GB News suffers £31m loss in first year of broadcasting

GB NEWS lost more than £30m in its first year on the air as the upstart broadcaster was racked by internal disagreements and an advertising boycott.

Accounts for GB News for the year to May 31 2022 showed that it made a £30.7m loss on revenues of £3.6m.

The figures illustrate that the channel, set up by broadcasting veteran Andrew Neil, faces a challenge to reach profitability as it seeks to compete with the BBC and Sky News and fend off a challenge from Rupert Murdoch’s Talktv.

GB News came on the air in June 2021, but its launch was blighted by technical issues and a lengthy break for star presenter Mr Neil, who later departed in a clash over the channel’s direction. It has improved ratings after hiring a host of big-name presenters including Nigel Farage.

The majority of its revenue came from £3m in advertising, followed by digital and sponsorship income. Overall, £3.2m of its £3.6m in sales came from within Britain.

However, this was dwarfed by £12.7m in wages and other staff costs for its 175 employees. On an Ebitda basis, seen as a measure of operating performance, it lost £28.7m.

GB News got a £60m cash injection in August from British investor Sir Paul Marshall and Dubai’s Legatum Group, a deal that saw Hollywood group Discovery and co-founders Andrew Cole and Mark Schneider sell their stakes.

The broadcaster pointed to improving audience figures and a list of prominent hires. It has signed up presenters including Michael Portillo and Eamonn Holmes since its launch.

It claimed figures suggested its radio station, GB News Radio, was the fastest growing in the country, adding that its television channel had an average monthly reach of 2.3m people in the year to May 31.

“Audience across television, digital and radio platforms has been growing steadily since launch with management addressing and adapting to the inevitable challenges faced by the group as a start-up challenger in a well-established market,” the company said.

Last week, Ofcom said GB News host Mark Steyn had breached broadcasting rules by claiming a link between the Covid-19 vaccine and higher death rates. He has since left the channel.