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Tuesday 22 June 2021

GB News - The Audience Vanishes

Away from the sound and fury of those in the right-leaning part of our free and fearless press generating wave after wave of righteous condemnation over the nascent advertising boycott of Gammon Broadcasting News (“Bacon’s News Channel”), culminating in a pack of lies from the loathsome Toby Young in the Mail on Sunday, egregious even by his low standards, few have asked the question: how many viewers are actually tuning in?


While Tobes distracts his readers by claiming “it might be right-of-centre but there's nothing racist about it” about Fox News Channel (fair and balanced my arse) while missing that FNC’s top rated host Tucker Carlson has been shamelessly plugging the Great Replacement Theory - beloved of white supremacists - the real news about GB News is that, advertiser boycott or no, it needs to pull in viewers to remain viable.

The viewer numbers envisaged were mentioned in an article by Adam Sherwin for iNews early last month, along with how they might be monetised: “The GB News business model envisages turning its audience into a ‘community’, which will pay a monthly fee to access additional content behind a digital paywall … Insiders believe around 135,000 ‘superfans’ … could pay a fee of £5 a month for the privilege”. There was more.

It was conceded that “GB News, which will air on Freeview, Sky and all other main platforms, cannot rely on advertising revenue alone”. However, “The channel believes it can improve on the daily audience of about 110,000 viewers a day which watches Sky News”. Improve on it to the extent of having 135,000 paying “superfans”.


But, as I pointed out at the time, 135,000 people stumping up £5 a month will only generate around £8 million a year, and GB News probably needs around £30 million a year to remain afloat. And, as presenter Victoria Derbyshire has revealed, the viewing figures for last Friday - after the launch night novelty had worn off - make grim reading.

GB News’ breakfast offering that day drew an audience of 56,000, fewer than Sky News Breakfast, fewer than 10% of ITV Good Morning Britain’s audience, and around 4% of that for BBC Breakfast. Worse still, Brazier & Muroki, GB News’ mid-morning offering, drew a paltry 36,000 viewers. Even the claimed 100,000 plus for former Murdoch editor Andrew Neil’s evening hour was short of that dreamed-of 135,000 figure.

Worse, some of those viewing are only doing so to record the gaffes, or monitor the advertisers as part of behind-the-scenes lobbying to suggest that those advertisers plug their wares elsewhere. Worse still, there has not yet been any effort to make the all-important pitch to those thus far mythical “superfans” for £5 a month subscriptions.


And yet worse is the suggestion that the advertiser exodus has continued, but with those pulling their advertising doing so with little or no fanfare, so as to avoid the welter of abuse and even menace thrown at them by the right-wing press - and Brillo himself.

There is, of course, a solution to shortfalls in viewer engagement and advertising revenue: those who already sank £60 million into GB News can just sink a little more.

Where have all the viewers gone, [not so] long time passing … where have all the viewers gone, far, far away. GB News’ campaign is developing not necessarily to its advantage.


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18 comments:

Mr Larrington said...

I'm sure the Germans have one of those lovely compound nouns for this state of affairs…

Anonymous said...

Far right racist tabloid propaganda TV.

The ether equivalent of the Rothermere Daily Heil and the Murdoch Scum.

Just as evil, just as doomed.

Anonymous said...

To 11:57,

How about aktienlyingbullshitgesselschaftwerk?

Words Fail Me said...

Rotesgesichtschinkenwichser

Anonymous said...

Tim. If this is true then I am a very happy bunny indeed AND the sooner it goes down (with all hands) the even happier little bunny I will become.

Anonymous said...

Jesus Christ, Wootton had Andy Ngo on last night. This is piss taking of the highest order.

Mr Larrington said...

Just done a retune on my Humax Freeview recorder because it was showing ITV4 on channel 24 instead of 25 and I don't want it to self-immolate during the Tour de France. So…

Menu…Settings…Edit Channels…Edit Channel List. Scroll down to 236, press red button, press “Back”, confirm you want to save changes. Bye-bye, Brillo!

This has been a public service announcement.

Jonathan said...

First week guests - Epstein isn't a paedophile just a bloke into teen girls!
Next up Kim Jong-Un, just misunderstood little psychopath..

iMatt said...

GB News. A shopping channel attempting to read the news! Makes the fictional 'Globelink News' from 'Drop the Dead Donkey' and 'KYTV' look like paragons of professionalism.

Anonymous said...

Just delete their far right shite from the channel list.

I have.

Anonymous said...

Now that were ten days in I'm sick to death of seeing the same rota of guests,'marginalised' hermits such as Farage and Calvin Robinson who haven't been seen on a tv screen in years and now seem to be permanent fixtures.
Any outfit that considers Tory troll Tom Harwood to be a credible 'political reporter' is to be pitied more than anything else and I'm so looking forward to the obnoxious Dan Wootton being censured by the regulator,he really is a toxic individual.

Even the shockingly bad production standards and blunders have lost their initial charm.

Anonymous said...

It would appear you are wrong! Andrew Neil's 8pm show has three times the audience of Sky News & 26% more than BBC News Channel. This at a time when it's core audience, the knuckle-dragging racist gammons much mentioned on here, are watching the football! Wishin' and Hopin' things are the way you would like is delusional. Zelo has 0.0025% of GB news audience, better than S4C & Alba.If it improves I will let you know.

Meanwhile perhaps those that have been watching GB News with increasing irritation could learn to use the remote, batteries will be needed, the red button should solve your problem.

Anonymous said...

17:50.

Source?

Anonymous said...

Sauce? The news today, do your own research or buy a newspaper, even the Graun reported it !

Jonathan said...

Your sources are exactly?
Why if so successful has Andrew Neil decided to take a leave of absence after just 2 weeks?

Jonathan said...

Brillo's taking a holiday after 2 weeks, either he realsies that GB News is shit and doesn't want to be associated or he's repairing his hair.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful Jon, let us know what you intend to be doing at 72 then have a go at Mr Neil.

PS Sauces - Do some reading, seek and ye shall find. Start here lazybones https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/andrew-neil-gb-news-bbc-sky-rating-b942539.html

Anonymous said...

the Graun?

Oh my aching sides.