New Alternative News Channel "GB News" chaired by Andrew Neil launching - read OP before posting

pixelburp

The farce being Neil barely said anything of substance anyway, even after being repeatedly pressed to elaborate on his waffle over a difference of ideological direction. If the cancellation was for sure over Neil's appearance on QT.

If nothing else, the channel gave us a few months of various ineptitudes from the station, alongside some spectacular hot takes about its relevance as a Good Faith purveyor of opinion.

AllForIt

I agree Neil's performance on QT was abysmal. I don't know why he appeared on it to reveal nothing of substance at all.

Then again that Abbey guy he had a spat with didn't come across too well either with his pathetic little props. According to his Wiki page he's a 'satirist'. I'd go back to banking if I were him.

So Neil might end up on talkTV then lol

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117921792#Comment_117921792

The easily triggered snowflakes at GBnews really can't handle any criticism.

Their worshippers on Boards are starting to round on Neil I see

Quin_Dub

Well at least on the plus side, it would appear that for now at least GB News has finally found bottom in the ratings.

For pretty much the first time ever they haven't declined week on week - 2 weeks straight of a 0.23% share of the TV viewing numbers.

BBC News had 1.24% and Sky News had 0.81% for comparison.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117922643#Comment_117922643

I wonder, given the station is well and truly in a corner, will it make some last gasp swings for notoriety and relevance. The 'aul Nothing to Lose strategy; triple down on every impulse and vulgar take, and hope to get some energy from the extra eyeballs.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117925769#Comment_117925769

That only works if more than 0 are watching

Quin_Dub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117925769#Comment_117925769

Even if they did that - Will anyone notice??

They aren't even generating any Twitter buzz anymore , they are operating in a vacuum right now.

banie01

The irony of the Gammon supreme berating the monster he created and claiming that now his is free to do and say as he pleases? 🤦

I mean the man created the channel claiming it'd be an outlet for "free speech" but it's only upon leaving them sans payoff that he can speak freely?🤔

https://twitter.com/afneil/status/1440797569836146690?s=19

AllForIt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117922643#Comment_117922643

So if Sky News have 0.81% and GBNews have 0.23%, that's roughly a quarter of Sky News's viewership? That's hardly zero.

AllForIt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117927041#Comment_117927041

Gammon supreme? Are you cancelling gammon?

Did he create the channel? It seems to me what is at the heart of all this is personality differences, and all this talk of disagreements over the direction of the channel is just a smokescreen.

Tell me how

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117927242#Comment_117927242

They need to get their sh*t together before UK News launches as I expect most of their audience after the first couple weeks will be coming from GBNews rather than Sky or BBC.

What a fiasco for Neil and GBNews to have knives drawn with him outside the camp about 3 months after the station launched.

francois

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117927260#Comment_117927260

It's hilarious. Neil's perception of himself as some big beast journalist who would carry all before him and bring his audience from the BBC, has taken a battering.

For a man with such an ego, that must really hurt.

VinLieger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117927242#Comment_117927242

Yes among others he did create the channel, he was the chairman, on the board of management, lead presenter and the public face of the channel

Quin_Dub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117927236#Comment_117927236

Never said it was.. I was merely pointing out that they appear to have stabilised somewhat insofar as for almost the 1st time since launch they have had weekly viewing figures that weren't lower than the previous one.

Their current viewing numbers are not financially viable , not even close - Sky News who as you say have ~4x the viewers are not profitable on their own (their losses are covered by the wider Media group) so GB News are a financial sinkhole.

One week without losing viewers doesn't mean a whole lot , but it might be something - Will they consolidate at this level , will they grow or will the continue to decline as has been the overall trend since they launched?

With the new Murdoch backed channel on the way it's hard to see where the growth comes from for GB News.

MisterAnarchy

https://twitter.com/danwootton/status/1440978236381581312

Rumours of GB News demise seem to be greatly exaggerated.

ancapailldorcha

They're not.

ohnonotgmail

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117928278#Comment_117928278

the replies to that are gas

It’s so refreshing to hear presenters reflecting views I share rather than having to listen to some woke rubbish from other channels.

they really do love their echo chamber.

pixelburp

Who needs hard statistics when we got a tweet from an obvious vested interest?

But noooo: it's the rest of the world that's ridden with bias.

Timberrrrrrrr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117928278#Comment_117928278

...🤣

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117928314#Comment_117928314

I remember seeing a debate somewhere where a guy asked for evidence and was presented with data. His response was to dismiss graphs as woke.

Found it:

https://twitter.com/KeirMilburn/status/1434880005859942404

Can't reason people out of a position they didn't reason themselves into.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117928339#Comment_117928339

Well, seems apt to trot out Ben Shapiro's infamous remark; that "facts don't care about your feelings". Maybe Mr. Wooten and those insisting GB News is hale & hearty should heed that advice, rather than dismissing cold - and established - statistical sources as biased or false.

