for grammar style cohesion tone or spelling . you can assist by editing it . september 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message this article is about the british channel . for the australian channel see sky news australia . for the middle east channel see sky news arabia . for the defunct irish channel see sky news ireland . sky news launched 5 february 1989 ; 27 years ago 1989 02 05 owned by sky plc distributed worldwide by fox networks group picture format 576i sdtv 16 9 1080i hdtv international 576i sdtv 16 9 1080i hdtv audience share 0.76 % april 2016 2016 04 barb slogan first for breaking news 1 broadcast area worldwide except australia and new zealand sister channel s challenge pick real lives sky 1 sky 2 sky arts sky atlantic sky cinema sky cinema box office sky living sky sports sky sports f1 sky sports news hq fox news fox business website official website live stream availability terrestrial freeview uk channel 132 satellite sky uk channel 501 sd hd channel 516 sd freesat uk channel 202 sky ireland channel 501 sd hd channel 516 sd ktv ltd. falkland islands sky italia italy channel 522 cyfra poland channel 677 astra 1l 11597 v 22000 5 6 astra 2e 12207 v 27500 5 6 dstv channel 402 thor 5 canal digital 11862 h 28000 7 8 yes israel channel 103 tv vlaanderen digitaal belgium channel 54 zon tv portugal channel 205 osn middle east & north africa channel 401 hd canalsat france channel 362 meo portugal channel 203 indovision indonesia channel 336 astro malaysia channel 532 hd dishhd taiwan and mainland china channel 6120 hd cignal digital tv philippines channel tba thaicom 6 11425 v 30000 3 4 cable virgin media uk channel 602 channel 603 hd virgin media ireland ireland channel 202 channel 232 hd ktv ltd. falkland islands upc netherlands channel 408 upc telemach slovenia channel 25 com hem sweden channel 126 kabel deutschland channel 839 hot israel channel 68 zon tv portugal channel 205 magnet networks ireland channel 202 naxoo switzerland channel 61 medianet maldives channel 111 starhub tv singapore channel 703 sd channel 757 hd skycable philippines channel tba destiny cable philippines channel tba teled nya turkey channel 73 wightfibre uk channel 119 macau cable tv macau channel 805 iptv now tv hong kong channel 323 trueiptv thailand channel 12 freebox france channel 87 meo portugal channel 203 mio tv singapore channel 151 hd streaming media sky news live video streaming 24 7 youtube watch live jalipo subscription available only in europe and united states . vingo.tv alpha registration required narrowband stream sky go watch live uk and ireland only virgin tv anywhere watch live uk only livestation watch live horizon go watch live ireland only apple tv sky news app uk ireland and united states roku sky news channel sky news is a 24 hour international multi media news operation based in britain . it provides non stop rolling news on television online and on a range of mobile devices as well as delivering a service of national and international radio news to commercial radio stations in the uk . the news service places emphasis on rolling news including the latest breaking news . having launched as a 24 hour television news channel in 1989 sky news has also grown into a digital operation through its website and mobile apps . it is also a content provider for news services in the uk and around the world . john ryley is the head of sky news being in the role since june 2006 . in addition to the domestic television channel sky news also hosts localised versions of the channel sky news australia and sky news arabia and previously operated sky news ireland . sky news is also offered in an international version without the british adverts under the name sky news international available in europe africa asia and the united states . it operates sky news radio which provides news for many commercial radio stations in the uk many of them as the news provider for independent radio news irn . sky news also provides content for yahoo news and is available on apple tv and roku . contents 1 history 1.1 establishment and early years 1.2 sky news since 2000 2 programmes 3 reception 3.1 sky news international 3.2 regional variations 4 sky news hd 5 sky news radio 6 regular presenters 7 in depth series 8 criticism and perception 9 legal cases 10 awards 11 bureaux 11.1 worldwide 11.2 additional live studios 12 online 12.1 interactivity blogs and forums 12.2 sky tyne and wear 13 virgin media dispute 14 see also 15 references 16 external links 16.1 other websites history edit establishment and early years edit on 8 june 1988 rupert murdoch announced to the british academy of film and television arts that he would provide a new television news service . sky news started broadcasting at 6 pm on 5 february 1989 . citation needed visually sky news looked very neat with slick and classy presentation and john o loan s original vocation as an architect showing in the studio set . sky had gone for the same format as the nine o clock news on the bbc which had recently been redesigned to give the impression of activity and immediacy by placing the newsreader against a backdrop of the working newsroom . sky news it was universally agreed as staff nodded in vigorous approval had succeeded rather better at the same thing . the critics were mildly taken aback . contrary to some of the horror scenarios bandied about by the chattering classes there seemed to be little to grumble about . and as its slogan of we re there when you need us emphasised it was always on . in the early days the channel operated on a 40 million budget plus 10 million share of overheads which led sam chisholm to propose to murdoch the station be closed but rupert was pleased with its achievements ... there were overriding reasons of prestige and politics for keeping it ... the final hurdle of the broadcasting bill had still to be overcome and the case for the acceptability of sky would collapse if suddenly there was no news channel . 