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

Joe_ Public · 28-06-2021 11:54AM

Personally, i believe the whole enterprise to be a strategic blunder on behalf of those who initiated it. Was it ever really needed, as they asserted, even on a tactical level? After all, the repeated insistence of the "establishment" media as a hotbed of lefty woke intrigue has always been a political position, a subtle embrace of victimhood. It never relied on any intrinsic truth to be effective, as it could never be proved or disproved, and it certainly didn't require the setting up of a new station to validate it. If anything it just weakens it by demonstrating how lacking in substance those claims really are.

It's the same dynamic that is playing out with the bbc, the notion that a culturally right wing government is determined to clip its wings when, in reality, they are far better off preserving the status quo, keeping things as is, endlessly playing the victim card and clearly defining the "them and us" battle lines where the bbc are the enemy and the government on the side of the true working class salt of the earth brit. That way, they keep whipping up their infernal culture wars and continue to make capital from it.

GB News is gambling with that dynamic, likely overpaying its hand and losing. The audience they were courting, the countless numbers who Neil Oliver - the High King of Scotland - assured us would flock to the new channel in droves, probably don't watch much news or political tv anyway. They were always happy to believe assertions that the whole media set up was a plot against them, once they were shouted loudly and persistently enough. They were doing fine as they were, there was never any need to take it that one step further.

Timberrrrrrrr · 28-06-2021 11:57AM

Tony EH wrote: »

And it probably has more factual news on it too.

It's certainly more informative!

VinLieger · 28-06-2021 11:57AM

So what do people think Andrew Neil will try and do next, is he finished? I doubt the beeb will take him back and cant see sky wanting him either.

ancapailldorcha · 28-06-2021 11:59AM

Joe_ Public wrote: »

Personally, i believe the whole enterprise to be a strategic blunder on behalf of those who initiated it. Was it ever really needed, as they asserted, even on a tactical level? After all, the repeated insistence of the "establishment" media as a hotbed of lefty woke intrigue has always been a political position, a subtle embrace of victimhood. It never relied on any intrinsic truth to be effective, as it could never be proved or disproved, and it certainly didn't require the setting up of a new station to validate it. If anything it just weakens it by demonstrating how lacking in substance those claims really are.

It's the same dynamic that is playing out with the bbc, the notion that a culturally right wing government is determined to clip its wings when, in reality, they are far better off preserving the status quo, keeping things as is, endlessly playing the victim card and clearly defining the "them and us" battle lines where the bbc are the enemy and the government on the side of the true working class salt of the earth brit. That way, they keep whipping up their infernal culture wars and continue to make capital from it.

GB News is gambling with that dynamic, likely overpaying its hand and losing. The audience they were courting, the countless numbers who Neil Oliver - the High King of Scotland - assured us would flock to the new channel in droves, probably don't watch much news or political tv anyway. They were always happy to believe assertions that the whole media set up was a plot against them, once they were shouted loudly and persistently enough. They were doing fine as they were, there was never any need to take it that one step further.

I get the idea that the whole point of GB News was to trigger people and generate revenue via controversy. The flaw in that plan is that most of the media here is rightwing and conservative so GB News was never going to stand out anyway.

If liberals and lefties can live with the Express and the Mail then GB News isn't even going to be on the radar. With so many people trying to be offensive, nobody is as it's all just noise.

All edgelords and provocateurs care about is triggering. The notion of them being a viable commercial basis was always laughably stupid to begin with.

Muahahaha · 28-06-2021 12:24PM

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

I think you've dramatically overvalued the value of both GB News and Piers Morgan here. The market for professional edgelords is on social media, not for televised news which people expect to be about facts and not personalities. Morgan was a host of a Breakfast show and probably occupied the entire niche for wailing about woke on TV.

I can't see Rupert Murdoch being stupid enough to touch this turd with a pole, frankly. Even for a pittance, he'll expect a return on investment and there's no sign of where it will come from.

I wouldnt agree because before Piers walked off the job he had led GMB to a viewership of 1.6m which was their highest ever ratings and they had also beaten the BBCs morning program for the first time in their history. After he left GMB lost all their gains and within a few weeks viewership was back down to around the 700k mark. Like him or loathe him Piers attracts viewers and the ratings going up and then back down again show that he had a sizeable audience. GB News would kill for those sort of numbers and now Andrew Neil has jumped ship they will be desperate to get a household name.

As for Rupert he obviously felt it could be a profitable venture when he was preparing his own channel for the UK market. He has spent his career buying up flailing media outlets and turning them around into profit. Plus he has the technical know how that GB News lack and he is already firmly in this market with Fox in the US and Sky News Australia. Im not saying Rupert will buy it up, just that if he did he could turn it around.

