Sky News launches ‘Brexit-free’ channel
Sky News launches ‘Brexit-free’ channel
- Sky News to offer viewers an alternative to Brexit news agenda
- Study shows a third of people are actively avoiding the news
Ahead of the EU Council meeting this week and a critical week of negotiations to come, Sky News is launching a new pop-up channel that’s dedicated to Brexit-free news.
Sky News: Brexit-Free will launch tomorrow [Wednesday 16 October] at 5pm on Sky Channel 523 and offer a real alternative to evening news programmes which will be dominated by Britain’s impending departure from the EU.
A study earlier this year found that an increasing number of people in the UK were actively avoiding the news due to frustrations over the coverage of Brexit. As many has a third of people are actively avoiding the news, an increase of 11% since 2017, while more than half [58%] said it had a negative impact on their mood.*
With that in mind Sky News will now offer viewers the chance to catch-up on the big national and international stories – without any fears of hearing about Brexit.
As Brexit continues to dominate the news agenda while the UK’s departure from the EU looms, Sky News Brexit Free will give viewers the choice to filter out headlines about Brexit.
Sky News Brexit-Free will be on-air from 5pm to 10pm Monday to Friday. During this period, Sky News will continue to cover all angles of Brexit on its main channel as well as breaking the big stories from the UK and across the world.
John Ryley, Head of Sky News said: “Sky News Brexit-Free is a bold approach but listening to public opinion over the past weeks and months, it’s something we know our viewers will find valuable.
“Brexit is an historic story that has a major impact and we will continue to give it comprehensive coverage. The new channel simply gives people the option to take a break from Brexit, apply a filter to their headlines and hear about issues away from Westminster and Brussels with a focus on hard-hitting, original journalism.”
*Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism Digital News Report 2019.
For more information
Sky News PR
020 7032 1445
skypress@sky.uk
stuart.mawhinney@sky.uk
About Sky
With 24 million customers across seven countries, Sky is Europe’s leading media and entertainment company and is proud to be part of the Comcast group. Our 31,000 employees help connect our customers with the very best of Sports, News, the arts and to our own local, original content. Following the success of Sky originals like Chernobyl, Patrick Melrose, Das Boot and Gommorah we launched Sky Studios and now plan to more than double our investment in original drama and comedy over the next five years.
Our technology allows customers to watch what they want, when they want, how they want, and as we connect millions of families to content they love, it is our responsibility to do it safely – that’s why we offer services like Sky Broadband Buddy and the Sky Kids app. And our online streaming service, NOW TV, brings viewers all the enjoyment of Sky with the flexibility of a contract-free service.
We also believe that a company of our scale has a responsibility that goes beyond our business, and into the community. Our Sky Ocean Rescue campaign has reached millions across Europe, we’re on track to be free of single-use plastic by 2020, we’re investing £25million over five years in ocean-saving tech and we’re a proud employer – recognised by The Times and Stonewall for our approach to inclusivity.
