GB News has struck a deal to improve its prominence on Sky’s channel list.
As a result, Sky viewers are able to see a preview of the new channel on Sky channel 515 ahead of its launch on Sunday 13th June 2021. The deal involved African news channel TVC News trading its slot and moving down to channel 524.
GB News is exclusively available in HD on Sky. This means viewers with older, first generation Sky receivers will not be able to watch the channel.
The deal was brokered by Expert Media Partners, who specialise in EPG trades on Sky and other platforms.
Without a Sky channel trade, GB News would have launched at the bottom of the news section. The trade sees the channel upgraded to the second page of the news section of Sky’s programme guide.
On Sky, broadcasters can trade channel slots to gain a higher ranking slot in the hope of attracting more viewers. Freeview rules were changed in March to allow trading of channel numbers (subject to a fee of £1,100 to Digital UK). However, unlike Sky there is less scope for channel swap deals in Freeview’s news section.