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

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118329989#Comment_118329989

Ah ok. In that case, not really "sleight of hand" to be fair - just random timing. But it is a bit of a coincidence you claimed 4100 watching just before Farage's show when it finished with 4500 total viewers not long after...

Current snapshot - 995 viewers (416 "to the point" plus 579 main channgel)

Still not great after six months on air.

GB News trying to break into radio, it seems.

It demonstrates what I've been saying for a long time now. GB News are playing the long game because you could never make a substantial profit in the short-term in a venture like this. They're thinking 3-5 years down the line when they hope to establish a solid base / reputation / reach / brand throughout the United Kingdom.

GB News Radio commences test transmissions

Test transmissions have begun for GB News Radio, a simulcast of the right-leaning talk station.

GB News Radio is broadcasting with a relatively low bandwidth of 24kbps in the DAB+ band.

It’s available in the Digital One multiplex, which has coverage of approximately 90% of the UK population.

GB News has recently signed broadcaster Eamonn Holmes to present its breakfast show from the New Year. Holmes has previously presented for the BBC, ITV and Sky News.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118330264#Comment_118330264

It depends how you interpret the figures.

If we were talking about 4 months ago, the average at any one time during the day was 200-300; now it's around 600-1,000, depending on the show - or up to 4,000+ from 7pm onwards (when previously it was around 1,500 around July-August).

Taken from that perspective, and the fact that YouTube views are averaging around 1 million per day, we can consider a different picture.

Of course, you can make all sorts of comparisons to make GB News look dreadful. Even if they had 10x these numbers, you could still find a comparison to make it look poor.

Speaking of Farage, it seems that the migrant crisis will feature heavily on tonight's show (see below). Last night on Farage, Mark White said that a report would be made on the subject, as weather conditions are almost perfect today compared to previous days. That report and his analysis into it should be released shortly after 7pm tonight.

https://twitter.com/Nigel_Farage/status/1471491992282566660

Quin_Dub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118331547#Comment_118331547

As many people seem to be pointing out in the twitter responses to Farages tweet - The act of crossing the channel does not make them "Illegals".

They are committing NO crime by crossing the channel.

But I guess "Asylum seekers cross channel to make a 100% legal request for asylum" doesn't really get the xenophobic juices flowing.

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118331634#Comment_118331634

Platforms like Twitter don't exist to foster nuanced, critical debate. They exist to get clicks and this is what Farage is doing with this deadest of horses. Slight inconveniences such as basic facts don't matter.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118331547#Comment_118331547

I interpret them as not being the great success people were predicting several months ago in order to distract from the dismal viewing figures.

Quin_Dub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118331713#Comment_118331713

Peoples Twitter behaviour doesn't alter the fact that they are NOT illegal and Farage calling them that is both wrong and deliberately inflammatory.

ohnonotgmail

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118332218#Comment_118332218

"deliberately inflammatory" is Farages M.O. Without that he has nothing.

The gypsy businessman, Alfie Best, is appearing on Talking Pints tonight.

He has also donated to the Conservative Party in recent years, demonstrating that even if you were brought up in a caravan like he was, that you can make something of yourself in life support the Conservative Party.

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118332218#Comment_118332218

I'm not claiming it does. It's like pointing out why Brexit is the stupidest thing this country has done since Suez. Correct but ultimately missing the point.

A series of technical issues continues to plague GB News.

Apparently, the channel "was plagued with technical issues on Sunday morning with viewers complaining the network was down for nearly three hours".

A looped display of recent interviews was used to cover the 3-hour period.

This kind of thing really shouldn't be happening 6-months after launch!

Pussyhands

I had GB news on for a good few hours and tbh I don't see how it is called right leaning. Would anyone call Sky News left leaning as a descriptor for their channel?

We need a right wing news channel over here tbh. Any left wing legislation is brought in without any negative viewpoints. Look at the announcement of driving licences for asylum seekers. No questions about if they are going to have to take lessons, who is going to pay for them etc. Same thing with the "undocumented" (illegal immigrants) being granted amnesty to stay.

gmisk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118332824#Comment_118332824

If you want a peerage ...or a fat government contract with no competition it would make sense...

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118349227#Comment_118349227

No nobody in their right mind would call Sky left wing. Its always been right wing

Tell me how

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118349227#Comment_118349227

What? The Rupert Murdoch founded Sky News is Left Wing? Are you for real?

A right wing news channel where, in Ireland? Do you think Niall Boylan's audience would be enough to fund a whole entire news channel? Or maybe if the bench mark is Youtube videos then maybe all that is needed is a mobile and a phone account with decent broadband access so as to stream live in which case, maybe the success of Gemma O'Doherty would give any backers cause for thought.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118349227#Comment_118349227

No one cares. Well not enough people, anyway judging by the viewership these policies pulls in.

If people did care for said policies, there'd be a party with a political presence and media coverage to promote then, but there isn't because they don't.

pauldla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118349227#Comment_118349227

I was under the impression that they can apply for a licence. Why is this 'left wing legislation'?

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118349227#Comment_118349227

There were no questions on that issue as there was nothing to ask.