28-06-2021 12:24PM

Muahahaha wrote: »

I think now that Andrew Neil has jumped ship the only chance they've got is hiring Piers who tends to attract these types who are obsessed with culture wars. None of their current line up are going to boost their low viewership numbers so they need a heavy hitter like Piers and fast. He could name his price now but Id say even he is wary of joining a sinking ship, they did already approach him months back and he refused it back then.

Where is the evidence that Andrew Neil has "jumped ship", as if to suggest he has permanently left the channel?

ancapailldorcha · 28-06-2021 12:33PM

Muahahaha wrote: »

I wouldnt agree because before Piers walked off the job he had led GMB to a viewership of 1.6m which was their highest ever ratings and they had also beaten the BBCs morning program for the first time in their history. After he left GMB lost all their gains and within a few weeks viewership was back down to around the 700k mark. Like him or loathe him Piers attracts viewers and the ratings going up and then back down again show that he had a sizeable audience. GB News would kill for those sort of numbers and now Andrew Neil has jumped ship they will be desperate to get a household name.

Still not seeing it. ITV and GMB are both household names. As I said, I think Piers had taken the offensive edgelord thing about as far as is possible with a television audience. There's no indication that him moving to GB News would pull GMB's viewers over to such a small channel.

Muahahaha wrote: »

As for Rupert he obviously felt it could be a profitable venture when he was preparing his own channel for the UK market. He has spent his career buying up flailing media outlets and turning them around into profit. Plus he has the technical know how that GB News lack and he is already firmly in this market with Fox in the US and Sky News Australia. Im not saying Rupert will buy it up, just that if he did he could turn it around.

Felt as in past tense. I can see why he might have been tempted but the whole edgy thing has been shown to only really work on social media with the accompanying wailing and miniscule attention spans.

Fox in the US isn't a valid comparison as that's a business that was built from the ground up over decades before the internet. Fox News has also seen its ratings drop to the worst in two decades (Source). Throwing money into something doesn't mean it'll work. It needs to be profitable and the concept of GB News just isn't.

VinLieger · 28-06-2021 12:40PM

eskimohunt wrote: »

Where is the evidence that Andrew Neil has "jumped ship", as if to suggest he has permanently left the channel?

Its a reasonable assumption going off the woeful figures his final show before his break pulled in.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 28-06-2021 12:40PM

Penn wrote: »

In fairness, the Lamestream Media who are reporting on the viewing figures and taking immense glee at how poorly GB News was beaten in ratings by the Welsh language version of Paw Patrol are all lying by ommission.

None of them are mentioning that it was a cracking episode of Paw Patrol. Really one of their best. I mean, Skye is pregnant with Rubble's baby? Marshall is secretly a drug addict? Huge plot twists everywhere.

I mean, I think that's what was happening. I don't actually speak Welsh.

Dammit those Welsh bustards for deliberately setting up a serious challenge to Andrew! How massively unfair!

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 28-06-2021 12:42PM

VinLieger wrote: »

No i don't really, i disagree entirely with everything they broadcast but i don't wish for it to go into the ground, I will however laugh uproariously when it happens

So you're in the sand boat as the lefties then.

ClosedAccountFuzzy · 28-06-2021 12:43PM

He’s 72. Is quite possible he might just retire.

Seathrun66 · 28-06-2021 12:54PM

Tell me how wrote: »

Yeah, lefties are all about the Rupert Murdoch owned Sky News. Always have been.

You don't sound like you're filled with joy btw, more like anger and bitterness.

Rupert Murdoch doesn't own Sky News. Sold in 2018. Keep up.

Seathrun66 · 28-06-2021 12:58PM

Deleted User wrote: »

You guys are just angry due to the huge success of the channel... Funnily though, all the people claiming the success have largely disappeared since those viewing figures got posted.

These plummeting viewing figures?

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/gb-news-viewing-figures-ratings_uk_60d97bc1e4b066ff5abc497e

Seathrun66 · 28-06-2021 01:01PM

Mic 1972 wrote: »

I'm just amused at the panic this small news project has created among lefties

Corrected:

I'm just amused at the mirth this small news project has created among lefties.

Seathrun66 · 28-06-2021 01:04PM

Mic 1972 wrote: »

I see people getting agitated because a non-lefty news outlet has entered the game. it seems to be getting a lot of attention for such a small affair

If GB News has only 32,000 viewers a day would you concede there's no appetite for that type of dumb right-wing politics?

