Jones + Co
| Company type | Television program |
|---|---|
| Industry | News broadcasting |
| Predecessor | Richo + Jones |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Headquarters | Australia |
| Products | Weekly news and commentary show |
Jones & Co (initially known as Richo + Jones) was a weekly news and commentary show broadcast on Sky News Australia. It was scheduled on Tuesdays at 8pm AEST. The program featured co-hosts Alan Jones and Peta Credlin, with previous hosting roles held by Graham Richardson and Mark Latham.
The content primarily revolved around political issues, typically beginning with interviews of notable politicians or analysts, followed by in-depth discussions between the hosts.
Background
This series originated as a derivative of Richo, which launched in February 2011 with Richardson as the sole host.
In February 2014, the show debuted as Richo + Jones, co-hosted by Richardson and Jones. After Richardson’s health declined, Mark Latham was introduced in 2016 at Jones’ recommendation, leading to a rebranding as Jones & Co. The producers opted against naming it Jones and Latham due to concerns regarding Latham's public image.
Latham’s tenure ended in March 2017 when Sky News dismissed him following contentious statements made on this and other programs; his final appearance occurred that same month. In May 2017, Peta Credlin joined as co-host.
Beginning November 2014, the program was simulcast on radio station 2GB alongside Sky News; however, this simulcast arrangement has since been discontinued.
Guest hosts
In July 2014, during Jones’ assignment covering the 2014 Commonwealth Games for another broadcaster, Peter Reith served as a temporary host while retaining the Richo + Jones title. On September 23, 2014, Jones presented solo due to Richardson’s health-related absence. Subsequently, on September 30 and October 7, Kristina Keneally substituted for Richardson during his vacation, with some promotional material referring to the program as Jones + Keneally.
Throughout 2015, Jones frequently hosted alone amid Richardson’s cancer treatment. On June 23, 2015, Peter Beattie appeared as a guest co-host, resulting in the show being labeled Jones + Beattie. Starting April 2016, the program adopted the name Jones + Co during Richardson’s extended surgery recovery period and featured guest co-hosts such as Mark Latham.
Reception
By September 2014, the highest-rated episode had aired on 21 August 2013, drawing an audience of 55,000 viewers. The episode broadcast on April 22, 2014 ranked twentieth among subscription television shows with an audience of 39,000 and was Sky News' second most-watched program that day. An episode from June 17 featuring a live interview with Clive Palmer placed seventeenth overall and was Sky News' top-rated broadcast with 43,000 viewers.
During the first half of 2018, Jones & Co experienced a year-on-year increase in viewership of 29%.