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117928375#Comment_117928375

That was for other people, P. Same as personal responsibility. Bad when someone on welfare has a child but the prime minister can sire an indeterminate amount of illegitimate children and none of the family values brigade care one whit.

listermint

An amusing example of what's rife across the net and this very site actually.

And there's heeps more of this

https://mobile.twitter.com/Otto_English/status/1440980249756450816

ohnonotgmail

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117928661#Comment_117928661

just a coincidence.

Tell me how

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117928278#Comment_117928278

Surely the words of comical Ali came in to your mind as you typed that.

You have to have been joking.

Penn

Dan Wootton on Twitter saying GB News will be starting to run news headline segments on the channel from October (presumably as part of another relaunch).

I wonder would that impact on Ofcom rules in terms of balance in the rest of the programming.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117928999#Comment_117928999

Given that the person quoting Kermit The Frog to the UN, and who relies heavily on favourable tabloid bullsh1t, had their recommendation for the job rejected as unemployable, but can be allowed reapply, it'll depend on how long they can remain an independent body.

AllForIt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117927794#Comment_117927794

Quite right you didn't, you posted the actual data and even reported the slide has stalled somewhat. Others have been saying zero on this thread thought, like that Abbey guy on QT last week, which I what I meant. So it's this 'noone is watching' line that I'm disputing.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117930997#Comment_117930997

That relates to some of the channel's programming which has viewing figures so low that it's not measured by the BARB.

You're using their strongest viewing figures to try and argue that their weakest viewing figures don't exist. A really poor argument.

Quin_Dub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117930997#Comment_117930997

That's fair to a point but the problem they have is that based on their own figures one hour of broadcasting 4 days a week accounts for 60-70% of their total viewers - The Farage show.

This is based on them having a 4 week reach of ~2.1M viewers according to BARB and GB News saying that Farage is pulling ~100k viewers for his show (they might not being telling the truth though😀)

So 400k per week for Farage , means 1.6M for the 4 weeks , leaving ~500k for the rest of the channels output.

500k spread out over the remaining 656 hours of broadcasting across 4 weeks means that they are averaging just ~750 viewers per hour.

So , there are vast swathes of their programming that have effectively zero viewers and not just the middle of the night either - In real terms nobody is watching during the middle of the day or in the late evening as well.

So the "No one is watching" jibe is largely accurate outside of a very very narrow timeframe. Every channel has their "headline" show , but such an intense consolidation of their viewers around 4 hours a week is absolutely horrendous for advertising - Why would anyone part with money outside of those hours?

And reports are that large blocks of "Ad breaks" are simply being filled with a "Back Soon" test card as they don't have any advertisers.

TalkTV will absolutely schedule Piers Morgan in direct competition to Farage and as much of a reprehensible tool as Morgan is , he will absolutely wipe the floor with Farage.

GB News are hanging by a thread and survive solely at the whim of their financial backers , and they are going to run out of charity very soon I'd imagine

Quantum Erasure

GB News is just a disaster. I came close to a breakdown. It would've killed me to carry on. I HAD to quit- ANDREW NEIL

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10026417/amp/GB-News-just-disaster-came-close-breakdown-ANDREW-NEIL.html?__twitter_impression=true

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117935962#Comment_117935962

Boo hoo hoo. Andy goes jumping knowingly into a tank full of bile and disgust and big surprise discovers it's full of disgusting bile.

Poor little snowflake couldn't handle it

AllForIt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117932509#Comment_117932509

Yes, that's all very analytical and I don't dispute any of it, but you haven't compared it to Sky News in an equally analytical way. What I mean by that is surely some of SKY/BBC news equally has feck all viewers at times as well.

As for talkTV overtaking GBNews, I think that's all fantasy talk atm. Who know what will happen, maybe talkTV won't happen at all, or Murdoch might take over GBNews, or the two could meld eventually.

Tell me how

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117936128#Comment_117936128

He didn't just jump in to the tank. He suggested that there should be a tank and it should be filled with these ingredients.

Cody montana

'GB News is just a disaster. I came close to a breakdown. It would've killed me to carry on. I HAD to quit': ANDREW NEIL breaks down in tears in his first interview since his exit from channel he helped create

ancapailldorcha

Pathetic. Any respect I had for the man is completely gone. Typical crybully. He was happy to gloat when he thought GB News was in the ascendant but now it's proven itself to be a terrible idea he's wailing like a spoiled brat.

Pathetic.

pixelburp

Makes sense a man who spent his career listening to various politicians' performative Road to Damascus routines would himself trot out that tactic, when faced with an uncomfortable reality. About as authentic and honest as a 9 euro note, and I doubt he's fooling anymore bar those looking for a little public contrition on the way back to a cushy media job.

Rawr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117936128#Comment_117936128

The article somewhat fuels some of my suspicions that they are running on a very lean operations model. Andrew Neil even states that he had to argue them into having a set manager, otherwise the presenter would likely be the only staff on set. It looks a lot like they just took over a generic office floor, converted one of the meeting rooms into the “studio” (and only studio according to Neil), and then equipped it with a faulty auto-camera system that they didn’t even test properly ahead of launch.

