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Rival efforts are under way to launch a stubborn Fox News-style current affairs television station in Britain to counter the BBC.
One group promises a news channel “distinctly different from traditional operators out of touch” and has already been granted a license to broadcast by media regulator Ofcom under the name “GB News.” Its founder has called the BBC a “disgrace” that “is bad for Britain on many levels” and “needs to be disbanded”.
Former Fox News executive David Rhodes is hatching a rival project at the headquarters of Rupert Murdoch’s British media empire, though it is unclear whether it will result in a traditional TV channel or online only.
Both are launching into a perceived gap in the stubborn video production market fueled by growing distrust of the BBC among some parts of its audience, especially on the political right on culture war issues like Brexit and si Rule, Britannia! it should be sung on the Last Night of the Proms.
The prize is twofold: the political influence that would come from breaking the BBC and Sky’s grip on British news, along with the potential earnings if it is possible to replicate some of the huge audiences that tune in to watch stubborn talk show hosts. in the US, where Fox News is hugely profitable.
GB News is the work of a company called All Perspectives, controlled by two British-American executives who are associated with the American billionaire John Malone. Malone, known as the “cable cowboy,” chairs Liberty Global, which owns Virgin Media, as well as the parent company of the Discovery television network.
Andrew Cole, one of the co-founders of GB News, is also on the board of Liberty Global. He told The Guardian that he hoped to be able to discuss the project in September, but had previously made his views on the broadcast landscape clear.
He told his LinkedIn followers that the BBC was “possibly the most biased propaganda machine in the world” and to “watch out for announcements from famous presenters and the launch of an entirely new TV news channel for the UK, one that will be distinctly different from the out-of-touch headlines. ”He added,“ People need and want this new perspective. ”
Sources with knowledge of the project suggested GB News was in talks with Discovery about a link, with the possibility of an announcement in September. It has a valid license and, while this does not guarantee that the channel will air, or that it will be called GB News, it does mean that Ofcom has been provided with the business case, distribution plans, and intended audience. Discovery declined to comment.
The challenge facing both projects is the UK’s strict broadcast rules on due fairness, imposed by the media regulator. One possible route to avoid them is to follow the lead of radio station LBC, which has achieved an audience record by realizing that the rules can be interpreted to allow for strongly opinionated presenters, provided they are balanced in other parts of the program with points of alternative view.
A similar pattern has been followed by Piers Morgan’s outbursts on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, which regularly become topics of conversation online and generate substantial traffic to tabloids. News UK’s TalkRadio has pushed this tactic even further, with regular discussions on hot topics from the culture war quickly turning into clips shared on social media.
Company sources say Rhodes, who was hired by News UK in the spring and most recently served as chairman of CBS News, has the backing of Lachlan Murdoch, the heir apparent to the business empire. You have been interested in the TalkRadio model. A News UK spokesperson declined to comment on the suggestion that a full news channel was in the works, but confirmed that it was continuing to work on “video projects”.
One of the great unknowns of any project of this type is the role of Nigel Farage. The former Ukip leader left LBC amid staff anger over his comments about migrants crossing the English Channel, but has the potential to offer a prepared audience against the BBC and pro-Brexit. He has recently been featured on the Sun YouTube channel and TalkRadio, both owned by News UK.
