Advertisement
Australia markets closed
  • ALL ORDS

    7,957.80
    +32.60 (+0.41%)
     
  • AUD/USD

    0.6514
    -0.0047 (-0.71%)
     
  • ASX 200

    7,703.20
    +27.40 (+0.36%)
     
  • OIL

    82.62
    -0.10 (-0.12%)
     
  • GOLD

    2,157.80
    -6.50 (-0.30%)
     
  • Bitcoin AUD

    96,151.18
    -8,493.38 (-8.12%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     

Andrew Neil celebrates GB News beating BBC and Sky in ratings war

 (PA)
(PA)

Andrew Neil has boasted about the ratings of his newly launched GB News channel which is more than holding its own against BBC News and Sky News.

Neil’s flagship 8pm interview show on Wednesday brought in 92,500 viewers beating off stiff competition from Euro 2020 and other news channels.

He tweeted: “Great figures on @GBNEWS Andrew Neil show last night. Number one in time slot (again). Three times audience of Sky News. 26% more than BBC News Channel. And we’ve only just begun.”

It was also reported that the show attracted “quite a young audience” with higher numbers in the 16 to 35-year-old demographic.

ADVERTISEMENT

Twitter users had mixed reactions with some celebrating the demise of the mainstream media and others saying the ratings tweet gave them “serious Trump vibes”.

Alex Morgan, a former Sky News journalist, posted: “The tech glitches might have made the launch an object of fun for many - but if peak time can hold 3x viewers of Sky News...then GB News will be here to stay.

Before adding: “...but if they do want to hold an audience of this size, then please get @afneil out of the cupboard and onto a real set.”

Another joked about the size of ratings, posting: “People often slow down for car crashes.”

Others pointed out that Andrew Neil was comparing the 8pm slot where other news channels don’t place their flagship shows.

One wrote: “No other news broadcasters are concerned about that slot as its prime soap time.”

It came after Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden warned that democracy in the UK was being undermined by a “small but vocal minority” as multiple brands pulled advertising from GB News.

Oliver Dowden has warned that basic democratic values can no longer be taken for granted after the upstart channel saw the withdrawal of advertising from companies such as Ikea, cider firm Kopparberg and Octopus Energy.

The network, which launched June 13, has promised to take on so-called cancel culture.

Andrew Neil revealed that his show tonight will feature an interview with the founder of Extinction Rebellion, a mediation on the “boss class” and the latest on travel restrictions.

Read More

Andrew Neil announces break from GB News weeks after launch

Cummings launches latest criticism of Whitehall

Removal of advertising from GB News ‘shows democracy being undermined’