Sky News abruptly cuts broadcast after global computer outage, presenter apologises

Sky News has been taken off air following a global computer outage.

The disruption didn’t just affect Sky’s UK headquarters. Other broadcasting giants including SBS, ABC and Network 10 also reported similar issues. The outages appear to have been triggered by a corrupted Microsoft Windows antivirus update that managed to affect systems around the world, including Sky News Australia as well as tech companies, banks and airlines.

The culprit was reportedly a faulty update to CrowdStrike antivirus software, a US cybersecurity company used by several UK organisations. Meanwhile, organisations including Thameslink Railway, Southern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express and Great Northern were also affected. American Airlines has also suspended all flights due to the outage, the US Federal Aviation Authority has confirmed.

Airports in Berlin and Spain were also reportedly affected by the outage. India was also plagued by outages, with check-in systems affected at major airports in Delhi and Mumbai. According to local reports, Akasa Air said some of its online services would be temporarily unavailable, with other airlines citing infrastructure issues from their software providers. The London Stock Exchange is also experiencing an outage across all its services.

Have you been affected by the global IT outage? Email [email protected]

Viewers were first alerted when they received an interruption message while watching their 6am news bulletin: “We apologise for the interruption to this programme. We hope to restore Sky News transmission shortly.”

Presenter Jacquie Beltrao sounded the alarm by taking to Twitter, where she admitted: “We’re obviously not on air, we’re trying.” Meanwhile, presenter Gareth Barlow added: “As you may have noticed we’re not on air at the moment, the technical issues don’t seem to be limited to @SkyNews. IT and production teams are working on a solution. See you soon?!”

Forced to improvise, Sky decided to air an old Windrush documentary while trying to fix the problem. Later, Microsoft revealed on its social media that it was actively investigating “an issue affecting users’ ability to access various Microsoft 365 applications and services.”

There have also been complaints about computer issues, with some venting their frustration online. Meanwhile, Jacquie has received an outpouring of support on Twitter, with fans calling for the channel to return.