GB News hit by Johnson no-show and job losses
Will former PM ride to rescue of right-wing station amid speculation it could go online-only? By Adam Sherwin
GB News insiders are speculating over whether Boris Johnson can ride to the rescue as the right-wing station battles low ratings and a morale slump after announcing plans to axe 40 jobs.
The insiders fear that the controversial channel could even follow the example of Rupert Murdoch’s TalkTV, which will leave scheduled television and go online-only this summer after two years of poor viewing figures.
The GB News redundancy plan will replace editorial staff working on individual shows with a “pooled” story team, i understands. The move is designed to stem losses, which ballooned to £42.2m last year. Seasoned presenters, including economics editor Liam Halligan, are set to leave GB News, which is struggling to retain its modest live audience and still faces eight Ofcom investigations into alleged impartiality breaches.
“Morale is pretty low. Some nights they are getting only
30,000 viewers at peak time,” an insider said.
“The speculation is the channel could go online-only after the general election. It would save millions on licensing fees and takes GB News outside Ofcom’s broadcast regulation.”
Staff’s hopes had been boosted by former prime minister Johnson, who was signed to front his own GB News show and become the channel’s star commentator on the UK general election and the US presidential race.
Six months on from the announcement, Johnson has yet to begin. Sources say he will join after completing work on his memoirs. But his absence has led to rumours that he may be having second thoughts about his association with the channel.
“Boris was going to ride to the rescue, but where is he?” another insider asked. “His deal means he will be paid when he delivers.
“You won’t see him presenting a live show like Nigel Farage. What GB News is really paying for is Boris in the studio exclusively on election night, talking about an expected Conservative Party meltdown.” GB News has reported total losses of £76m since its launch and has been placed “on notice” of possible financial sanctions by Ofcom after breaking the regulator’s rules on 12 occasions in the past 18 months.
The channel, still grappling with an advertising boycott orchestrated by critics of its content, has had to retrench after headcount soared from 175 in 2022 to 295 by May 2023. Its politician presenters remain well-rewarded, with former cabinet minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg paid £324,000 for his prime-time show last year. Lee Anderson, the former Conservative and now Reform party MP, was paid £100,000. Voluntary redundancies are being sought for the job cuts, affecting 14 per cent of the workforce. “Fees are being cut for panellists and guests,” said one staffer.
Viewing figures have fallen since most-watched presenter Dan Wootton was suspended in September for his role in the misogynistic rant launched by Laurence Fox on Wootton’s nightly show.
Yesterday, the channel’s main backer, hedge fund tycoon Sir
Paul Marshall, confirmed that he is stepping down from the board of GB News’s parent company, All Perspectives, after three years. Allies of Sir Paul have rejected suggestions that distancing himself from GB News could help him win regulatory approval for an expected renewed attempt to buy The Daily Telegraph.
“Sir Paul stepping back doesn’t mean his commitment to GB News is any less,” one figure said. “There’s huge costs to launching a TV channel and the losses have to be reduced. But it’s about influencing the political debate for Paul, not making a profit.”
Announcing his board resignation, Sir Paul said: “I joined as a director for the start-up phase but now GB News is on a secure growth trajectory.
“I want to focus on my other business and philanthropic interests. I remain very engaged as a co-lead investor.”
Lord Agnew, a former Treasury and Cabinet Office minister, will replace Sir Paul as director. He called GB News “a business with huge opportunity as the industry undergoes a digital transformation across existing and emerging platforms”.
However, presenter Andrew
Neil, who was GB News’s launch chairman in June 2021 but quit three months later, told a Lords committee this week: “Whereas the original business model was to break even by year three, I think I’m pretty safe in saying that won’t happen.
“If there’s a bunch of people who want to carry on financing it because they like the ideology, that’s up to them. But I find it very hard to see how it could ever be profitable – or even break even.”
Executives point to GB News’s growing digital reach. It is one of the fastest-growing UK news brands, according to Press Gazette’s rankings. Its website audience is up 167 per cent year on year, reaching nine million people a month.
Its YouTube channel has 1.2 million followers and bosses are planning a US expansion, trading on Farage’s close ties with Donald Trump to target Fox News viewers during the presidential race.
After rebuffing approaches from News UK to combine TalkTV with GB News and having seen off its rival as a linear TV venture, the channel remains bullish about its future on TV and online.
“It’s a tough environment for any commercial broadcaster and the channel is taking steps to become financially self-sufficient,” a source said. “We’re regularly challenging Sky News and the aim is to become the No 1 UK news channel by 2028.” A poll released by JL Partners this week found that Labour is more popular than the Tories with GB News viewers, suggesting that the channel is reaching voters in the “Red Wall” towns which will decide the outcome of the general election. Ofcom’s announcement this week that politicians can be TV presenters, as long as programmes demonstrate “due impartiality”, even during an election, removed an existential threat to GB News. GB News and Sir Paul did not respond to requests for comment.
Johnson’s absence has led to rumours that he may be having second thoughts about his association