NINE and SKY NEWS announce closure of YOUR MONEY finance channel

Nine and Australian News Channel Pty Ltd have today announced the closure of their joint venture, YOUR MONEY

Nine CEO Hugh Marks and Australian News Channel (Sky News) CEO Paul Whittaker said the partners had made the closure decision as the revenue model had proved more difficult than envisioned and not delivered to expectations.

The two business leaders added the shutdown was “due to a number of factors that could not be rectified in the short term.”

YOUR MONEY, which commenced on-air on subscription TV (Foxtel Channel 601) and FTA TV (Nine digital channel 95) on October 1, 2018, will cease broadcasting on Friday, May 17, 2019.

The shutdown of the Your Money TV channel comes after a decision 3 weeks ago to axe an associated Your Money website, with web traffic redirected to other NewsCorp publications.

Your Money launched last year as a partnership between NINE and News Corp, but that relationship quickly became complicated after NINE announced plans to take over the Fairfax publishing empire, a move that turned NINE into a chief rival for News Corp within Australia.

In a joint statement, Mr Marks and Mr Whittaker thanked YOUR MONEY staff for their commitment to an innovative and ambitious venture:

“We have enjoyed a strong partnership with this joint venture but unfortunately we are unable to maintain its continuing operation. Market and technical circumstances have proved too challenging. Our thanks to the YOUR MONEY team – the quality of the people who brought this channel to life is extraordinary and they have given their utmost commitment and professionalism.”

YOUR MONEY CEO Kylie Merritt said it had been a privilege to lead YOUR MONEY through such a bold project:

“I am proud of what we achieved and I thank every member of the team for the work they did, the stories they told and their incredible devotion to the project.”

NINE and NewsCorp have today declined to comment on likely redundancy numbers, stating the two businesses will attempt to redeploy staff within their respective businesses.