{"id":490999,"date":"2026-02-19T21:43:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T21:43:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/490999\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T21:43:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T21:43:12","slug":"sky-news-new-office-opening-rebrand-sparks-work-from-home-orders-for-staff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/490999\/","title":{"rendered":"Sky News new office opening, rebrand sparks work-from-home orders for staff"},"content":{"rendered":"

February 20, 2026 \u2014 5:00am<\/p>\n

Save<\/p>\n

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n

Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n

Save this article for later<\/p>\n

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n

Got it<\/p>\n

AAA<\/p>\n

In this week\u2019s On Background, News Corp staff to make way for the unveiling of Sky News\u2019 rebrand, Sharri Markson\u2019s decision to steer clear of Pauline Hanson (for a time) is vindicated, and the ABC tries to find a new 7.30 boss.<\/p>\n

Nothing to see here<\/p>\n

In pre-modern Japan, ordinary people were often forbidden from looking their emperor in the eye. At times, he was said to hold audiences behind bamboo screens.<\/p>\n

So it seems to be with Lachlan Murdoch \u2013 the heir to the Sun King \u2013 who is set to be on hand to open Sky News\u2019 plush new Holt Street studios in Surry Hills (and announce the network\u2019s new name!) on Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n

\"NewsNews Corp chairman Lachlan Murdoch and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will be on site to open Sky News\u2019 new studios on Friday.Dean Sewell<\/p>\n

On Thursday evening, Sky issued an \u201careas closure\u201d notice to staff, telling those not invited to the august event, which will also be attended by the likes of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and NSW Premier Chris Minns, to stay out.<\/p>\n

They won\u2019t be allowed access to the main foyer, cafe, or main stairwell from Thursday evening, all the way through until Friday night.<\/p>\n

Organisers have also gone as far as disconnecting the cameras in the studio where the event will be held, so nobody can see in as they get ready for the big reveal. Or maybe it\u2019s just to keep Lachie separate from the foot soldiers? Or is there insufficient catering?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a total lockdown, with all of Friday\u2019s on-air programming to be produced in Melbourne, instead.<\/p>\n

Sky is, of course, being forced to rebrand<\/a> after its naming licence holder, Comcast-owned British broadcaster Sky News, decided against renewing the latest decade-long deal that expires this year.<\/p>\n

The name change is expected to come into effect in the middle of the year, but the company has chosen to kill two birds with one stone, and use the studios\u2019 opening party for the big reveal, one day after the station turned 30.<\/p>\n

A Sky spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

Along with Murdoch, the event will be hosted by Sky News Australia chief executive and former newspaper editor Paul Whittaker, with News Corp Australia boss Michael Miller also in attendance. There are rumours of News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson jetting in, too.<\/p>\n

Sky\u2019s Sydney studios were previously in Macquarie Park, northern Sydney, but were relocated to News Corp\u2019s long-term Holt Street offices near Central Station in December. The premises are also home to The Australian, news.com.au and The Daily Telegraph.<\/p>\n

Sky Australia\u2019s current licence deal was agreed while the British Sky News was still part-owned by News Corp.<\/p>\n

One source with knowledge of the planned rebrand, who was not authorised to speak on the record, said in August that a proposal to rebrand Sky as Fox News Australia was rejected by New York HQ because of the latter\u2019s polarising reputation Down Under, and the need for brand differentiation. The final decision needed ticking off by the company\u2019s Avenue of the Americas offices, the source said.<\/p>\n

There has since been suggestions the word \u201cAustralia\u201d may also be excluded from the new name, to encourage the channel\u2019s growing international audience to stick around.<\/p>\n

Was Sharri right all along?<\/p>\n

Here at On Background, we have something of a mea culpa to offer. It seems this column may have accidentally contributed to the inception of this week\u2019s dominant political story.<\/p>\n

Last week, we brought you the definitive numbers behind Sharri Markson\u2019s prolonged snubbing of right-wing agitators One Nation amid an otherwise station wide love-in.<\/p>\n

Maybe we struck a nerve, or maybe the bosses gave Markson a friendly nudge because on the very next show, last Monday, who appeared as the star guest? Pauline Hanson.<\/p>\n

The move appears to have vindicated Sharri\u2019s initial judgment, though, as Hanson proceeded to issue racially charged remarks about Muslims<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou say, oh, well, there\u2019s good Muslims out there,\u201d Hanson said. \u201cWell, I\u2019m sorry, how can you tell me there are good Muslims?\u201d<\/p>\n

While the comments were hardly a surprise, considering the last time Markson hosted Hanson was after she wore a burqa into the Senate (for the second time), the latest comments were so bad that after the interview, the host took time to tell viewers \u201cas an Australian Jew, I don\u2019t support what Pauline Hanson just said\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"AfterAfter Matt Canavan denounced Pauline Hanson, she rejected having gone on a \u201ctirade\u201d against Muslims.Michael Howard<\/p>\n

Ray Hadley, Markson\u2019s next guest, urged the One Nation leader to apologise. Later, Matt Canavan did the same and even new One Nation recruit Barnaby Joyce didn\u2019t back up Hanson\u2019s words. Yikes.<\/p>\n

