The 2021 launch UK TV channel GB News has received a new £60m investment from existing investors Legatum Ventures, of Dubai, and UK hedge fund founder Sir Paul Marshall, after Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and founders Andrew Cole and Mark Schneider all exited their investments. WBD owns the news channels CNN Worldwide, Poland’s TVN Group, and New Zealand’s Newshub as a result of the Warner-Discovery merger.
When GB News launched 18 months ago, its backers were confident that an initial £60m would fund it for three years. But the fact that the channel plans substantially more staffing (including some relatively high-priced presenters and production talent ) and will invest in additional technology and studio facilities seems to validate criticism that the launch had been seriously under-funded, limiting its ability to compete with the UK’s established 24-hour news providers.
It still remains to be seen whether GB News can compete with the not-for-profit BBC and the perpetual lossmaker Sky News. But CEO Angelos Frangopoulos (ex Sky News Australia) said the new funding would give it “the financial muscle to build for the long term in a competitive market”. Marshall – who had helped to finance the UK’s Brexit referendum campaign – is investing in GB News in a personal capacity and said: “This is more than a financial investment. As investors, we’re proud of what GB News is doing for UK media plurality, bringing fresh perspectives to the national conversation on issues that matter to real Britain.”
According to industry figures, GB News reached a total of 2.2m viewers in April, compared with 12.6m for BBC News and 9.1m for Sky News. Its average daily minutes were also much lower at just 32 seconds per day, compared with 2 minutes 36 per viewer for BBC News and 1 minute 41 for Sky News. But GB News insiders have cheered the stats because their audiences have consistently beaten TalkTV, the direct rival launched this year in tandem with TalkRadio by News UK and featuring Piers Morgan. In addition to its three UK national newspapers, News Corp also operates Times Radio, TalkSport and Virgin Radio.
GB News’ latest funding will silence the speculation that News Corp will negotiate a merger with TalkTV. At least for now.
