Sky News’ parent company Sky announced Wednesday it will cut approximately 1,000 jobs across the UK as the pay-TV giant grapples with a shift in consumer preferences.
This reduction, amounting to about 4% of its UK workforce, predominantly affects the technicians responsible for satellite equipment installation in homes. The move comes as customers are increasingly ditching traditional satellite pay-TV and turning towards streaming-based services.
In a broader trend within the media sector, Channel 4 is slashing 240 jobs, the most significant cut since 2008, amidst a declining TV ad market. Although less reliant on advertising than Channel 4 and ITV, Sky, too, is feeling the pinch of the economic downturn.
The US media titan Comcast, which acquired Sky for £32bn, including operations in Germany and Italy, recorded a $8.6bn write-down last year on Sky amid escalating concerns over the economic outlook and the cost-of-living crisis impacting consumer spending.
In the last quarter of the previous year, Sky reported a startling 13% revenue drop.
A Sky spokesperson said: “The launch of Sky Glass and Sky Stream represents a shift in our business to deliver TV over IP rather than satellite. Increasingly, customers are choosing Sky Glass and Sky Stream which don’t require specialist installation, leading us to change the number of roles needed to deliver our services.”
This trend isn’t unique to Sky in the telecommunications industry. BT intends to slash its workforce by a staggering 55,000 by 2030,
However, Sky, now part of a larger conglomerate that includes Universal film studio, continues to expand in other areas, planning to create 2,000 new jobs at its new Elstree studio complex by 2021.