Editing Naked News (section)

== History ==
<!-- Please do not add cast members unless they are reliably sourced (WP:RS) -->
[[File:Former Naked News anchor Christine Kerr, in Toronto (Canada), 2008.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Then-''Naked News'' anchor Christine Kerr, in Toronto (Canada), 2008]]
''Naked News'' was conceived by Fernando Pereira and Kirby Stasyna and debuted in December 1999<ref name=BW/> as a web-based news service featuring an all-female cast.<ref>{{cite news|last=Elder|first=Robert K.|title=Just the Bare Facts About the Naked News|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2002-01-13-0201160281-story.html|newspaper=[[South Florida Sun-Sentinel]]|date=January 13, 2002|access-date=March 18, 2020}}</ref> 

It began with only one anchor, Victoria Sinclair, who worked for the program until 2015.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mindich |first=David T. Z. |author-link=David Mindich |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/57137249 |title=Tuned Out: Why Americans Under 40 Don't Follow the News |publisher=Oxford University Press, USA |year=2005  |pages=55–56 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Book review – Tuned Out: Why Americans Under 40 Don't Follow the News by David T.Z. Mindich |journal=Public Relations Review |volume=31 |issue=4 |isbn=9780195161403 |doi=10.1016/j.pubrev.2005.08.021 |oclc=57137249 |last=Brown |first=Robert E. |date=2005 |page=586 }}</ref> As the show grew, the number of female anchors increased. Roxanne West joined Sinclair as a lead anchor, and other cast members included Holly Weston, April Torres, Lily Kwan, Sandrine Renard, Erin Sherwood, Athena King, Brooke Roberts, [[Michelle Pantoliano]], Erica Stevens,<ref name=BW/> [[Samantha Page]], Christine Kerr and Valentina Taylor, plus guest anchors. 

The website was popularized entirely by word of mouth,<ref name=Mutz/> and quickly became a popular web destination. During the height of its popularity, the website was receiving over 6 million unique visitors per month.<ref name=BW/><ref name=Beeb/> In the site's early days, the entire newscast could be viewed for free online.<ref name=Mutz/> The site was initially supported by advertising, but this changed after the collapse of Internet advertising that occurred with the [[dot-com crash]]. By 2002, only one news segment could be viewed for free,<ref name=BW/> and by 2004, no free content remained on the website.<ref name=Mutz/> Beginning in 2005, a nudity-free version of ''Naked News'' was available to non-subscribers. Beginning in June 2008, two news segments could be viewed for free. However, this ended in December 2009.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

In 2001, following the success of ''[[The Naked Truth (TV)|The Naked Truth]]'', a similar show on Russian television, the ''Naked News'' website launched ''Naked News TV!'', a 45-minute<ref name=SMH>{{cite news|title=Naked News in bid to flesh out world coverage|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/naked-news-in-bid-to-flesh-out-world-coverage-20080111-gdrwfc.html|date=January 11, 2008|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|agency=AP|url-access=subscription}}</ref> show initially broadcast on the pay-per-view cable television channel [[Viewers Choice]] in Canada.<ref name=Beeb/> It was broadcast in the United States a few months later by the [[iN DEMAND]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2001/12/06/Of-Human-Interest-News-lite/32011007637600/|title=Of Human Interest: News-lite|first=Penny Nelson|last=Bartholomew|agency=United Press International|date=December 6, 2001}}</ref> cable TV service on its [[Too Much for TV]] pay-per-view network that also included ''[[Girls Gone Wild (franchise)|Girls Gone Wild]]''. In 2002, it was broadcast in Australia on [[The Comedy Channel]] via cable and satellite television platforms [[Foxtel]] and [[Austar]].<ref name=BW/> The British channel [[Sumo TV]] briefly showed episodes of ''Naked News'', while the free-to-view [[Playboy One]] broadcast the show at 9:30pm Mondays-Fridays until its closure in 2008.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}

A male version of the show ran from 2001 until 2007. It was created to parallel the female version, but ceased production as it did not enjoy the female version's popularity and fame. Although it was originally targeted towards female viewers (at one point said to be 30% of the website's audience), the male show later promoted itself as news from a gay perspective.<ref>{{cite web |author=McDonald |first=Gayle |date=April 14, 2004 |title=Naked men give it to you straight |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/naked-men-give-it-to-you-straight/article18263700/ |access-date=May 20, 2020 |work=[[Globe & Mail]]}}</ref>

In August 2004, in Britain, Naked News began to be shown at 21:30 GMT every night on the ''Get Lucky TV'' channel, accessed on [[Sky UK|Sky Digital]].<ref name="independent">{{cite web|url=https://www.iol.co.za/news/eish/baring-the-facts-its-the-naked-news-219413|title=Baring the facts: it's the Naked News |date=12 August 2004|work=[[Independent Online]]|location=South Africa|access-date=2008-12-15|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019181348/http://www.iol.co.za/news/back-page/baring-the-facts-it-s-the-naked-news-1.219413|archive-date=19 October 2012}}</ref>

By 2008, ''Naked News TV!'' was available on [[pay-per-view]] in the US, Europe, Australia, Asia and Canada, while the ''Naked News'' website had viewers in more than 172 nations <ref name=SMH/>