These awards underlined Sky News' reputation as the first place to turn to for breaking news: Sky was the first British broadcaster to break the news of the bombing of Baghdad, signalling the start of the Iraq War. And it reported live on the battle of Umm Qasr, broadcasting the first live battlefield scenes, subsequently aired by all UK and most US networks.

During the war, Sky News' share of viewing in multichannel homes increased by 650%.

A MORI poll, reporting on which channel was viewed at all, viewed most, and was most trusted, stated, "BBC One won the terrestrial race, while Sky had a strong lead over both BBC News 24 and CNN for the digital honours".

In September 2002, Sky News also introduced a new look morning show - Sky News Today, which features a flexible format, giving space for greater explanation, analysis and debate. And, earlier in 2003, it introduced a new evening discussion programme - Littlejohn.

The end of October 2002 saw Sky News become available via DTT under the Freeview brand, one of Sky's three channels on the digital free-to-air platform.

In terms of interactivity, over four million votes have been received through Sky News Active and the service continues to innovate, introducing eight full screens of on-demand coverage this year. In addition Sky News has introduced a pioneering desktop news service - Sky News Alerts.

These innovations, combined with an unrivalled expertise in breaking news, will ensure that Sky News remains at the forefront of news provision in the 21st century.