Farage beats Talktv rival Morgan in ratings battle

NIGEL FARAGE beat Piers Morgan’s flagship show for the first time since Talktv launched, amid a battle to win viewers from established media brands.

Some 58,000 viewers tuned in to watch Morgan’s programme on Rupert Murdoch’s channel at its peak on Monday evening, compared to 73,600 for Farage on GB News, according to TV ratings compiler Barb.

It marks a dramatic decline from the bumper ratings the former Good Morgan Britain presenter delivered on his debut night just two weeks earlier.

Viewers flocked to the channel to watch the launch of Piers Morgan Uncensored on April 25, which featured an exclusive interview with Donald Trump. It raced ahead of rivals, drawing in an audience of about 316,800, which peaked at 400,000.

At the time, Morgan boasted on Twitter that his show “got five times the ratings” of Farage’s programme.

But his viewing figures dwindled to just 61,700 a week later, before hitting a new low this week.

Mr Murdoch launched Talktv as a channel that offers Us-style opinionated news to contrast with the BBC amid clear demand for an alternative. He has reportedly spent £50m on a three-year contract with Morgan, to drive viewer numbers following the presenter’s success on ITV.

Rival newcomer GB News is now regularly beating Talktv in the ratings.

Talktv has also recruited Sharon Osbourne and Tom Newton Dunn as presenters. Osbourne’s show has also struggled, with viewer figures falling from 43,900 to just 6,000 last week.

The BBC’S 24-hour rolling news channel generally attracts around 80,000 viewers around the same time in the evening, between 9pm and 10pm.

Morgan joined forces with Mr Murdoch after his exit from ITV’S Good

Morning Britain last year following a row over the Duchess of Sussex.