Sky News Australia and Network 10 has announced a new multi-year distribution agreement to continue to broadcast the free-to-air channel Sky News Regional in existing regional markets across New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland.
Keeping its home on Channel 56 in regional Victoria, southern New South Wales and Queensland and Channel 53 in northern New South Wales and the Gold Coast, Sky News Regional offers regional viewers 24/7 free-to-air access to live breaking news, leading opinion, business, sport and weather from the Sky News Australia and FOX SPORTS News teams.
Network 10 announced in December 2024 its acquisition of Southern Cross Austereo’s (SCA) television licences in Queensland, southern New South Wales and Victoria. The addition of the WIN Network’s northern New South Wales and Gold Coast television licence in May 2025 completes the distribution of Network 10 into critical and highly populated regional markets.
Following the acquisition of these regional licences, Network 10 will continue to deliver the Sky News Regional feed and, from today, the Network 10 sales team will commercially represent all advertising inventory for this regional free-to-air channel.
The channel began as Sky News on WIN in September 2018 before relaunching as Sky News Regional in August 2021. During this time, the channel has become a popular and growing news destination for regional Australians delivering record year-on-year ratings growth with average audiences up 23 per cent.
In 2024 alone, more than 3 million unique regional viewers turned to Sky News Regional for its coverage, insights, and analysis.
“Sky News Regional was established to deliver an essential news service for regional Australians and since launching has consistently grown its audience, with more people than ever now relying on our live news coverage and opinion programming that speaks to the issues they care about,” said Paul Whittaker, Sky News Australia, chief executive.
“Through this multi-year agreement with Network 10 we’re pleased to provide our loyal regional free-to-air viewers ongoing access to our unrivalled mix of live breaking news, insightful opinion, documentaries, sport, business and weather updates.”
“We’re pleased to have reached a new agreement with Sky News Australia that maintains the existing selection of channels for regional audiences,” said Beverley McGarvey, President Network 10, head of streaming and regional lead, Paramount Australia.
“This deal also leverages the expertise of our unified national sales team, broadens our advertising inventory and national market offering, giving our clients and partners unparalleled access to key regional audiences.
“We’ve achieved another significant milestone of Network 10’s commercial strategy, which is aligned to our acquisition of major regional TV licences.”
Under the new agreement Sky News Regional will continue to feature regular high-profile contributions through live crosses, interviews and in-studio appearances from Australia’s leading political and business leaders, providing regional viewers access to our nation’s change makers.
The dedicated three-hour live breakfast program, Sky News Breakfast hosted by Jaynie Seal continues weekdays at 6.00am, presenting domestic and international news updates, plus interviews with newsmakers from local, regional and international markets, as well as sport and weather updates.
From 10:00am, political and business journalists Kieran Gilbert, Andrew Clennell, Laura Jayes, Tom Connell, Ross Greenwood and Ashleigh Gillon set the day’s agenda and provide context and understanding of the news stories making headlines.
Then, a line-up featuring Chris Kenny, Peta Credlin, Andrew Bolt and Sharri Markson deliver their opinion and analysis on the day’s most topical issues live Monday to Thursday from 5.00-9.00pm.
Now in its fifteenth year Paul Murray Live airs Sunday-Thursday at 9.00pm with the straight-talking Paul Murray. His Paul Murray Live Our Town series continues travelling around the nation celebrating regional Australia with the next episode on July 27 to be broadcast live from Mount Gambier in South Australia.
