Fox News has been withdrawn from the Sky UK pay TV service. The removal of Fox News on Sky was officially explained as being a commercial move, with the channel’s distribution in the UK no longer being viable, according to 21st Century Fox.

21st Century Fox, owned by Rupert Murdoch, announced that Fox News would no longer be broadcast in the UK due to commercial unviability. According to a company spokesperson, the decision was based on the channel’s limited audience in the UK, averaging just a few thousand viewers daily, and its focus on the US market.

Sky ceased broadcasting Fox News in the UK as of 4pm on Tuesday. The decision, however, was unrelated to Fox’s ongoing £11.7 billion bid to acquire the remaining 61% of Sky it does not already own, as confirmed by a source speaking to the BBC. The source dismissed allegations linking the withdrawal to complaints of sexual harassment against Fox News during the merger discussions.

Although Fox News reportedly averaged around 2,000 daily viewers in the UK, figures from the Broadcaster’s Audience Research Board (BARB) indicated nearly 60,000 daily viewers in 2021. The high costs of distributing the network in the UK were cited as the primary reason for discontinuation.

Critics of the Sky takeover argue that the merger would grant Rupert Murdoch excessive influence over UK media, raising concerns about media plurality. Culture Secretary Karen Bradley has previously indicated the potential for the deal to be referred to competition regulators for review.