Yes, they'll need lessons, and everything else. Unless they have an exchangeable licence (EEA, UK, limited list of other countries and Canadian provinces) which the people taking the court case did - nobody with an exchangeable licence needs to take lessons.

They'll have to pay for them themselves.

Nothing changed here, all that changed was the ability to apply for a licence if otherwise qualified to do so.

A media organisation asking questions on this would end up looking very stupid.

And Sky News it not and never has been left-leaning. It was founded as a TV outlet for Murdoch's right wing news setup. He doesn't own it anymore, so it has ever so vaguely moderated but Comcast are not left-wing either.

Beasty

Back on topic, which is not asylum seekers

Glock17

I'm a Brit and to be brutally honest I hate the BBC for its biased one side propaganda.

If GB News presents both side of arguments it has to be a good thing....

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118353015#Comment_118353015

GB doesn't present both sides though. I don't think they would even claim that they do.

As for BBC how left they are depends on how right you are. To me BBC are pretty centre ground and certainly not left wing

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118353090#Comment_118353090

Last week, Nigel Farage was having a civil and honest conversation with Kevin Maguire - and it was exactly the kind of conversation that should happen between Left and Right; always remaining civil and respectful for the opposing view / person.

No needless insults or abuse, just an honest exchange of ideas.

And it's not just this exchange, either; this is the kind of conversation that the channel tries to support.

Glock17

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118353090#Comment_118353090

The same BBC that didnt see the Brexit vote coming?

The BBC allows certain viewpoints and not others. From the top of my head, some things the BBC doesnt discuss:

1. The NHS isnt actually that good. It should really be massively reformed.

2. Mass immigration has held down wages.

3. Persecution of white South African farmers etc.

When you compare the output of the BBC to other national broadcasters it is obvious they have an agenda...

Tell me how

GB News is one of the few media outlets that actively went out of its way to make sure people knew they were not aiming to 'both sides' anything.

As for the BBC, you're probably doing something right when you are being accused of both sides of being biased.

I have found Laura Keunnsberg to be shamefully in step with Conservative positions over the last 4 years or so and I do feel that across the Board they have not put those responsible for Brexit under examination to the degree that they should have but I still think that they as an institution do not set out to push an agenda and where it happens it is the failing of individuals.

GB News are nowhere near that level of objectivity.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118353405#Comment_118353405

Big difference between being biased as a channel - terms of politics and angle - but still open to supporting debate with the other side.

Both are mutually exclusive aims, and GB News is attempting to do both.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118353385#Comment_118353385

3. Persecution of white South African farmers etc.

Thats brilliant. Ya you really see that all over the media outside the BBC.

As I said how left/right GBnews or BBC is is about how left/right you are and I have a feeling youre fairly far right

Tell me how

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118353442#Comment_118353442

Are you saying BBC News hasn't supported debate with the other side? Farage has still probably been on there more times than he has been on GB Nws.

But at least you're admitting GB News is indeed biased in not just it's politics, but the angle in which it presents news.

Glock17

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118353405#Comment_118353405

I remember watching a BBC programme about the housing crisis in the UK. It never once mentioned the impact that hundreds of thousands of migrants arriving each year had on the housing crisis.....

Do you not think if the If the BBC was impartial it would discuss the negatives of immigration etc?

The BBC has certain agendas, pushing mass immigration is one of them.

Tell me how

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118353580#Comment_118353580

You might be interested in this article. Link.

On Radio 4’s World at One on 19th February, Iain Duncan Smith – like the NF, BNP and UKIP before him – blamed immigrants for the housing crisis. As housing academics, we wish to point out that there is no evidence for this assertion. Far from creating the housing crisis, immigrants are much more likely to be its victims, often living in sub-standard, over-crowded, private-rented accommodation.

A - The claim that immigrants were part of the problem in relation to housing was made on a BBC show.

B - Academics researching the housing crisis don't think that immigrants are the cause of it.

There is no evidence the BBC are pushing mass immigration.

Glock17

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118353596#Comment_118353596

Your post basically makes the point that I'm making... in that the BBC are biased....

In the UK we have net immigration of about 300,000 people a year. How many houses do we need to house them? Probably about 100,000? Ie we need the best part of 300 houses every single day just for immigrants.

If the BBC was honest they would say immigration is a fairly major cause of the housing crisis in the UK.

I'm not saying that immigration is a good or a bad thing. I'm just saying an impartial broadcaster would discuss the positives and negatives of immigration....

Beasty

The topic is GB News. Not the BBC, not immigration

Anne Diamond is the newest recruit to GB News!

She'll be co-hosting the breakfast show at weekends with the former Sky News presenter, Stephen Dixon. Eamon Holmes and Isabel Webster will be hosting the same show weekdays from January 3.

There's also some interesting news on the radio front, too. So much for GB News "disappearing within 6-months of launch".

Chief executive officer Angelos Frangopoulos has said the changes were the first of many for 2022.

'With radio, we're turning traditional media on its head because everyone will be able to continue with the same channel whether they're at home, travelling, or at work,' he said.

'We set out to innovate and shake up news media and that's what we're doing, whether it's on mass reach television and DAB radio, online, apps, live on YouTube, or digital platforms, GB News will be wherever audiences want us to be.'

