A Brexit-free news channel has launched in the UK because we are all sooooooo tiiiiiireeeddd
We're mere days away from the UK's Brexit deadline on Oct. 31 but it feels like we won't be hearing the last of the dreaded B-word for a long time yet.
However, one UK broadcaster has launched a Brexit-free news channel to save our weary souls and offer us a welcome escape from Brexit coverage.
Sky News: Brexit-Free arrives just as EU leaders meet on Thursday and Friday to discuss — yep, you guessed it — Brexit. EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier will be informing leaders of the "state of play" after a new deal was reached between the UK and EU. "We've got a great new deal that takes back control," tweeted UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday.
People wishing to tune out of this critical week in Brexit negotiations can pretend they are living in a Brexit-free world by switching to Sky Channel 523 to hear about everything else happening in the world right now.
According to the 2019 Reuters Institute Digital News Report, a third of people in the UK are actively avoiding the news. That figure has increased by 11 percent since the previous year, which the report attributes to the "frustration over the intractable and polarising nature of Brexit." The report found that 58 percent of respondents said the news "had a negative impact on their mood."
In a statement, Sky News said it wished to offer viewers the opportunity to get up to date on the news without worrying about hearing the dreaded B-word.
“Brexit is an historic story that has a major impact and we will continue to give it comprehensive coverage," John Ryley, Head of Sky News said in a statement.
"The new channel simply gives people the option to take a break from Brexit, apply a filter to their headlines and hear about issues away from Westminster and Brussels with a focus on hard-hitting, original journalism," he continued.
Sky News Brexit-Free will be on air from 5pm–10 pm GMT Monday to Friday. The Sky News main channel will continue to report on "all angles of Brexit."
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Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
