LONDON: The former head of Sky News Arabia has ridiculed The Guardian’s reporting on the termination of the TV news joint venture between Sky UK and its regional partner IMI, accusing the British newspaper of “lazy journalism” and of misrepresenting the reasons behind the decision.
IMI and Sky UK announced on Sunday the dissolution of their joint venture, under which Sky News Arabia had operated since 2010.
Under a new multi-year brand licensing agreement, the channel will retain the Sky name despite Sky relinquishing its operational and editorial role.
In a post on X, Nadim Koteich, the network’s former general manager, challenged The Guardian’s framing, which presented the split as a direct consequence of Sky News Arabia’s coverage of Sudan’s civil war - coverage that critics have alleged downplayed atrocities committed by the UAE-backed Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
“If it were about editorial integrity, why was a licensing agreement signed allowing ‘Sky News Arabia’ to retain the brand for several years, as the report itself states?,” Koteich wrote, adding that the decision was “simply not an editorial punishment.”
