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‘Anti-woke’ GB channel launches at last... but not without a few first night technical glitches
BRITAIN’S first new current affairs channel for 24 years got off to a shaky start last night with technical difficulties within the first ten minutes.
GB News launched at 8pm with a special programme to introduce the presenting line-up hosted by its chairman, veteran broadcaster Andrew Neil.
Neil, who quit the BBc last year, told viewers that GB News would cover ‘the stories that matter to you and those that have been neglected’. In an apparent dig at his old employers, he said: ‘We won’t forget what the B stands for in our title.’
The first glitch occurred when another GB News presenter, Neil Oliver, best known for coast on the BBc, suffered a problem with his microphone in his introduction.
Andrew Neil was forced to abandon his conversation with him momentarily and speak to another show host, former Sky Sports star kirsty Gallacher.
Brushing off the mishap, he joked: ‘We are proud to have the king of Scotland in our line-up [meaning Scotsman Oliver] on GB News and I promise, your majesty, next time we will get you a better microphone.’
Other problems were highlighted by viewers, who complained about the lighting, while others said the initial audio wasn’t synched with pictures on their screens.
Former Sky News presenter eamonn holmes tweeted: ‘Is it just me? GB News picture quality and/or lighting not right. Words good/lighting not so.’ In another tweet he said: ‘I hope GB News gets a decent chance ... May it keep all the other news providers on their toes.
‘I have huge respect for TV news but this is a reminder that news is not just Westminster or a constant woke agenda.’
The initial teething problems seemed to be corrected quickly.
The channel, though not a 24/7 operation, is positioned as a rival to Sky and the BBc, which launched its 24-hour news channel in the Uk in 1997.
Discussing its aims, Neil said in his opening monologue: ‘GB News will not slavishly follow the existing news agenda. We are not a rolling news channel nor will we be providing conventional news bulletins. But on all of our programmes and platforms you will always know what is going on and what the country is talking about.
‘GB News will not be another echo chamber for the metropolitan mindset that already dominates so much of the media. It is our explicit aim to empower those who feel their stories, their opinions, their concerns have been ignored or diminished. We are proud to be British. The clue is in the name.’
At the weekend, the channel claimed the BBc has been attempting to stop it from entering a ‘pooling’ system for footage run by the corporation, Sky News and ITN.
If GB News is denied access, it will be unable to show national events where there is only space for one camera.
The broadcasters who run the pool declined to comment.
GB News will air from 6am to midnight seven days a week. Other high-profile presenters include former Apprentice star Michelle Dewberry, ex-labour MP Gloria De Piero, former BBc News anchor Simon Mccoy and Alastair Stewart, who quit ITV last year.