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Sky is considering terminating its joint venture with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after accusations it is involved in broadcasting propaganda and genocide denial.
Sky is in talks with its partner in the UAE on Sky News Arabia over the potential termination next year of the licence to use its brand.
In 2010, Sky News struck a deal with IMI – the investment vehicle controlled by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the vice-president of the UAE and owner of Manchester City – to launch the 24-hour Arabic language news and current affairs service licensing the Sky brand.
Sky executives have become increasingly concerned over the position Sky News Arabia has taken on news in the region.
Coverage of the atrocities carried out in Sudan by the UAE-backed paramilitary group, Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has been accused of whitewashing genocide.
In November, the government of Sudan banned Sky News Arabia from operating inside its territory after the satellite channel sent a crew to El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, which claimed the security and humanitarian situation had stabilised.
The reporter sent by Sky News Arabia is married to a senior official in the RSF’s parallel government.
The channel has subsequently filed news reports and online articles suggesting that there was no evidence on the ground supporting satellite imagery and testimony from survivors of the atrocities.
In February, a UN-mandated fact finding mission concluded that the siege, capture and 18-month occupation of the city by the RSF and allied militias deliberately targeted the destruction of ethnic minority communities with the “hallmarks of genocide”.
The UAE has denied any responsibility for atrocities committed by the RSF.
Abu Dhabi-based Sky News Arabia launched in 2012 broadcasting across the Middle East and north Africa, with the aim of competing against Arabic-language TV news channels including Al Jazeera and BBC News Arabic.
At launch, the service claimed a commitment to independence and reporting without fear or failure. “The issue of balance is going to distinguish us,” said Nart Bouran, then the head of Sky News Arabia.
The original joint venture deal was struck by News Corporation, which at the time controlled Sky.
US-based Comcast, which acquired Sky in 2018, opted not to renew a licensing agreement held by News Corporation to use the Sky News brand in Australia. Sky News Australia is rebranding as News24 later this year.
In 2020, a plan to launch a new global rolling news channel to challenge CNN by bringing together Sky News and Comcast’s US-based NBC – called NBC Sky World News – was scrapped.
Sky News declined to comment.
An IMI spokesperson said: “Any suggestion that decisions have been taken on the future of this partnership is incorrect. Discussions are actively under way, and both sides remain fully and positively engaged in that process. These discussions are commercial in nature, strictly confidential, and have no connection to editorial matters or newsroom operations.”
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