PRESS RELEASE
The non-stop, rolling news channel will be available to Xbox users in the US and UK
LONDON - September 5, 2014 - Building on the successful launches of Sky News on Apple TV, Roku and Livestation, Sky today announced the forthcoming availability of its award-winning 24/7 broadcast news on Xbox 360. The launch further extends Sky News' presence in the US while giving its UK viewers a fresh new option for accessing live and on demand news coverage. The service will enable millions of Xbox customers in the US and UK to access Sky News directly through their Xbox 360 consoles.
From Tuesday 9th September, Xbox Live customers on Xbox 360 will see the Sky News icon on the TV section of their homepage, and with a single click, viewers will have access to a 24/7, live feed of Sky News. This includes the latest breaking news as well as business, political and entertainment coverage. In addition to the live channel feed, the Sky News app also offers access to a wide range of on demand stories through a constantly updating video on demand library.
The Xbox launch marks the next step in the expansion of Sky News in the US, giving millions of homes the ability to access Sky News' internationally acclaimed coverage. Building on this growth, Sky News is also tailoring its channel feed for the US, incorporating editorial segments produced specifically for this audience. The channel will also include news and analysis from Sky News' own US team based in bureaus in New York, Washington and LA.
Andrew Hawken, Head of Sky News Digital, said, "Sky News is consistently exploring opportunities to expand our global reach. Making Sky News available on Xbox was an ideal way to achieve this. With a growing US footprint of a million users and a US news team, we're thrilled that our coverage will be showcased to millions of Xbox customers."
Sky News on Xbox was developed in partnership with 1 Mainstream, a digital TV distribution platform for deploying HD video services across the most popular TV, game console, tablet and streaming devices. Sky has worked with 1 Mainstream since 2013 and also invested in the Silicon Valley-based start-up. Together, the companies are developing innovative OTT solutions and bringing compelling content to the growing global ‘connected TV' audience. 1 Mainstream also supports the distribution of Sky News on other connected TV platforms, including Roku and Apple TV.
"We're pleased to extend our relationship with Sky to help them expand the footprint for Sky News and to deliver its world-class journalism to millions of people in the US," said Rajeev Raman, CEO of 1 Mainstream. "Together with Sky, we continue to bring innovative over-the-top (OTT) services to the growing audience of connected-TV users."
This agreement builds on Sky's growing international channels business that already reaches more than 100 million viewers across Europe, North America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The syndication and distribution of channels internationally is a growing part of Sky's business as the company seeks to leverage the quality of its brands and content by making programming available to new audiences.
About Sky News
Sky News is an unrivalled, world class breaking news service with a spirit of innovation and a fresh approach to news broadcasting. As the UK's first dedicated 24-hour news channel, Sky News has built a deserved reputation for being the first to break major news as well as offering insight and analysis on the latest stories. It is renowned for the speed of its coverage and flexibility of reporting news live across all its platforms - TV, mobile, online, radio and iPad. There have been over 10 million downloads of the Sky News app to mobile devices.
About 1 Mainstream
1 Mainstream (Cupertino, CA) is the leading OTT distribution platform for broadcasters and operators to rapidly deploy HD services across the most popular TV, game console, tablet, and Web devices. World-class broadcasters and operators, such as BSkyB, use 1 Mainstream to automate native app creation, content delivery and protection, and monetization. For more information, visit www.1mainstream.com.
