A shake up at Sky News from Monday will see Ian King Live moved from its 10am hour slot, to two 11:30am and 4:30pm half hour hits.
It will also be renamed Business Live with Ian King, so that when someone is standing in for King (like today) it can be Business Live with Emma Crosby.
Kay Burley at Breakfast is becoming Breakfast with Kay Burley for the same reason.
Ian King explains the move and has some tips for the PR trade…
What's the thinking behind the shift?
The change in times reflects the fact that our current slot from 10:00am to 11:00am has become increasingly prone in recent months to interruptions from breaking news - select committees, political speeches (which will doubtless intensify after the election) and more recently the Covid inquiry.
That has had the effect of alienating our regular audience who are more interested in the business news.
It is hoped the new slots will be less prone to interruptions. They will also be more in keeping with some of the natural rhythms of the business day - for example we will be on air now when the European markets close.
And we will also be able to do more live guests out of the US. I’m also hopeful we will not clash so much with investor and analyst calls in future and so get a few more interviews with CEOs on their results days.
How long has IKL been going?
The first edition of IKL went out on 2 June 2014 and we’ve done getting on for 1700 editions now.
Before that came Jeff Randall Live, which ran as a once a week programme from late 2006 to 2008 and then went four nights a week from the beginning of 2009 to 2014.
What are the implications for PRs of the new times?
PRs will have the chance to be more proactive. The later starts mean we will be able to do much more 'on the day' news. So they should be ready to pitch guests attuned to the day's events.
More opportunities or fewer?
More, I hope. Certainly on a results day - say the share price has not really reacted to a statement and the analysts call has likewise been met with indifference. Companies will now have another chance to convince the sceptics.
It will also be a chance for companies to respond to or address narratives or market rumours that have taken hold earlier in the session.
When is the best time to pitch and to whom?
If it is an on the day story, then on the day, although don't forget the closer we get to transmission time the less likely we are to respond unless it's urgent. Otherwise any time is fine really, bearing that in mind.
Piers Wisbey, the senior producer, and Martin Kimber, the other producer, should be the main points of contact although I also am open to pitches. Via email preferably.
Any clear no-no's?
PRs should watch what we do and think about the kind of stories we don't do, to be honest.
Who’s the ideal guest?
A CEO of a FTSE 350 company or their equivalent from overseas. But we're equally receptive to top analysts, fund managers, VCs and private equity folk, economists, investment bankers, accountants, lawyers - anyone with an interesting take on markets, economics or business, really. If I am interested in a guest, I figure the viewers will be too.
And don't forget Sky News is on in more than 120 countries around the world. Stories on non-UK businesses are more than welcome - provided they are of interest.
How do you mostly get guests?
A combination of us bringing them in and PRs pitching them to us. There is no hard and fast rule.
What's the ethos of the show? I mean, you are pro business, that is very far from meaning that you are pro ALL business...
We aim to bring breaking news, insight and analysis from the worlds of business, markets and economics to audiences in both the UK and overseas. I know from viewer correspondence that our audience goes all the way from Australia and New Zealand at one side of the global time zones to the west coast of the United States at the other - and all points of the compass in between.
Nothing should be off limits - if it is complicated we seek to make it less so. I would describe myself as a critical friend of business.
We will give guests a chance to speak - in my experience, viewers hate it when guests are interrupted, so I try not to unless a guest is waffling, deliberately avoiding giving an answer or gratuitously plugging a product or service - but we won't shy away from asking difficult or awkward questions.
