News UK has appointed Sky Media to manage advertising sales for TalkTV, the new UK channel offering news, current affairs and opinion.
Comcast-owned Sky Media is the sales representation business that not only reps all the Sky TV channels, including Sky News, but a range of third party UK channels including Discovery and Paramount FTA and STV channels. Sky Media also reps the new GB News channel.
TalkTV will launch in the UK on 25 April and be available to all UK viewers across a range of linear TV platforms, including Sky, Freeview and Freesat. TalkTV will also be streamed via Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Samsung TV Plus and on YouTube, as well as via the Talk.TV website and TalkTV iOS and Android apps.
The primetime schedule for TalkTV includes programming hosted by Piers Morgan and Sharon Osbourne.
The Piers Morgan Uncensored program will also be screened nightly on Sky News Australia from April 26.
Paul Whittaker, chief executive officer, Sky News Australia said: “Sky News is proud to be the exclusive Australian broadcaster of the new Piers Morgan Uncensored program which joins our primetime line-up in the coming weeks, bringing audiences a new form of global perspective, debate and analysis.”
News UK said its new partnership with Sky Media will give them responsibility for all of TalkTV’s linear advertising, in addition to on-demand, while broader sponsorship opportunities will be managed collaboratively by News UK and Sky Media. As part of the partnership, TalkTV will also be launching on Sky’s new streaming TV, Sky Glass, in the coming months.
The new channel will be launched with a UK marketing campaign across mainstream and digital channels, as well as through News UK’s portfolio of brands – including The Sun, The Times & The Sunday Times, talkSPORT, Virgin Radio and Times Radio – which together reach almost 40 million people each month.
Ruth Cartwright, investment director, Sky Media, said: “News UK has fantastic credentials in news, sport and entertainment and so we’re delighted to be working with them as they launch this new venture. We look forward to collaborating with the TalkTV team to offer agencies and brands exciting advertising and partnerships opportunities across the spectrum of their content offering.”
TalkTV’s primetime schedule will also be simulcast on TalkRadio in the UK. In return, TalkRadio’s roster of daytime talent, including Julia Hartley-Brewer, Mike Graham, Ian Collins and Jeremy Kyle, will be broadcast on TalkTV.