Familiar on-screen faces like Melissa Reddy and Jeremy Langdon are among reporters heading for a likely exit, while every host has been offered packages to potentially leave. One shocked staff member suggests privately that “failed” previous channel changes to attract younger viewers may have been a factor in the overhaul. However, with changing viewer habits affecting all traditional broadcasters, rights piracy and budget pressure on various Sky departments from its Comcast owners were also said to figure. Industry sources have indicated that piracy, especially the use of illegal “fire sticks” sold on the black market, are hitting broadcasters hard. Between them Sky Sports and TNT Sports paid £6.7billion for the UK rights to the Premier League for four seasons, starting next season. The Premier League have brought prosecutions against individuals who have sold the sticks which host apps that can be used to illegally stream paywalled content. While Sky’s refusal to disclose its subscriber numbers make it hard to get a clear picture of the scale of the piracy, the worry for pay-TV broadcasters is that a generation is developing that refuses to pay for live sport. Other insiders at the broadcaster counter claim that the overhaul is solely a cost-cutting measure. A period of consultation is part of moves to become “more agile and better equipped to serve audiences”, they say. Executives at Sky have told staff they must ensure their departments keep up with changing behaviours of audiences. Pressures on the sector are undeniable, however. Staff at broadcasters across the sector − including at the BBC − have told Telegraph Sport privately that more cuts are expected in the upcoming months. “It’s Sky Sport News this time but everybody is anxious as TV is changing,” said one broadcasting heavyweight. “Youngsters don’t watch football like we did...The whole business model is under pressure - serious pressure.” Sky Sports News staff were still reeling on Wednesday. While a period of consultation is now under way, Paul Gilmour is among other talent cited by sources as in particular danger of redundancy. Another senior figure in TV made a claim - heavily disputed by other insiders - that changes at Sky Sports News were a direct result of a perceived obsession with appealing to younger viewers. “They’ve been trying to appeal to an audience that isn’t there,” the figure added. “Gen Z gets its news differently so they don’t watch, and they p----- off the audience that did - so they’ve shot themselves in both feet.” The source said he had been contacted by a Sky staffer affected, who acknowledged “wearing skinny jeans and white sneakers isn’t the answer”. Such claims are flatly rejected by other insiders, who claim the changes “reflect our ambition to transform how Sky Sports News operates − to be faster, more flexible and more creative, while maintaining the high standards our audiences expect”. A Sky Sports statement said of the changes: “We’ve shared proposals with the Sky Sports News team to change how we’re structured, aimed at making us more agile and better equipped to serve audiences across TV, digital and social. A small number of roles are impacted, and we are now entering a period of consultation with those colleagues.” Sky Sports previously saw a heavy run of departures in 2023, with Soccer Saturday overhauled and reporters including Bianca Westwood and Jaydee Dyer made redundant. Lead commentator Martin Tyler, touchline reporter Geoff Shreeves, Guy Havord, Dickie Davis, Greg Whelan, and Lynsey Hooper also left. Insiders insist the Sky Sports News channel’s rolling sports news service will remain on its dedicated channel. Piracy is a huge concern now for British rights holders having first taken hold in other parts of the Premier League’s global market. The political standoff between Saudi Arabia and Qatar in 2017 resulted in the wholescale piracy of Qatari broadcaster beIN Sports, which for many in the industry was a watershed moment in the rights market. It showed that piracy was possible and changed a culture where it was accepted among most that buying a subscription was the norm. The saga around beoutQ, as the illegal Saudi stream was known, was eventually resolved but its legacy lives on. In France, Ligue 1 clubs have seen the bottom fall out of its own domestic rights market. The streamer DAZN paid to exit its agreement with LFP [Ligue de Football Professionnel] having failed to attract anything like the anticipated number of subscribers. This week DAZN confirmed that it had paid €100 million to exit the deal, on top of two final payments, having only begun this season. The deal had another four years to run. That is the nightmare scenario for the Premier League and its broadcast partners. In France LFP is setting up its own streaming service to go direct to its customers rather than the traditional rights licensing to media partners. Some believe that the Premier League will one day have no option but to do the same. There has been job anxiety among staff at BBC Sport in recent months too. In March, most BBC Sport staff were offered voluntary redundancy as the department announced plans to scrap 27 jobs.