news australia logo launched 19 february 1996 1 owned by australian news channel pty ltd sky plc 33 % seven west media 33 % nine entertainment co. 33 % picture format 576i sdtv 16 9 1080i hdtv audience share 0.4 % january 2015 oztam 2 slogan australia s news channel 3 country australia language english sister channel s sky news business channel sky news weather channel a pac sky news election channel website www.skynews.com.au availability satellite foxtel channel 601 channel 291 hd sky network television nz channel 85 cable foxtel channel 601 channel 291 hd optus channel 601 neighbourhood cable channel 21 vodafone tv nz channel 85 iptv xbox 360 channel 601 australia channel 2 sky news australia branded on air as sky news live and until 18 january 2015 as sky news national is an australian 24 hour cable and satellite news channel available in 2.5 million homes on foxtel austar optus television and neighbourhood cable subscription platforms . it is also available in new zealand on sky television and vodafone 1 sky news australia launched at 5pm 4 on 19 february 1996 as the first australian produced television news channel . sky news was added to austar on 1 april 2000 . 5 in 2004 sky news began broadcasting sky news active its on demand interactive tv news service . 1 in 2008 sky news launched the sky news business channel and on 20 january 2009 sky news launched australian public affairs channel a pac . it began widescreen broadcasting on 17 may 2009 . 6 sky news australia began broadcasting in high definition on 1 december 2015 . 7 8 a fourth spin off channel sky news election channel was launched on 1 may 2016 . 9 contents 1 corporate 2 programming 2.1 current programs 3 notable presenters 3.1 newsreaders 3.2 program presenters 3.3 reporters 3.4 contributors 3.5 former presenters and reporters 4 bureaus 5 resources 6 reception 6.1 ratings 6.2 criticism 6.3 accolades 7 broadcast 8 other services 8.1 sky news multiview 8.2 sky news now 8.3 sky news alerts 8.4 qantas 8.5 podcasting 9 see also 10 references 11 external links corporate edit australian news channel pty ltd logo sky news channel s parent company australian news channel pty ltd anc is owned equally by british sky broadcasting seven media group and nine entertainment co. each with a 33 % stake in the company . the carriage deal between australian news channel and foxtel is due to expire in 2017 reported as either february 10 or december . 11 in 2013 sky news australia was granted au 20 million in funding from its parent company to be used over three years . 12 until 2015 sky news was responsible for producing new zealand s prime news first at 5 30 from sydney hosted by eric young with filming taking place in prime s albany studios . it lost the contract to mediaworks and subsequently ceased broadcasting a local new zealand bulletin . 13 on 26 february 2015 it was reported that news corp australia launched an au 25 million bid for full ownership of australian news channel . 14 in june 2015 it was reported that anc s stakeholders had rejected a news corp takeover offer of au 20 million with the owners wanting a minimum of au 50 million . 15 following a breakdown in a news corp buyout further reports suggested nine entertainment could sell its stake to a joint arrangement between seven west media and news corp. 11 programming edit see also list of programs broadcast by sky news live sky news programming consists of a mix of live news bulletins live broadcasts from events such as parliament question time and selected press conferences original commentary panel programs and simulcasts of international sister station sky news uk . sky news has broadcast every sitting of question time from the house of representatives since its launch in 1996 . 16 sky news australia increased its primetime programming offerings particularly its political themed shows significantly in 2013 ahead of the 2013 federal election moving away from rolling news or formal news bulletins in primetime . 12 sky news australia rebranded on 19 january 2015 as sky news live dropping the sky news national branding . 17 on weekdays throughout most of the day rolling news coverage is presented from one of sky news australia s studios . from 4pm aest aedt commentary programs begin and continue through primetime until 11pm aest aedt . most of these programs are presesented by commentators discussing the news of the day often with a panel of other commentators and feature a news update at the beginning of the program and sometimes further updates during the program . rolling news continues from 11pm aest aedt before coverage switches to an overnight simulcast of sky news uk after midnight . in 2007 sky news aired local breakaway programming for new zealand viewers in primetime filmed at prime nz s auckland studios . one of these programs prime news first at 5 30 was also simulcast to australian viewers . 18 the debut of sky news nz evening news was watched by just 1 500 viewers and panned by critics . 19 as of 2015 no local new zealand programs are produced or broadcast following the loss of a production contract with prime nz . 