Sky News Australia seeks FTA audience: reports
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Rebecca Hawkes
| 26 February 2018

Sky News Australia is said to be in preliminary talks with Seven West Media and Nine Entertainment to launch on free-to-air (FTA) television for the first time.

According to local reports, Murdoch’s Australian News Channel, which owns Sky News and its sister channel Sky News Business, has approached the two FTA broadcasters to carry content on their digital channels, reports the The Sydney Morning Herald.

Deals being discussed are reportedly for segments of Sky News content. The channel’s current home, Foxtel – owned by News Corp and Telstra – would continue to show the Sky channels in their entirety.

Around a third of Australian households subscribe to Foxtel’s pay-TV services, with Sky News Live gaining an average weekly audience of one million. Sky News Business attracts around 240,000 viewers per week. A deal with an FTA broadcaster would increase its reach across Australia.