A plan to launch
Sky News in America has been shelved after protests from its US sister station, Fox News, and concerns over an ideological 'clash'.
B
SkyB chief executive Tony Ball told
Sky News at a recent meeting that the plans would be abandoned.
Nick Pollard, head of
Sky News, who is thought to have been a key backer, confirmed that the proposal had been dropped. He played down the significance of the launch.
'For the moment, it doesn't look like it's going to happen,' said Pollard. 'The plans were at a very early stage - nothing had been decided.'
Sky executives held talks with several cable and satellite distributors in the US in the wake of the war with Iraq. The channel won critical acclaim for its war coverage and saw its ratings rocket.
Fox News, which has been supportive of President George Bush's war on terror, is popular in the US as a result of its ultra-patriotic stance. Fox's boss, Roger Ailes, is understood to have told Rupert Murdoch that the launch of
Sky could cannibalise Fox's success. But
Sky sources also pointed to sensitivities about the way
Sky News, which is politically neutral, would be regarded in the current political climate.
'This is a very sensitive area for
Sky,' said one senior source. 'Fox is ideologically slanted and has been very successful in the US.
Sky News is very, very successful, but within a British model.
'Murdoch has gone on record as describing
Sky News as "BBC Lite", and it's clear he would like it to be harder-hitting. Everyone at
Sky News is very opposed to the Foxification, but they don't want a pitched battle. Launching in the US would make that a possibility.'
18-08-2003
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