Sky News - The History

Sky News is a 24 hour international news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.
The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news.

Currently broadcasting from a news centre in London. Sky News started broadcasting on 5th February 1989 as part of the then four-channel Sky Television service. The channel currently has seven UK bases each with their own correspondents and reporters and the channel also has a wide range of resources provided by its parent company News Corporation such as reporters from Fox News Channel. When major breaking news reaches the SkyNews room, it has more recently started to change back to the presenting style with two presenters anchoring.

In March 2000 Sky News Active was launched, a 24-hour interactive service providing headlines along with other services such as the weather, the top story of the day and showbiz on television demand.

Sky News is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation via his holding in British Sky Broadcasting. Murdoch said of it 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"