Sky News has cancelled Business Live after 18 years, ending dedicated business programming on terrestrial television.
Sky is now betting on premium content – long-form podcasts, subscriber newsletters, glossy digital packages as part of an overall restructuring called “2030”.
Business Live (once known as Ian King Live after its former host) was one of the last places ordinary viewers could hear live, accessible conversations about the economy as it unfolded. Its disappearance risks pushing meaty financial stories further away from the average citizen, moving business journalism into professional-only spaces.
The Value of Live Television
I learned early in my career as a booker at Bloomberg that very little about business television is accidental. What looks like an endless feed of talking heads is, in truth, a carefully curated mix of news and analysis. Guests are chosen and timed so that viewers get a coherent story of the day, not just stray opinions.
That live element matters most. When sterling crashed during Liz Truss’s mini-budget or when Silicon Valley Bank imploded, shows like Business Live could pivot instantly – giving audiences real-time interpretation instead of pre-taped commentary. Inside trading floors and corporate offices, it’s still the live feeds running on wall-mounted screens, not highlight reels. That immediacy is what builds trust.
Channels such as CNBC or Bloomberg go out of their way to weave breaking news into interviews. A morning energy segment will suddenly pull in a strategist if oil prices spike. That flexibility is easy to lose when coverage is pushed into podcasts or digital clips produced days in advance. Pre-packaged formats simply don’t capture the urgency of markets in motion.
Making the Best of It
No matter my opinion, the decision to switch to digital has already been made. The challenge now is to maximise the value of content created in new formats. Longer time frames mean that reporters and producers can go deeper and provide more analysis on a topic. Experts unwilling to head into a studio at 5:10 a.m. might be more accommodating for a pre-taped segment.
Format experimentation – shorter live hits, interactive Q&As, accessible video explainers – could build new business fans. Innovation, not just consolidation, will decide whether Sky’s shift shrinks the audience for economic news or reshapes it for a new generation.
To address questions around accessibility, Sky should consider making most of its business news free to watch through all devices. One answer may be YouTube, already the world’s largest broadcast platform, where live streams and explainers from professional and amateur creators draw millions who would never switch on linear TV.
Sky’s strategy needs to balance the need to find paying subscribers for premium content along with the overall relevance. Financial literacy cannot become pay-to-play, where audiences without subscriptions are left in the dark.
Emmaline Windeler is an Account Manager in London
