Opinion | It’s Time for Paramount to Cut Ties with Sky News Australia – With the June 30 expiry of the Sky News Regional contract fast approaching, Paramount Australia faces a timely decision: whether to continue broadcasting Sky News Australia in key regional markets inherited from Southern Cross Austereo (SCA), or move forward with its own vision. The answer should be clear — it’s time to end the arrangement.
Until recently, Sky News Australia was a fixture in regional areas through its partnership with SCA and WIN, broadcast free-to-air on Channels 56 and 53 across parts of Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria. But that setup wasn’t Paramount’s doing. It was a legacy deal — one that now sits uncomfortably within the ecosystem of a media company investing heavily in its own credible, balanced news offering.
Paramount, through Network 10, has only just acquired the remaining regional markets previously operated by SCA. With this acquisition comes not just new reach, but new responsibility — and the opportunity to define what content belongs under its national brand. And the controversial, ideologically slanted output of Sky News Australia simply doesn’t belong.
A Network Built on Credibility, Not Controversy
In the past year alone, Network 10 has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to revitalising its news and current affairs slate. From expanded lunchtime, afternoon, and late-night bulletins to the creation of a new prime-time investigative journalism unit, 10 has been investing not just in quantity, but quality. A new flagship program is also reportedly on the way, aiming to take 10’s current affairs credibility to the next level.
And there’s no shortage of talent behind this resurgence. 10’s newsroom is stacked with respected journalists: Denham Hitchcock, Amelia Brace, Sandra Sully, Sharyn Ghidella, Chris Bath, Hugh Riminton, Jennifer Keyte — a team with national recognition, decades of experience, and, crucially, public trust.
So why undermine that investment and reputation by continuing to give free-to-air airtime to a third-party service with an entirely different editorial direction?
Sky News and 10 Are Not Aligned — And Never Were
Sky News Australia has, in recent years, become a lightning rod for controversy, particularly in its after-dark programming blocks. Whether it’s climate denialism, conspiratorial rhetoric, or partisan political commentary, the tone and tenor of Sky’s output is increasingly at odds with the direction Network 10 is pursuing — and with the broader expectations of modern, diverse regional audiences.
Paramount is a global media powerhouse with clear brand values. Continuing to associate, even passively, with Sky News sends a mixed message at best and a damaging one at worst. Regional Australians deserve trusted, independent journalism — not imported outrage from a pay-TV brand that doesn’t speak for them.
An Uneven Reach — and an Unbalanced Message
Sky News Regional currently airs only in three states — Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland — giving it an uneven footprint across the Paramount network. That imbalance is more than just geographic; it reflects a larger inconsistency in tone and editorial philosophy.
Now that Network 10 has full national reach, it makes no sense to amplify a brand whose coverage contradicts the ethos 10 is working hard to establish. Instead of trying to blend these incompatible approaches, Paramount should streamline and stand behind its own newsrooms.
The Path Forward Is Clear — and It’s All 10
Paramount has already made its intentions known through action: it is doubling down on its own journalists, investing in its own platforms, and restoring the strength of the 10 brand. It now has the infrastructure, the people, and the audience to make its mark in regional Australia — on its own terms.
There is no longer any justification for outsourcing part of that identity to a service that doesn’t align with its values.
Sky News may have been part of the package, but it doesn’t need to be part of the future. Paramount and Network 10 are building something bigger, bolder, and more balanced — and it’s time to back themselves completely.
Let Sky News Australia go.
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Opinion | It’s Time for Paramount to Cut Ties with Sky News Australia
