PHILADELPHIA—Comcast has reportedly shelved its plans for an international news channel, which would have united its NBC News and Sky News brands.

According to the Financial Times, the company has taken the decision following the impact of coronavirus on its business, telling staff it has become “unviable.”

The channel was originally due to launch this summer, and then was put on hold in April. The company had already hired 50 members of staff for the channel.

The FT added that the proposal to shelve the NBC Sky World News will now go to consultation with staff, who have been told they can suggest alternative options.

NBC News has declined to comment on the report.

NEW YORK & LONDON—NBCUniversal and Sky have announced plans to launch its world news service this summer.

Aimed at English-speaking audiences around the globe, NBC Sky World News will recruit new talent as well as 100 employees to produce programming.

The Comcast-owned companies intend to open 10 new international bureaus “in places we feel news is under-reported,” according to NBC News International President Deborah Turness.

“We see an opportunity to begin an approach that isn’t filtered through a U.S. perspective or a British perspective or any national perspective,” she said. “We can bring our journalism to the wide world, but also invest heavily in global journalism so we can add to the story and really create an approach and product that can deliver the global perspective we believe the world wants right now.”

Comcast believes it can reach 130 million households in non-U.S. markets, Turness added. The company expects to distribute NBC Sky World News via cable, satellite and digital video in Europe, alongside NBCUniversal’s streaming service Peacock in the U.S.

Turness also confirmed that Euronews, in which NBC News holds a 25% stake, will remain a separate entity “very much about Europe and for Europeans, whereas we are in a different part of the market.”

This story originally appeared on TVT's sister publication TVBEurope.