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

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 25-06-2021 10:43PM

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

Anarchy is now right wing , lol.

You are a funny chap.

You being anarchy is the funny bit, but I thought that was the whole point?

Inquitus · 26-06-2021 12:13AM

listermint wrote: »

Actually I'd only switch them on if there was something major and live on.

But sure look ...

But they don't cover live news!

banie01 · 26-06-2021 05:55PM

Starting to see why Andrew Neil is taking a break.
Absolutely dire viewing figures.
https://twitter.com/vicderbyshire/status/1408368791524937731?s=19

26-06-2021 05:56PM

It was always telling how posters referred to stellar viewing figures on night one and ignored everything since. :pac:

Timberrrrrrrr · 26-06-2021 05:58PM

It's usually the rats that desert the sinking ship, not often you see the captain jump overboard at the first sign of it sinking

Piehead · 26-06-2021 05:59PM

Wonder what will happen to Simon McCoy when it closes? Has he dirtied his bib to return to other shops?

Tell me how · 26-06-2021 06:01PM

Timberrrrrrrr wrote: »

It's usually the rats that desert the sinking ship, not often you see the captain jump overboard at the first sign of it sinking

If the ship is sinking, it'll go down fast. You'd imagine the longer people stay with it the more tarnished they will be and so those who are concerned about paying the mortgage in 6 months will look to secure positions ASAP.

Muahahaha · 26-06-2021 06:24PM

francois wrote: »

Probably had a fit of pique. After all, being pampered with bbc production values and professionalism, then being the anchor, face and chair of a total sh1tshow, must have really hurt his ego.

Yeah it was reported that Andrew Neil blew a gasket behind the scenes after about the second day of constant technical errors. Coming from the BBC where these things almost never happen must have had him fuming.

Then a few days ago he went on a rant about Stop Funding Hate and their campaign to get advertisers to boycott GB News. The translation I got from that was a firm indication that the boycott is working and Neil himself was told by his advertising department that they are struggling to attract advertisers. So his reaction was to go on a rant live on air giving out about it. I flicked on last night and lo and behold two of the ads were of the gutter variety- a gambling company and a car loan company. That shows they are scraping the bottom of the barrel, they'll be advertising tarot card phonelines and ambulance chasing lawyers next.

Inquitus wrote: »

But they don't cover live news!

Thats probably the biggest flaw of this project. Even if they did a 10 minute news bulletin on the hour it would give viewers something to tune in for, a reason to go there. But they have no news at all, it is 100% opinion based. So what they are sayng to their viewers is get your news somewhere else and then come over here to listen to us talk about the news. That formula was never going to work for a supposed news channel with news in its name.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 26-06-2021 06:26PM

You just know they'll blame this on the cancel culture pressure on advertisetrs, despite the fact that advertisers world neve pulled anyway with those figures.

Thelonious Monk · 26-06-2021 06:32PM

I haven't seen it but it's hilarious Neil is gone already. It's like the party many on boards.ie are always screaming out for, one for law and order and anti immigration and anti woke and anti green issues. No one would vote for them apart from a few idiots.

26-06-2021 06:33PM

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

I haven't seen it but it's hilarious Neil is gone already. It's like the party many on boards.ie are always screaming out for, one for law and order and anti immigration and anti woke and anti green issues. No one would vote for them apart from a few idiots.

Hey, they were slightly higher numbers than sky news on launch night. They've made it. Now posters are all prepped to blame everything on a boycott.

Not the fact, it's just getting on atrociously.

Muahahaha · 26-06-2021 06:43PM

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

I haven't seen it but it's hilarious Neil is gone already. It's like the party many on boards.ie are always screaming out for, one for law and order and anti immigration and anti woke and anti green issues. No one would vote for them apart from a few idiots.

Yeah it turns out this 'silent majority' is only a tiny (but shouty) minority after all

GB News viewing figures: Week two update as ratings PLUMMET amid 'establishment' rivalry
GB NEWS debuted just two weeks ago promising to punch a hole in the British media landscape, offering a lineup that splits from the status quo. But at the end of this week, their dream appears to be steadily trickling away.

Andrew Neil launched GB News to counteract a "metropolitan" bias in British television. In a monologue as it launched, he declared his channel would give a voice "to those who felt sidelined or even silenced in our great national debates". Unfortunately, numbers of that much-touted "silent majority" have since dwindled, as viewing figures fail to match established rivals such as Sky News or BBC News.

GB News debuted as a trailblazer on June 13 to immediate popularity, with viewing figures clocking in at 336,000. These trounced both Sky News and the BBC, and by the end of the week, figures from the network's various programmes continued to pose stiff competition.