28-06-2021 01:06PM

In fairness though, that boycott is entirely unnecessary. Advertisers won't have any interest in that market share. They're gonna be advertising very niche stuff in next few weeks I'd say.

Muahahaha · 28-06-2021 01:15PM

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

Still not seeing it. ITV and GMB are both household names. As I said, I think Piers had taken the offensive edgelord thing about as far as is possible with a television audience. There's no indication that him moving to GB News would pull GMB's viewers over to such a small channel.

GB News is a household name too, everyone is aware of its existance at this stage. Piers racked up record viewership numbers on GMB which have slumped since his departure. That proves there is a market for his ramblings and it could be around 1m people. Thats a market GB News would love to have right now when they have viewership as low as 11k. I dont like the guy but there is no doubting lots of people do and he is a draw for viewers who tune in to see what he says.

Felt as in past tense. I can see why he might have been tempted but the whole edgy thing has been shown to only really work on social media with the accompanying wailing and miniscule attention spans.

Fox in the US isn't a valid comparison as that's a business that was built from the ground up over decades before the internet. Fox News has also seen its ratings drop to the worst in two decades (Source). Throwing money into something doesn't mean it'll work. It needs to be profitable and the concept of GB News just isn't.

Rupert has discovered that the edgelord stuff is symbiotic between tv and online and recently he has found a very successful way to tap this with Sky News Australia, specifically 'Sky After Dark' when the channel goes full QAnon after 7pm every night. Viewership in Australia is tiny at 50-80k but thats not what it is there for, it is to produce Youtube clips which then go viral to an American audience. The clips include advertising and often have 5 million+ views and bring in advertising income for Sky News Australia. Their Youbube channel which is full of edgelord content now has more views (500 million) than any other Australian media organistion. This article explains how the strategy of using tv to produce viral online clips has been working very well for Rupert
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/feb/24/sky-news-australia-is-tapping-into-the-global-conspiracy-set-and-its-paying-off

ancapailldorcha · 28-06-2021 01:19PM

Muahahaha wrote: »

GB News is a household name too, everyone is aware of its existance at this stage. Piers racked up record viewership numbers on GMB which have slumped since his departure. That proves there is a market for his ramblings and it could be around 1m people. Thats a market GB News would love to have right now when they have viewership as low as 11k. I dont like the guy but there is no doubting lots of people do and he is a draw for viewers who tune in to see what he says.

It isn't. Nobody is talking about it after the initial gaffes have been forgotten about.

If Morgan could bring in those numbers, he'd have been recruited having named his price by now.

Muahahaha wrote: »

Rupert has discovered that the edgelord stuff is symbiotic between tv and online and recently he has found a very successful way to tap this with Sky News Australia, specifically 'Sky After Dark' when the channel goes full QAnon after 7pm every night. Viewership in Australia is tiny at 50-80k but thats not what it is there for, it is to produce Youtube clips which then go viral to an American audience. The clips include advertising and often have 5 million+ views and bring in advertising income for Sky News Australia. Their Youbube channel which is full of edgelord content now has more views (500 million) than any other Australian media organistion. This article explains how the strategy of using tv to produce viral online clips has been working very well for Rupert
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/feb/24/sky-news-australia-is-tapping-into-the-global-conspiracy-set-and-its-paying-off

This isn't Australia so the comparison isn't valid.

Mic 1972 · 28-06-2021 01:25PM

Seathrun66 wrote: »

If GB News has only 32,000 viewers a day would you concede there's no appetite for that type of dumb right-wing politics?

I would concede that lefty-woksters are getting their pants in a knot over this

28-06-2021 01:26PM

Seathrun66 wrote: »

These plummeting viewing figures?

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/gb-news-viewing-figures-ratings_uk_60d97bc1e4b066ff5abc497e

They've amassed over 300,000 on Twitter and their YouTube is growing exceptionally well, now with 145,000 subscribers - often with viewing figures greater than other channels, such as GMB.

It's not as grim as you are painting out.

Tell me how · 28-06-2021 01:28PM

eskimohunt wrote: »

They've amassed over 300,000 on Twitter and their YouTube is growing exceptionally well, now with 145,000 subscribers - often with viewing figures greater than other channels, such as GMB.

It's not as grim as you are painting out.

Looking at the difference between the recorded figures and those YouTube figures leads me more inclined to think there's a bot farm involved somewhere.

28-06-2021 01:31PM

Tell me how wrote: »

Looking at the difference between the recorded figures and those YouTube figures leads me more inclined to think there's a bot farm involved somewhere.

Not at all.

I'd rather see clips on YouTube than turn on the channel. The clips are the juicy bits people want to see, when they want to see it.

