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Sky News Brexit-Free will not evoke the Brexit while news about the exit of the EU occupies a big place in the British media landscape.
Sky News launched on Wednesday a new channel dedicated to information without Brexit. Sky News Brexit-Free is now airing Monday through Friday from 5pm to 10pm on the Sky 523 channel.
According to Information Manager Neil Dunwoodie, "this initiative was an idea of Sky News boss John Ryley". " We started thinking about it at the beginning of 2019. We got the idea in March but as the Brexit was postponed for October 31, we decided to launch it now, " he says. RFI.
► See also: New Brexit agreement between the EU and the UK
A temporary chain
Neil Dunwoodie adds: " Brexit Sky News will air until October 31st [Brexit date]. Our idea was to have the news channel Sky News and also a chain without information on Brexit. "
Sky News Brexit-Free will handle international news and UK news. " For example at 17h on Sky News, there was the latest information about Brexit while on Sky News Brexit-Free, there was talk of Turkey, Syria and Donald Trump. "
"The goal was to offer another offer of information between 5pm and 10pm, when people come home from work, " says Neil Dunwoodie, who states that " the journalists on Sky News will also be on Sky News Brexit-Free "
Fed up
A study, published this summer, revealed that a third of Britons avoid following the news around Brexit. And more than 70% of them say they are frustrated by the political debate surrounding it.
In addition, according to a YouGov poll published in early October, 40% of Britons say that Brexit has an impact on their mental health.
Finally, a survey, published a few months ago, revealed an 11% increase in the number of people turning away from the news and who were " marked by boredom, anger or sadness after Brexit. "
In this spirit, Sky News has announced that it will now offer viewers the opportunity to watch national and international news without fear of hearing about Brexit. " It's something we know our viewers will find useful, " said John Ryley in a statement.
Comcast Agreement
Sky News, previously owned by Rupert Murdoch, has been owned since 2018 by the American giant Comcast. The American company triumphed in a long-running battle to buy Sky, defeating Murdoch's Twenty-First Century Fox at an auction last year.
For Neil Dunwoodie, " the response to the launch of the channel has been favorable " and he has no goals in terms of hearings.
Since the 2016 referendum, British politicians have been marching on TV sets to discuss UK exit conditions from the EU or the possibility of a second referendum. And if an agreement was found Thursday, it still has to be approved by British and European parliamentarians. But there are only two weeks left until the deadline of October 31st.