At the end of week two, however, the picture has changed, as GB News shows - including Andrew Neil's flagship monologue - now rank poorly.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1454677/GB-News-viewing-figures-week-2-ratings-Andrew-Neil-evg

As the saying goes empty vessels make the most noise.

Thelonious Monk · 26-06-2021 06:49PM

I know boards.ie generally doesn't believe in man made climate change if discussions here are anything to go by, but they were also giving air time to sceptics that would be considered dangerous by the scientific community, good article on it here

https://www.euronews.com/green/2021/06/26/gb-news-criticised-for-platforming-dangerous-climate-change-deniers

Inquitus · 26-06-2021 06:55PM

Deleted User wrote: »

Hey, they were slightly higher numbers than sky news on launch night. They've made it. Now posters are all prepped to blame everything on a boycott. Not the fact, it's12 just getting on atrociously.

3 hours of Dan Wootton every night would tank any News / Current Affairs programme, I am guessing they spent big on hopeless opinion folks like him and Michelle Dewbury, probably on 12 month or longer contracts. That coupled with the technical woes, the advertisers pulling out and the general shambles of it all is clearly having a drastic impact on the viewing numbers!

Some of the co-hosts have been abject, there was one lady being told about the risks of Chinese Computer Viruses attacking infrastructure on planet, and in space, this clearly flew over head much to the dismay of her co-host and she started asking questions about the China Covid Virus in response, cringeworthy!

26-06-2021 06:59PM

Inquitus wrote: »

3 hours of Dan Wootton every night would tank any News / Current Affairs programme, I am guessing they spent big on hopeless opinion folks like him and Michelle Dewbury, probably on 12 month or longer contracts. That coupled with the technical woes, the advertisers pulling out and the general shambles of it all is clearly having a drastic impact on the viewing numbers!

Some of the co-hosts have been abject, there was one lady being told about the risks of Chinese Computer Viruses attacking infrastructure on planet, and in space, this clearly flew over head much to the dismay of her co-host and she started asking questions about the China Covid Virus in response, cringeworthy!

Wait, he's actually on for 3 hours? Dunno how anyone channel would think a 3 hour format of anything is safe. It really requires a lot of variety to manage it.

growleaves · 26-06-2021 07:11PM

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

I know boards.ie generally doesn't believe in man made climate change if discussions here are anything to go by, but they were also giving air time to sceptics that would be considered dangerous by the scientific community, good article on it here

https://www.euronews.com/green/2021/06/26/gb-news-criticised-for-platforming-dangerous-climate-change-deniers

The scientific community should worry more about things like the "Climategate" scandal at the University of East Anglia, without which climate skeptics would have far less pull whether they appear on the telly or not.

Inquitus · 26-06-2021 07:15PM

Deleted User wrote: »

Wait, he's actually on for 3 hours? Dunno how anyone channel would think a 3 hour format of anything is safe. It really requires a lot of variety to manage it.

3 Hours 5 nights a week from 9pm til 12pm

Tonight Live with Dan Wootton, 9pm to midnight

The ex-Sun showbiz editor promises a “sharp take on all the day’s major stories” plus big interviews and debate – plus tomorrow’s news tonight.

A former regular ITV pundit, Wootton found a new audience as a provocative talk radio jock, calling for the Government to release Britain from lockdown. His show will air five nights a week.

https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/gb-news-full-schedule-tv-whats-on-1050158

banie01 · 26-06-2021 07:18PM

It's ironic that those seeking to cater to the so-called silent majority, can't attract a majority of viewership or votes.

The harping on regarding speaking for the silent majority, and not managing to gain any notable audience numbers only highlights that taking your opinion of political temperature from twitter is screaming into the void.
The loudest voices are not the best supported.

The rightwing grifters seeking to shape policy and opinion would be better off seeking a mandate, rather than a podium.
There needs to be an acknowledgement that their opinions are not as popular or as supported as they claim.

Politics is not a happy clappy place, but hurling from the ditch, denouncing all options but the extreme and offering no credible alternative is not the way to build any form of society or political consensus, left or right .

growleaves · 26-06-2021 07:21PM

banie01 wrote: »

It's ironic that those seeking to cater to the so-called silent majority, can't attract a majority of viewership or votes.

The harping on regarding speaking for the silent majority, and not managing to gain any notable audience numbers only highlights that taking your opinion of political temperature from twitter is screaming into the void.
The loudest voices are not the best supported.

