UK general election.
Although owned by British Sky Broadcasting, Sky News is partially owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, which holds a minority stake in BSkyB. Murdoch said of Sky News in March 1992, when he was the full owner:
| “ | Taking nothing away from CNN, which has done an outstanding job, I would point out that Sky News, the Fox news service and the News Corporation's combined reach - which have together over three thousand journalists spread over every continent and every country - leave us with an army of news gatherers second to none both with regard to their access to news and ability to bring news from anywhere into people's homes | ” |
The station's headquarters are in Osterley, West London, employing well over 50 on-screen staff (anchors, weather forecasters, correspondents and reporters) and over 600 behind-the-scenes staff. The station has eight of its own bureaux outside the United Kingdom and shares many more with other News Corporation stations.
According to numerous articles published online at the time that Sky Sports News moved to the newly opened Sky Studios, the articles also mentioned that Sky News will soon be moving to the new studios.
Sky also produces a website (Sky News Online) and has a library sales division. Since 2005 Sky News has produced bulletins for Five News on British TV channel Channel 5, after winning the contract to supply the channel's news bulletins held by ITN since the channel's launch in 1997. Following a change in ownership at Channel 5 however, there is some doubt as to how long the contract will continue, as new owner Richard Desmond seeks to make his mark on the channel's strategy. The contract for producing Channel Five's news has now been given back to ITN.
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