It would surprise me if there more than a couple dozen people at that location, which might explain why they’ve lasted this long without any real income.

Quin_Dub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117936150#Comment_117936150

Indeed - But there are a couple of key points to note.

Sky News has 4X the viewers and BBC News has about 7X - They also don't have the same level of viewer consolidation around a single show.

So, yes they probably have some lower numbers in the wee small hours , but even on average they'd be many multiples of GB News.

The other absolutely critical part is that neither Sky News nor BBC News need to be independently profitably to stay on air.

BBC News is state funded and Sky News is part of a much larger Media organization such that they can spread the costs burden (and profits/losses) across the entire company.

GB News doesn't have either of those fall backs to protect them.

I have no issue with them broadcasting - Each to their own.

The points I have been making all along are simply tied to the viability of the business model and thus far it's simply not sustainable without ongoing and continuous cash injections from investors - With no hope of a return on said cash outlay.

They could go on forever if the investors wish them to , or they could shut up shop in the morning - Who knows what will happen.

Fundamentally , their continued existence is entirely down to the willingness of their backers to spend money without financial return.

ancapailldorcha

Yeah.

https://twitter.com/mrjamesob/status/1441716200438960128

Josephfromdowntheroad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117928278#Comment_117928278

That's impressive to be beating sky news during primetime hours to be fair.

Aidric

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117935962#Comment_117935962

Whatever about Neil being close to a breakdown, I was close to vomiting reading that puff piece.

"It was terrible, it was terrible,’ he says as I hug him". This quote emerged barely two paragraphs in and immediately all credibility is shot.

It gets worse, his wife is referred to as "A Swedish engineer with the looks of a film star" who thankfully comforted him in his hour of need whilst on a weekend trip to Jersey. Did Neil write that reference himself?

It's staggering that as Chairman he oversaw that rollout mess yet takes no responsibility for it. This article is a complete sham and nothing more than a whitewashing exercise.

joe40

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117938580#Comment_117938580

Not just the looks of a movie star but also "20 years younger" how sad can you get?

Andrew Neil is not apologetic about the toxic content of the news show just the technical support.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117938642#Comment_117938642

It's all down to the fact people were laughing at him. No remorse for the scummy content

tdf7187

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117936631#Comment_117936631

While his account is undoubtedly self-serving, taking it at face value, his account of the technical issues and sheer lack of basic operations puts me in mind of a slightly (and only very slightly) more professional version of the ill-fated and shortlived David Icke backed "The People's Voice".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_People%27s_Voice_(internet_TV_station)

AllForIt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117936837#Comment_117936837

I'm not arguing with you about sustainability. God knows you've made that point multiple times already and If I were to disagree with it I would have done so by now. I have no idea what the state of their finance are, noone does except themselves. Their outgoings are hardly anything like as high as Sky News, and as someone just said they are probably running on a very lean operational model. And if the channel is a purely political enterprise, then they're not looking to make a profit, just to sustain.

I'm glad you say you have no issue with them broadcasting, clearly some people do, like again that Abbey guy on QT who said they were "peddling in bigotry". That kind of commentary is about shutting down discussion of issues some people don't want discussed. "The discussion is over" kinda attitude.

AllForIt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117936952#Comment_117936952

Nowhere in that Daily Mail piece does Neil ever talk about being embarrassed by 'toxic bilge'. Typical James O'Brien. He was embarrassed by the poor production value.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117939840#Comment_117939840

‘I do feel angry though about what they’ve done to a beautiful dream. This was a vision that might have worked. But if you watch the constant themes that come through again and again from the shock jockeys on GB News, the perception is “we hate migrants, we hate the NHS, we hate lockdown and we hate Meghan Markle”.’ He looks genuinely saddened.

Add to that the comment about having to talk them out of wanting to put hidden cameras in school classrooms to try prove how left-wing teachers are, and I think saying Andrew Neil was "genuinely embarrassed by the toxic bile GBeebies was broadcasting" is a pretty fair summary.

The production issues were certainly a key factor, but Neil is also claiming the direction the channel has been taking also became a factor. Whether he's just saying that now to try and save face is another question.

AllForIt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117939897#Comment_117939897

Another suggestion was that we should put secret cameras in classrooms to show how Left-wing the teachers were. I said: “That’s a really good idea but I think you should take charge of that yourself, and I promise you that after you get in hot water for breaking about five different laws – including filming minors – come back and talk to me. 

He didn't say it was toxic bilge, he was suggesting it was illegal to do so. I'm sure he'd be in favour of it in theory.

AllForIt

I see GBNews are discussing gambling regulations. You'd think these far-right money grabbing conservatives would be against further regulations, but the whole tone of the debate was against the gambling industry. Quite right too. A thoroughly despicable industry that I would love to see outright banned.