The rightwing grifters seeking to shape policy and opinion would be better off seeking a mandate, rather than a podium.

There needs to be an acknowledgement that their opinions are not as popular or as supported as they claim.

Politics is not a happy clappy place, but hurling from the ditch, denouncing all options but the extreme and offering no credible alternative is not the way to build any form of society or political consensus, left or right .

Brexit was and is popular though.

Why spend 80 pages mocking a TV channel as amateur hour (not disagreeing with that btw) then claim it is right-leaning politics and not this particular channel that is unpopular?

banie01 · 26-06-2021 07:26PM

growleaves wrote: »

Brexit was and is popular though.

Why spend 80 pages mocking a TV channel as amateur hour (not disagreeing with that btw) then claim it is right-leaning politics and not this particular channel that is unpopular?

Brexit really isn't popular and has descended to that British trope of "muddling through".
They have made a complete and utter Bollox of brexit at every stage and the UK government under Johnson in particular has destroyed it's credibility, reputation and standing in the eyes of so many of its erstwhile partners.

Even when Brexit was passed, it was by a narrow margin in a poor turnout.
As the reality of Brexit impacts more and more of day to day life?
It is going to dawn on far more in the UK that they have been sold a pup.
Even the US has made a very clear turn towards Germany and the EU.

growleaves · 26-06-2021 07:33PM

Brexit really isn't popular

It is though. Its also the reason the Conservatives won a landslide majority in 2019.

Yes they've made a bollocks of putting it though but many British, and particularly English, people have wanted out of the EU for decades.

If Labour run on a re-entry to Europe platform they won't get a majority.

Sky News with its soft(ish) right-leaning centrism and broadcast professionalism probably mops up a lot of these viewers, assuming they even watch TV news.

Inquitus · 26-06-2021 07:41PM

growleaves wrote: »

It is though. Its also the reason the Conservatives won a landslide majority in 2019.

Yes they've made a bollocks of putting it though but many British, and particularly English, people have wanted out of the EU for decades.

If Labour run on a re-entry to Europe platform they won't get a majority.

Sky News with its soft(ish) right-leaning centrism and broadcast professionalism probably mops up a lot of these viewers, assuming they even watch TV news.

Brexit is not that popular but the way it relates to UK Politics in general minimises the electoral effect, lots of Tories don't like Brexit but would rather vote Tory than Corbyn's, as it was, Labour. There is no party with a realistic chance of winning that Remainers can coalesce around. The Liberal Dems would perhaps be one, but in the vast number of consituencies, they have no hope of winning so it becomes a binary decision between Labour and the Tories.

banie01 · 26-06-2021 07:43PM

growleaves wrote: »

It is though. Its also the reason the Conservatives won a landslide majority in 2019.

Yes they've made a bollocks of putting it though but many British, and particularly English, people have wanted out of the EU for decades.

If Labour run on a re-entry to Europe platform they won't get a majority.

Sky News with its soft(ish) right-leaning centrism and broadcast professionalism probably mops up a lot of these viewers, assuming they even watch TV news.

The reason the Tories won a landslide was excellent and very targeted campaigning.
If there was a PR system in place in the UK, there would be no Tory super majority.
The Tories won 43.6% of the vote but gained @58% of the seats.
What's very surprising and illustrates just how well the Tory's campaigned is that they gained that majority of 80 seats, on an increase of just 1.2% in overall share of the vote.

Now let's be honest, 43.6% of the vote when campaigning on "Get Brexit Done" is not a majority of UK voters and it isn't really a mandate for the hard brexit they wrought.

The UK FPTP system was quite brilliantly gamed to get the Tory win.
It is no doubt an election that will be studied and dissected but it was a resounding win.
It was not a majority, or even a popular win tho.

growleaves · 26-06-2021 07:50PM

Inquitus wrote: »

Brexit is not that popular but the way it relates to UK Politics in general minimises the electoral effect, lots of Tories don't like Brexit but would rather vote Tory than Corbyn's, as it was, Labour. There is no party with a realistic chance of winning that Remainers can coalesce around. The Liberal Dems would perhaps be one, but in the vast number of consituencies, they have no hope of winning so it becomes a binary decision between Labour and the Tories.

Labour could run on Remain if there had been a real shift in opinion but there's no real evidence of that.

Boris Johnson is the one who popularised the thing about the EU scrutinising 'bendy bananas' when he was the Editor of The Spectator in the 1990s.

He's been effectively campaigning against the EU for decades.

The Tories have been split between pro-EU and anti-EU since at least '88 when Margaret Thatcher gave her Bruges speech.

