As MSNBC prepares to separate from NBC News, it has one glaring problem: a lack of global news reporting at its disposal. That is no longer an issue after a deal has been struck with Britain’s Sky News.
The multi-year deal to bring foreign-based news to the cable network will begin on October 1st. That date is just five days ahead of when MSNBC will break away from NBC News as part of a planned split of Comcast’s cable properties into the Versant company.
Sky News, like NBC News and MSNBC, is owned by parent company Comcast.
“In this moment of consequential and historic news events happening around the world that are rapidly reshaping our collective future, we are honored to bring Sky News’ premium, on-the-ground reporting and roster of top journalists to the MSNBC community,” MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler said of the partnership.
Sky News currently operates 11 international bureaus in locations like Beijing and Moscow, with more than 500 journalists on staff.
The addition of the Sky News content to MSNBC comes as the network announced that Ian Sherwood will serve as its new Director of International Newsgathering. Sherwood has spent the past decade in leadership roles in similar areas for NBC News.
MSNBC joins a growing list of U.S. networks utilizing partnerships with foreign news organizations. CBS News began a partnership with BBC News in 2017. Meanwhile, NBC News and Sky News had previously announced an international joint venture in 2020 that was ultimately scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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