Sky To Stop Broadcasting Fox News In U.K., Cites Low Audience Figures

Sky will stop broadcasting Fox News in the U.K. "after low audience figures," the media firm said, according to the BBC. 21st Century Fox, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch, said that the channel was "being withdrawn as it was not commercially viable." Sources said that the decision "was not related to Fox's takeover bid for Sky." A Fox spokesperson said, "Fox News is focused on the U.S. market and designed for a U.S. audience and, accordingly, it averages only a few thousand viewers across the day in the U.K. We have concluded that it is not in our commercial interest to continue providing Fox News in the U.K." The source said that Fox News had "about 2,000 daily viewers." However, figures from the Broadcaster's Audience Research Board suggested that Fox News' average U.K. viewing figures were "nearly 60,000 per day this year" (BBC, 8/29).