They will never be back to the 1975 position imo. They could never shake the anti-EU side of the party even though they tried many times. The referendum was Cameron's attempt to do this.

There's no equivalent for Labour really. Labour are pro-EU just like they are pro-anything leftist and they are quite used to the idea that anything leftist will steamroll over the country but it isn't happening on this issue.

With EU leaders now asking Orbán why Hungary doesn't quit the Union is there not a dawning realisation that keeping member countries in who don't quite belong won't work?

farmerval · 26-06-2021 07:57PM

I watched two talks recently about the brexit vote, the first one was showing that because the referendum was a national one, the very large swathes of voters in the south of England were what really swung the vote, the differences between leave and remain in Northern areas while notionally important had very little bearing. It was the really large areas in Southern England where there was a large vote and a large leave vote that made the difference.

The second one was much more interesting, there the lecturer was suggesting that while unemployment stays low, generally people believe that the economy is going OK. While low unemployment is the norm the issues that divide voters are simply the difference between liberal and conservative values. Thus the Tories wanting to constantly fight culture wars, wars on woke, projecting themselves as protectors of conservative values, promoting notions of Britian's greatness etc.
In this vein the lecturer suggested that to be seen to fight with the EU plays really well to their target audience, that the EU want to hold the great UK back etc.
It was a realistic but depressing scenario where the Tories may remain in power just by b*****ng and moaning about the EU, and Global Britiain and may get voted back in just for that.

growleaves · 26-06-2021 07:58PM

It was not a majority, or even a popular win tho.

FPTP has been used in Britain since 1884(?) so by that standard it was a majority. I understand the flaws where the 'majority' winner can be a minority but everyone knows the rules of the game beforehand.

The Referendum and the subsequent election were lost, that does not indicate burning passionate support for Remain as a whole imo.

banie01 · 26-06-2021 08:14PM

growleaves wrote: »

FPTP has been used in Britain since 1884(?) so by that standard it was a majority. I understand the flaws where the 'majority' winner can be a minority but everyone knows the rules of the game beforehand.

The Referendum and the subsequent election were lost, that does not indicate burning passionate support for Remain as a whole imo.

I agree, they were lost.
The referendum in particular tho, I'd love to see a Russia report 2.
Losing in a system where the playing field is level and there at least to my mind serious concerns on that front.

Labour could and definitely should have employed a similar strategy of micro targeting constituencies as the Tories did.
They also should have laid clear a view on Europe that could be campaigned on, either way.

Starmer's whipping of Labour to vote for the WA presented was a surrender of any moral authority to oppose its effects in the time to come.
No matter how bad it gets, the simple fact is now that well...
Labour voted for it too.
The purpose of the Opposition is to hold the government of the day to account, to ensure that they act in the best interests of the country and where they can to offer alternatives.

Labour and Starmer in particular voting to accede to the WA undermines that notion completely.
The could and should IMO have left the WA to be a wholly Tory creation passed by their majority.
They waffled and have not recovered since.

Anyway, we digress from the topic of poor talking heads.
Presenting in the main awfully formulated opinion designed to stoke reaction from what they claim to be a majority.
The viewers aren't there, and I do believe that many of the viewers they do have.
Are curious as to what the fuss is, rather than potential supporters or regular viewers.

growleaves · 26-06-2021 08:19PM

They also should have laid clear a view on Europe that could be campaigned on, either way.

This is the key I think. My vague impression is that they were all over the place though I got Brexit fatigue ages ago and deliberately started tuning it out.

As to GB News it sounds like it is too shrill to have mass appeal though I haven't watched it yet, might stick it on after the Italy game for the crack.

The whole Fox thing seem to get to one aspect of the American personality - the hyper contrarian part - so it works for those people who watch it.

Smee_Again · 26-06-2021 10:58PM

I just flicked over curious about what was on and they were discussing whether the panelists wash their phone or use it while in the bathroom.

Is this what Neil meant when he promised

champion robust, balanced debate and a range of perspectives on the issues that affect everyone in the UK, not just those living in the London area

dublinman1990 · 27-06-2021 01:22AM

One person online who lives in the UK was recalling how Tom Harwood spoke to him while he was attending a party function in London before Tom begun working for GB News. Apparently Tom, who is the political correspondent & part time presenter of the channel, is not a nice person in real life. He was actually very rude & arrogant towards everyone else at that event. He came out with this ignorant "Do you know who I am" attitude towards this other person, which I thought was quite surreal reading tbh. Are people who are conservative & follow this channel in the UK known to be rude & arrogant towards random strangers?

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

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