2 former deputy prime minister viscount whitelaw said to the house of lords in 1990 that sky news had a very high reputation ... i admire it as do many other people it will certainly waken up both the bbc and itn and ensure that they compete with what is a very important news service . the channel has never been run for a profit 3 and has considered using itn to supplement the service . citation needed by march 1992 sky turned from loss to profit 4 when murdoch would say sky news has quietly if expensively become the first building block of what we envision will become the premier worldwide electronic news gathering network anywhere . ask anyone in europe and particularly the bbc and you will be told that sky news has added a new and better dimension to television journalism . sky news was one of the uk s first 24 hour news channels with cnn international on astra 1a while bbc world service television launched in 1991 but has never been broadcast in the uk until november 1997 when bbc news launched a new 24 hour channel bbc news 24 now known simply as bbc news . in september 1999 the european commission ruled against a complaint by sky news which argued that the publicly funded bbc news 24 was unfair and illegal under eu law . the ec ruled that the television licence fee should be considered state aid within the meaning of article 87 and that it was justified due to the public service remit of the bbc and that it did not exceed actual costs of the channel . 5 sky news since 2000 edit this section needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . september 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message in march 2000 sky news active was launched a 24 hour interactive service providing headlines and other services which ranged from weather the top story of the day and showbiz on demand . in march 2004 it was announced that sky news had won a 5 year contract to supply news bulletins to channel 5 taking over from itn in january 2005 . 6 on 24 october 2005 sky news moved to new studios in isleworth london and underwent a major on screen revamp . the new studio was integrated with the newsroom and boasted the biggest video wall in britain ; it was designed by new york architects janson design group . 7 new music was scored by adelphoi music and recorded with a full orchestra at air studios hampstead and mastered at metropolis studios . 8 new on screen graphics were launched and the channel began broadcasting in widescreen 16 9 format . the 2005 relaunch also saw the introduction of a new schedule designed around appointment to view programmes rather than continuous rolling news . 7 james rubin joined to present a new evening programme called world news tonight julie etchingham presented another new hard hitting evening show called sky report eamonn holmes joined to present sunrise kay burley presented a new programme called lunchtime live from 12 to 2pm and the daytime show sky news today saw the introduction of a three presenter format . however the relaunched schedule was unsuccessful and from october 2005 the bbc news channel overtook sky news in the ratings . in response to the schedule s unpopularity with viewers changes took place in july 2006 with the removal of the evening programmes sky report and world news tonight with james rubin in favour of rolling news and an interactive programme sky news with martin stanford and the return to a two presenter format on sky news today . these changes came at the same time of the arrival of john ryley who is the incumbent head of sky news . on 1 october 2007 sky introduced another new schedule extending kay burley s lunchtime live programme and renaming it afternoon live . they also switched to a new format for much of the day with a solo lead presenter and a summary newsreader . sky news put more emphasis on interactive news with martin stanford s new skynews.com programme ; an early evening financial news programme presented by jeff randall was also introduced initially on mondays only . further changes were made to the sky news schedule on 8 september 2008 with colin brazier presenting a new show from 1pm 2pm the live desk and martin stanford s sky.com news became skynews.com moving to 7pm every weeknight . more changes took place during the early part of 2009 . these changes involved major changes to the layout of the newsroom studio the introduction of a morning edition of the live desk and the extension of the financial news programme jeff randall live to run for 4 nights each week monday to thursday . from 6am to midnight on 8 march 2010 sky news was presented and produced exclusively by women to mark international women s day . 9 this exercise was repeated again in 2011 and 2012 . in preparation for the start of high definition broadcasting sky news moved to its second studio studio b on the morning of 30 march 2010 . broadcasting from studio b continued until 9 pm on 6 may when they moved back to the main newsroom and launched sky news hd in time for the 2010 general election results . sky news received a graphics refresh and a new logo to coincide with the