Hanson partially walked back her comments on Wednesday before essentially retracting the quasi-apology.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I am not going to apologise \u2026 I will have my say now before it\u2019s too late,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Pretty awful stuff all around. Good thing Sky doesn\u2019t hold a grudge, though. Hanson was back on Sky on Wednesday night. And guess what? On Background has confirmed she and her One Nation crew even received an invitation to their big bash as well.<\/p>\n

Markson was approached for comment.<\/p>\n

Costello: Back in the game<\/p>\n

A week is a long time in modern media, what with the 24-hour news cycle and all that.<\/p>\n

But still, it\u2019s been less than a year since former A Current Affair reporter Seb Costello exited Nine<\/a>, following a review into how he ended up chasing a male interview subject into some women\u2019s toilets, and he\u2019s already back on his feet.<\/p>\n

It was the second Nine exit for a Costello to make headlines in less than 12 months, after his father, former federal treasurer and then-company chairman Peter Costello stepped down<\/a> days after an altercation with a reporter for The Australian at Canberra Airport.<\/p>\n

\"FormerFormer A Current Affair reporter Seb Costello has landed a plum new gig with the Herald Sun.Nine<\/p>\n

Just six weeks after Daily Mail Australia announced a new column under his name, On Background can reveal Costello jnr has been appointed a senior reporter with rival outlet the Herald Sun.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Peter<\/a><\/p>\n

Editor Sam Weir officially announced the appointment internally on Thursday after Costello\u2019s byline began running in News Corp\u2019s Melbourne tabloid last month as a freelancer. He\u2019d already filed a front page story on Monday. But a leftover column from the man the Mail had dubbed \u201cMelbourne\u2019s ultimate insider\u201d still went online at the digital publication a day later. <\/p>\n

7.30 job hunt proves a hard slog<\/p>\n

It has been more than two months since the ABC announced wunderkind former 7.30 chief Joel Tozer as the new executive producer of its flagship investigative program, Four Corners. <\/p>\n

Tozer begins work on Four Corners on Monday. But the talk of the ABC is the fact they still haven\u2019t managed to fill the top 7.30 job he\u2019s set to vacate.<\/p>\n

There is word the headhunting process has come up empty-handed so far. Commissioning editor of 7.30 Patricia Drum will be the show\u2019s acting boss in the meantime.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The show has been a breeding ground for talent, on and off-air. The ABC\u2019s current overall news boss Justin Stevens held the show\u2019s executive producer gig before he was appointed to the top job in 2022.<\/p>\n

Under Tozer, the show\u2019s nightly average audience rose by 5 per cent to 789,000 in the 2025 financial year, and continues to rate well.<\/p>\n

With host Sarah Ferguson not going anywhere and a newly minted political editor in Jacob Greber, it isn\u2019t exactly a product a new boss could play around with.<\/p>\n

An ABC spokesperson said: \u201cThis is an important role and the ABC is running a thorough and competitive process which is still ongoing, delayed slightly by the timing falling over summer and coverage of major news events.\u201d<\/p>\n

Siobhan McKenna, still a Mel-ebrity<\/p>\n

Life is probably a lot quieter this year for Siobhan McKenna, Lachlan Murdoch\u2019s former consigliere, fixer and general right hand.<\/p>\n

She signed off from her various jobs running his private company Illyria last year, as well as her role as chief executive of broadcasting for News Corp Australia, which by the end mainly just meant being chair of Sky News. It is probably a relief she doesn\u2019t have to attend any more Sky events, having been referred to by one friend as a \u201cteal\u201d with heavy Labor-links in a profile by this masthead in October<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Guardian<\/a><\/p>\n

But it seems McKenna still has time to stay connected. Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan\u2019s diary entries show McKenna is one of a crack team of Mel-ebrities on the organising committee for this year\u2019s Melbourne NFL Game. There is plenty of pressure to get the big game right, as only a lucky few cities are handed one by the powerhouse US football code to show off their stars abroad. <\/p>\n

McKenna did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

Alongside McKenna in the team, there is also Lord Mayor Nick Reece, AFL boss Andrew Dillon, Eddie McGuire (of course) and local Disney boss and Western Bulldogs president Kylie Watson-Wheeler among others.<\/p>\n

Allan\u2019s diaries also show News Corp\u2019s Thomson still holds some love for his home state. He found time in December for a cup of tea with the premier alongside News Corp powerbroker and Rupert Murdoch\u2019s niece, Penny Fowler, at the Herald & Weekly Times offices in Southbank.<\/p>\n

As it is with News Corp, the pollies always come to them.<\/p>\n

The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Save<\/p>\n

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n

Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n

\"CalumCalum Jaspan<\/a> is a media writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based in Melbourne. Reach him securely on Signal @calumjaspan.10Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"February 20, 2026 \u2014 5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":491000,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[64,63,134,427],"class_list":["post-490999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=490999"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490999\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/491000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=490999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=490999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=490999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}