Having launched in June with seven daily shows, GB News has doubled its programming.

In the new year, journalist Anne Diamond will co-present weekend breakfast with Stephen Dixon, making her GB News debut on Dan Wootton's programme on Tuesday, it was announced.

Faugheen

EDIT: Delete. Didn't see the warning.

Penn

Well at least by hiring Anne Diamond, they're giving the GB News audience what they want.

Someone from the 80's.

ohnonotgmail

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118361833#Comment_118361833

Anne must be desperate for work.

ancapailldorcha

I don't know who that is.

ohnonotgmail

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118362052#Comment_118362052

you're clearly not old enough. A breakfast tv presenter in the 80's and early 90's.

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118362064#Comment_118362064

From Wikipedia:

On 28 March 2008, in an article for the Daily Mail tabloid newspaper, Anne Diamond contributed to an article concerning violence in video games where she is quoted as saying that the game Resident Evil 4 "shouldn't be allowed to be sold, even to adults".

What is it with these morons and their desperate need to control other people?

Glock17

So GB News isnt very good because it is employing an experienced TV presenter with decades of experience?

Thanks for the well reasoned argument. It has really made me rethink my opinion on GB News.

gmisk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118362416#Comment_118362416

Most of her experience is from decades ago....she isn't exactly in demand...

Glock17

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118362433#Comment_118362433

So what?

In a democratic system the role of the media is really important. They are meant to ask the Government hard questions and act as an unofficial Opposition.

Does anyone here think the media are fulfilling that duty? Does anyone think the media ask politicians any hard questions?

From what I've seen of GB News they are more likely to be a bit of a pain in the a4rse to politicians. Maybe, just maybe that's a good thing?

Maybe the age of a TV presenter is less important than if she is good at her job?

PS merry christmas everyone! Only two days until I'm ripping my presents open in front of the Christmas tree.

richierichwithouttherich

I must say GB news is growing on me, sky news was primary TV source of news but I tend to find myself flicking down to GB news more often and it's slowly becoming my primary tv news channel.

With several big names joining it could take off and would it be any suprise with left wing rehtoric as of late? telling us what to do and what to feel and when to do it and feel it.

GB news thankfully didn't go as far right as Fox news and I'm quite surprised at how moderate is actually is.

Faugheen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118362469#Comment_118362469

It’s not moderate at all. Just because it isn’t Fox doesn’t make it ‘moderate’.

We’ve heard it will ‘take off’ for ages now, and all they’ve done is lost their advertising revenue.

It’s a piss poor excuse of a ‘news’ channel as well which is watched by people who can’t stand ‘biased’ media when in reality they want their own echo chamber.

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118362464#Comment_118362464

GB News doesn't exist to question the government, it exists to protect it from criticism via promoting nonsense opinions along with the usual xenophobia and other conspiracy theories.

richierichwithouttherich

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118362506#Comment_118362506

You say "we've heard heard it will take off for ages now" but the channel only launched in June 2021 so I guess we have very different opinions on what the word 'ages' means?

It was an extremely difficult year for any news channel never mind one just starting up.

From a recent Forbes article:

Nielsen data for the three networks reveals that for the 12-month period that ended in October 2021, ratings for MSNBC and Fox were down 56 percent and 53 percent, respectively. But CNN’s decline was the most precipitous, with ratings down 73 percent during that period.

GB news in its infancy are doing quite well when compared to others.

Glock17

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118362550#Comment_118362550

I think the problem a lot of people here have with GB News is that it presents a viewpoint that people disagree with. However the viewpoint they present is fairly popular with the average Brit....

Tbh, it's like the Daily Mail of TV broadcasters.... and tbh that's not a bad thing or a criticism.....

banie01

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118362609#Comment_118362609

The daily mail sells papers, provides news and despite its bias, at times manages to break stories of import and public interest.

It's stance on copyright and privacy law in particular are feeding into Raab's proposed changes in that area. Not that I agree with their bias, but I can appreciate and there are still basic journalistic competences there, despite their opinion and editorial stance.

GBnews isn't a news outlet and despite its efforts is barely garnering an audience.

That needs to be appreciated and understood in any comparison with it's supposed competition. There is no credible journalistic output and the opinion presented is usually "patriotic" and the "heavy hitters" they have hired are all dinosaurs.

Credibility matters, GBnews have none. Posters such as EH and his proxies here have cloaked themselves in a belief that there is some unheard majority, that GBnews represents? There isn't, and the numbers over the course of its life prove that

An interview with Trump, a media scoop that could honestly have been a world beater....

Turns out to be a sycophantic bout of arse licking and barely raised the profile of the channel.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118362550#Comment_118362550

Can you point to one single source of evidence where GB News has promoted xenophobia?

It's easy to make the claim, but some concrete evidence - and not some inference - would be appreciated.

Faugheen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118362688#Comment_118362688

How hilarious that you're looking for 'concrete evidence' when you can never provide a shred of it whenever you're asked to do the same thing.

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118362609#Comment_118362609

By what metric is it "popular with the average Brit"?