Sky News Australia is now News24: what the biggest news rebrand of the year means for advertisers

Sky News Australia officially became News24 today, retiring a brand that has run since the channel launched as Australia's first 24-hour news service on 19 February 1996. The rebrand was announced in February on the network's 30th anniversary, the 27 July launch date was set in late June, and Mediaweek confirmed this morning that the new identity is now rolling out across broadcast and digital. The change moves the News Corp Australia-owned network's channels, streaming products and digital assets under the News24 name.

The channel line-up carries over with new names. News24 airs on Foxtel channel 600, News24 Weather continues on 601, and a new channel, News24 World, launches on 603 with a focus on global political news, press conferences and live events. FOX SPORTS News stays on channel 500, produced by News24 on behalf of the Foxtel Group. News24 Regional carries selected programming on channel 56 in regional New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, and a News24 Now FAST channel is available on compatible Samsung and LG smart TVs. An audio simulcast, News24 Radio, runs on DAB+ in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane and through the Nova Player and Smooth Player apps.

The network also switched on News24.com.au and a News24 Australia app today, with a streaming subscription giving access to opinion programming, political coverage, sport, weather, business and documentaries across four dedicated channels. Chief executive Paul Whittaker has called the change "a new era of news" and describes the shift as moving from a traditional Australian linear television channel to a multi-platform news business with a growing global audience. A London bureau opens in November at News UK's London Bridge headquarters, with Asia correspondent Staś Butler appointed Senior Europe Correspondent, joining existing bureaus in Washington DC, Taiwan and Wellington.

Programming is largely unchanged. Weekday shows including First Edition with Peter Stefanovic, AM Agenda with Laura Jayes and NewsDay with Kieran Gilbert continue, alongside the opinion slate of Credlin, The Bolt Report, Sharri and Paul Murray Live, and the network's YouTube-first programs. The name itself has history: News24 revives the branding territory of the ABC's former ABC News 24 channel, a point trade coverage flagged when the rebrand was first announced.

Why it matters for Australian advertisers and media buyers: the rebrand converts a Foxtel-anchored linear channel into a sellable total-audience story spanning pay TV, FAST, streaming subscription, DAB+ audio and YouTube. That is new inventory and new trading conversations, particularly the FAST channel on Samsung and LG sets, which reaches households that never held a Foxtel subscription. It also sharpens familiar questions. Opinion-led evening programming has long divided brand suitability opinion, and that calculus does not change with the name. Buyers will want independent audience numbers for the new digital products before pricing conversations settle, and the News24 name lands in a crowded namespace where ABC and Nine's news assets compete for the same always-on news positioning.

Worth noting for balance: audience measurement for the new digital products is not yet available, and News24 has not detailed how the FAST, streaming and broadcast inventory will be packaged or traded. Claims about reach and growth are the network's own until independent numbers arrive.

Sources: mediaweek.com.au (29 June 2026, launch date announcement), mediaweek.com.au (20 February 2026, rebrand announcement), news24.com.au (live 27 July 2026)