Daily Mail: Sky Sports News set to make well-known reporters redundant

Story from Daily Mail:

Sky Sports News is set to make a number of well-known faces redundant as part of a transformation of the channel.

The broadcaster broke the news to shocked staff on Tuesday afternoon at their London headquarters.

Insiders have insisted that the move is not a cost-cutting measure while a spokesperson said it was aimed at 'making us more agile and better equipped to serve audiences'.

It is thought a number of well-established reporters and presenters are to go.

The restructuring from the US-owned company has not been taken lightly, according to sources.

The priority, among bosses, is to ensure that the department adapts to meet the changing behaviours of audiences and is 'faster, more flexible and more creative'.

They insist that Sky Sports News, which is the UK's only 24/7 sports news channel, will continue to focus on breaking news stories and that output will not be significantly altered. The redundancies are limited to presenters and reporters.

A Sky Sports News spokesperson said: 'We've shared proposals with the Sky Sports News team to change how we're structured, aimed at making us more agile and better equipped to serve audiences across TV, digital and social.

'A small number of roles are impacted, and we are now entering a period of consultation with those colleagues.'

Geoff Shreeves, Martin Tyler and Bianca Westwood were among the talent to leave Sky Sports in 2023 due to job cutting.

Shreeves had given 30 years of service to Sky Sports as a touchline reporter while Tyler had been commentating for the channel for 33 years.

Experienced and well-respected journalists including Guy Havord, Dickie Davis, Greg Whelan and Jaydee Dyer were also affected by the cuts.

It was also revealed this week that the long-running Sky panel show A League Of Their Own would be coming to an end after 15 years on air.

The popular sports comedy series will have one final season before bowing out in August.

Romesh Ranganathan, 47, took over as host from James Corden, 46, in 2019 and the show features Jamie Redknapp and Jill Scott as team captains, the latter being assisted by regular guest Micah Richards.

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp, 51, has been ever-present since the show's launch in 2010, when Freddie Flintoff, 47, was the opposing captain.

The show helped the Ashes hero launch his media career before he was replaced by former footballer Jill in 2023.

Jack Whitehall, Kevin Bishop and Mo Gilligan, plus ex-Sky Sports News presenter Georgie Thompson, have also been regular guests during the show's 15-year run.