Same with GMB.

28-06-2021 01:39PM

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Not at all.

I'd rather see clips on YouTube than turn on the channel. The clips are the juicy bits people want to see, when they want to see it.

Same with GMB.

Cool, so maybe they should just make YouTube clips. Cause they don't function very well as a TV station? The very fact that you're falling back on their YouTube numbers, logically if the content is that good it would drive up numbers of the channel....

Mic 1972 · 28-06-2021 01:40PM

the clutching on straws ehehehe

Muahahaha · 28-06-2021 01:51PM

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

It isn't. Nobody is talking about it after the initial gaffes have been forgotten about.

If Morgan could bring in those numbers, he'd have been recruited having named his price by now.

Andrew Neil already tried to recruit Piers before they launched and he wouldnt go for it.

And Mr Neil told the BBC on Wednesday that it was a loss for ITV - saying many viewers had tuned in for the controversial host. He said: "Well, Piers would be a huge asset to GB news and we'll definitely look at that.
"We haven't started any negotiations yet"

"We would certainly be delighted to talk to him if he's up for it."Mr Neil said he would not want to have Piers' GMB role transferred onto GB News, but added: "Could we find a role for Piers Morgan? Of course we could - any network worth it's salt could find a role for a broadcaster of his calibre

https://www.thesun.ie/tvandshowbiz/6685027/piers-morgan-job-offer-andrew-neil-gb-news/

This isn't Australia so the comparison isn't valid.

Well it is. You said the edgelord stuff only works online and Ive showed you how Rupert has already recognised this and is making money off it by using his tv channel to create and spread online viral videos. None of these 24 hour news channels have big viewerships but Rupert has found a way to get a program that is only being watched by 50,000 people to go viral and its clips be seen by 5 million+ people, something which attracts far more advertising revenue than the actual tv broadcast. Its a successful strategy that he has created and theres no reason he couldnt replicate it in other markets.

fwiw I dont think Rupert will end up buying GB News but do think he will be considering it. In the recent documentary on him he said he loves buying failing media outlets and turning them around. GB News would offer him a cheap way of getting back into the UK tv news market without sinking millions into start up costs, the investors have already taken the financial hit on that.

Tell me how · 28-06-2021 01:51PM

Mic 1972 wrote: »

the clutching on straws ehehehe

YouTube subscription numbers?
Yeah, it's a desperate attempt to find a positive isn't it.

I mean, it's not like you hear TV platform chief executives like Andrew Neil himself talking about hoping to achieve a high level of reflected engagement on a completely different platform.

I mean, if that's what constitutes success, it seems they'd have just launched as a YouTube channel don't you think?

Timberrrrrrrr · 28-06-2021 01:52PM

[Deleted User] wrote: »

They've amassed over 300,000 on Twitter and their YouTube is growing exceptionally well, now with 145,000 subscribers - often with viewing figures greater than other channels, such as GMB.

It's not as grim as you are painting out.

Paw patrol smashing them on there as well :pac:

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCSVSJ1OCSv5ClFgKFTHIDew

Mad_maxx · 28-06-2021 01:53PM

Haven't watched three seconds of GB news , any improvement?

Seathrun66 · 28-06-2021 01:53PM

Mic 1972 wrote: »

I would concede that lefty-woksters are getting their pants in a knot over this

Woksters? Rockstar chefs specialising in Asian cuisine?

And they're likely as unbothered about GB News as the rest of the planet.

ancapailldorcha · 28-06-2021 01:53PM

Muahahaha wrote: »

Andrew Neil already tried to recruit Piers before they launched and he wouldnt go for it.

Fair enough but it's nothing more than conjecture. I'm not seeing it, frankly.

Muahahaha wrote: »

Well it is. You said the edgelord stuff only works online and Ive showed you how Rupert has already recognised this and is making money off it by using his tv channel to create and spread online viral videos. None of these 24 hour news channels have big viewerships but Rupert has found a way to get a program that is only being watched by 50,000 people to go viral and its clips be seen by 5 million+ people, something which attracts far more advertising revenue than the actual tv broadcast. Its a successful strategy that he has created and theres no reason he couldnt replicate it in other markets.

fwiw I dont think Rupert will end up buying GB News but do think he will be considering it. In the recent documentary on him he said he loves buying failing media outlets and turning them around. GB News would offer him a cheap way of getting back into the UK tv market without sinking millions into start up costs, the investors have already taken the financial hit on that.

Yes. In different countries with different regulatory structures which predate the internet. He already had a foothold with Sky News and he ended up selling that so buying a smaller channel makes no sense for him.

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

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