13 current programs edit agenda am pm sunday weekend credlin & keneally from 16 nov 2016 first edition karvelas paul murray live pvo newsday 20 pyne & marles richo temporarily replaced by beattie reith 21 richo jones temporarily known as jones co 21 saturday live 22 until after 2016 election speers tonight sportsnight with james bracey sunday edition the b team with peter berner the bolt report 23 24 the friday show the last word the latest with laura jayes 25 to the point 20 viewpoint notable presenters edit sky news australia outside broadcast equipment . kieran gilbert reporting from the australian war memorial in canberra . newsreaders edit brooke corte susanne latimore tracey spicer elizabeth tilley substitute host also brisbane bureau chief jacinta tynan tim webster ahron young substitute host also melbourne bureau chief program presenters edit andrew bolt the bolt report james bracey sportsnight with james bracey helen dalley the dalley edition kieran gilbert am agenda first edition ashleigh gillon friday newsday weekend live stan grant reporting live laura jayes the latest with laura jayes alan jones richo jones chris kenny viewpoint kristina keneally to the point richard marles pyne & marles jim middleton weekend agenda paul murray paul murray live janine perrett the friday show christopher pyne pyne & marles graham richardson richo richo jones david speers pm agenda speers tonight the last word peter van onselen sunday agenda pvo newshour to the point reporters edit dan bourchier tom connell amy greenbank jennifer bechwati contributors edit bronwyn bishop 26 ross cameron peter beattie from 2 march 2015 27 peta credlin from may 2016 . 28 29 bruce hawker 30 michael kroger 30 former presenters and reporters edit samantha armytage now with sunrise on seven georgie gardner now with nine news leigh hatcher derryn hinch now a senator for victoria david koch now with sunrise on seven prue lewarne john mangos melanie mclaughlin now with seven news kelly nestor juanita phillips now with abc news cameron price now with seven news chris roe nina stevens amber sherlock now with nine news karen tso now with cnbc terry willesee michael willesee jr. bureaus edit sky news sydney city studio in martin place sky news melbourne bureau is within the foxtel headquarters in southbank victoria . sky news australia has a bureau in every capital city in australia completing this with the opening of its hobart studio in 2013 . 12 in 2016 it will open a bureau in cairns making it the first non capital city bureau . 31 the base of sky news australia is in the sydney suburb of macquarie park where the majority of its news and programming is broadcast from . its melbourne studio was upgraded in 2014 allowing it to be used as a secondary broadcast studio . 32 hinch live became the first regular program to be broadcast from melbourne . 33 ahron young is the melbourne bureau chief . 34 the third major bureau is in parliament house canberra opened in 2000 . 16 lyndal curtis became bureau chief of in october 2015 . 35 additionally sky news has a small office in the channel seven building in martin place which includes a small street level single camera studio which looks onto elizabeth street sydney . 36 internationally sky news only foreign bureau is in wellington new zealand opened in 2015 . 37 38 resources edit apart from its own resources sky news australia uses the news resources of its parent companies seven news nine news and sky news uk as well as sister network fox news channel . it signed a four year partnership deal with cnn international commencing 1 january 2011 and additionally has agreememnts with cctv china abc america cbs reuters aptn bloomberg dow jones and tv3 new zealand . 39 sky news uk abc and cbs were founding international partners of sky news australia . 40 reception edit ratings edit the highest rating broadcast on sky news australia was an episode of paul murray live on 26 june 2013 following the 2013 labor leadership spill averaging 197 000 viewers across a special two hour broadcast . the highest audience share sky news australia has achieved was during coverage of the 2009 victorian bushfires . 41 on december 15 2014 during the sydney lindt cafe siege coverage of the unfolding incident took 16 of the 20 most watched programs on the foxtel platform . the 7pm aest hour was the highest rated at 109 000 viewers . 42 sky news achieved a day time share of 2.6 % behind abc news 24 s 3.8 % and a primetime share of 1.5 % behind abc news 24 s 2.5 % . 43 sky news live rated 56 000 viewers for early evening coverage of the 2015 queensland state election and 83 000 viewers for later coverage beaten by abc news 24 s coverage which was watched by 195 000 viewers nationally . 44 for its coverage of the failed liberal leadership spill on 9 february 2015 between 9am and 10am sky news live was the second most watched subscription channel and the coverage was the third most watched program of the day with 69 000 viewers . 45 sky news live reached a total audience of 700 000 viewers on september 14 2015 including simulcast on sky news business during the 2015 liberal leadership spill . it was the most watched subcription television channel for the evening and outrated all free to air television channels between 11pm and midnight aest . 46 the highest rated hour of coverage was from 10pm achieving 190 000 viewers the second highest ratings since the 2013 labor party spill . 47 48 a march 2016 article in the guardian australia reported sky news averages 12 000 national viewers between 6pm and midnight with a peak of 18 000 between 8pm and 10pm although the report did not specify what days or dates this average refers to . 49 during 2016 ferderal election sky news averaged 96 000 viewers an increase of 46 % from the 2013 election . 50 criticism edit during the 2016 federal election campaign liberal party strategist tony o leary reportedly told sky news that liberal leader malcolm turnbull would boycott appearing on the network while it employed previous prime minister tony abbott s former chief of staff peta credlin as a commentator . turnbull also described its audience as too small . 51 accolades edit list of accolades year award category recipient s result 2007 2007 astra awards most outstanding performance by a presenter david speers won most creative use of technology anytime anywhere nominated 2008