Sky News scoops pay-TV honours pool

SKY News has won top pay-TV honours, weeks after its owner was the subject of a $25m takeover bid by News Corp.

SKY News won top honours tonight at a subscription-TV event, weeks after its owner was the subject of a $25 million takeover bid by News Corp.

The popular 24-hour television news service was named channel of the year at the 2015 ASTRA Awards in Sydney.

“Our independent judging panel noted that Sky has become the benchmark for political news coverage, becoming the first and most trusted source of political news and analysis in Australia,” ASTRA boss Andrew Maiden said.

Under chief executive Angel­os Frangopoulos, the channel’s owner Australian News Channel has been an outstanding success in the subscription-TV sector, attracting a strong following among politicians and those working in government fields.

In a sign of the channel’s growing reputation , News Corp, the publisher of The Australian, has lobbed a $25m offer to buy ANC.

ANC’s three joint shareholders — Australia’s Seven and Nine networks and Britain’s Sky — are considering the proposal.

Sky News won three other ASTRA Awards, for most outstanding news program (Paul Murray LIVE), most outstanding presenter — male (Paul Murray) and most outstanding performance by a broadcast journalist (David Speers).

Pay-TV operator Foxtel’s ­director of television Brian Walsh received a new special award: the Industry Contribution Award.

“Brian is a distinguished leader in the Australian television industry, responsible for launching the careers of many of Australia’s best known and most successful personalities,” Maiden said.