GB News to take on BBC with TV launch in weeks
GB NEWS will begin its challenge to the BBC from the end of this month, when the news network launches its television channel.
Television platforms are gearing up for the 24-hour news channel to go live on May 31. Industry sources said the opinionated news service will begin by broadcasting showreels of its presenters from May 27, with live programming set to start four days later.
However, GB News said the timing of the launch had not been decided.
“The only confirmed dates are related to technical launches,” a GB News spokesman said. “No date has been decided for the launch of live programming. That decision will not be made for some time, possibly weeks.”
GB News will air on Freeview channel 236 and will be broadcast across Sky, Virgin Media, YouView and Freesat, alongside a dedicated on-demand streaming service.
The news network, spearheaded by veteran broadcaster Andrew Neil, plans to battle the BBC by targeting audiences that dislike the corporation’s rolling news coverage.
The channel is backed by American broadcaster Discovery and has hired a raft of seasoned journalists, including veteran ITV news anchor Alastair Stewart and former BBC News presenter Simon McCoy.
Colin Brazier, the former Sky News presenter, said he joined GB News because “the mainstream broadcasters were getting out of touch with a large portion of the viewership”.
“I think people will be surprised to find that it is not as shrill as they are expecting,” he added. “It is going to be more thoughtful and positive, and it will not be po-faced. Sometimes, watching the existing offerings can feel like being in the audience for a sociology lecture – and I don’t think this will.”
GB News was locked in a race with Rupert Murdoch to become the first organisation to launch a right-leaning news channel before the summer.
However, News UK scrapped its plans for a TV channel last month, claiming it was not “commercially viable”. It is now focused on launching a news streaming service.