A number of media outlets in Australia and the UK used some of the footage in their coverage, including Sky News Australia.

A Sky spokesperson told the New Zealand Herald: "We made the decision to remove Sky News Australia from our platform while disturbing footage of the shootings was being shown to avoid causing any distress to our viewers.



"It will remain off air until we are confident the footage won't be shared."

On Saturday afternoon, a Sky News spokesperson told BuzzFeed News the decision to replace the news coverage with sport had been made after consultation with Sky New Zealand management.

"As the live rolling events of the Christchurch shooting unfolded, an editorial decision was made by Sky News Australia to offer sports programming to SKY NZ in place of Sky News Australia’s live feed to ensure any footage or reporting did not compromise the ongoing investigations taking place in New Zealand," they said.

"Sky News Australia acted responsibly and prudently in replacing the service as soon as it was able to early yesterday evening after consulting with SKY NZ management."