Sky News Australia has recorded its best half-yearly results on record which the broadcaster credits to its coronavirus coverage.
The pay TV channel says audiences have increased across programs throughout the day, with a record all day average audience up +31%. Primetime, 6pm-10pm, achieved record average audiences up +22%, reaching more than 2.4 million unique viewers on Foxtel.
Weekday breakfast, 5am-9am, has also seen an average audience growth by +30% in the first half of the year, while daytime viewing, 9am-5pm is up +52%.
“Following record ratings during the 2019 election year, we have continued to build our audience, achieving record year-on-year ratings growth for the first half of 2020,” Paul Whittaker, Sky News Australia CEO says.
“Our rolling COVID-19 coverage, exclusive interviews, documentaries and specials, breaking political news and our evening programming have resonated strongly with our audience.”
Sky News’ top performing individual programs for the year so far include the two-part investigation MH370: The Untold Story, making it the most successful Sky News Australian documentary to date. It’s followed by The Bolt Report: George Pell World First TV Exclusive. The Bolt Report, hosted by Andrew Bolt weeknights at 7pm, has increased its average audience by +27%, reaching an average 327,000 unique viewers each week.
TV broadcasters have enjoyed higher audiences throughout the pandemic, particularly during stay at home orders in March which meant more people turned to screens for entertainment.
“As we move into the second half of the year, we have a new line-up with the introduction of Alan Jones four nights a week joining our unbeatable primetime program offering including The Kenny Report, Credlin, The Bolt Report and Paul Murray Live,” Whittaker says.
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