GB News has pulled off a broadcasting bombshell, overtaking the BBC to become Britain’s most-watched news channel for the first time ever.
New figures from TV ratings agency Barb show the underdog channel trounced both BBC News and Sky News during key time slots throughout July, just in time for its fourth birthday celebrations.
The station, once dismissed as a fringe player, racked up an average daily audience of 80,600, edging out the BBC’s 78,700 and leaving Sky News trailing on 67,000.
It wasn’t just a one-off. GB News smashed it in breakfast, primetime weekday evenings, and the Sunday morning political showdown, fronted by Telegraph bigwig Camilla Tominey.
Ben Briscoe, GB News’s head of programming told The Telegraph it was a “seismic moment”, declaring:
“This is a seismic moment, not just for us, but for British broadcasting. We are ending the dominance of the BBC News channel and Sky News.”
And the channel’s not stopping there. It’s planning a major US expansion, with a new show launching from Washington DC in September – while its website is already the fastest-growing news platform in America.
Editorial chief Mick Booker said GB News is on the fast track to total telly domination:
“We’re now firmly on track to achieve our ambition of becoming the UK’s biggest news channel by 2028.
GB News is winning because it is different, and because we place the community at the heart of everything we do. We focus on the stories that matter most to our audience and, as a result, our bold, fearless journalism is reaching more people than ever.”
The rise of GB News comes as old-school broadcast TV takes a beating. According to Ofcom, Brits watched 4% less telly in 2024 than last year, with many ditching the box for streaming.
But while others struggle, GB News is surging, boosted by its coverage of the farming protests, which saw the channel overtake Sky for the first time at the end of last year.
It hasn’t all been smooth sailing. The channel is still in a bruising bust-up with Ofcom over its use of politicians as presenters including Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nigel Farage.
In a major courtroom win, GB News successfully challenged Ofcom after it accused Rees-Mogg of breaking impartiality rules. A judge ruled the regulator was wrong, and Ofcom was forced to scrap three more complaints. The row cost the watchdog a whopping £4.6 million in legal fees.
Now, Ofcom is back at it, proposing new rules to ban politicians from presenting news segments. GB News blasted the idea as “irrational” and an “unjustified interference with freedom of expression”.
Advert Woes
Despite topping the ratings, the channel is still requiring a lot of heavy investment. It is understood GB News has lost more than £100 million since its 2021 launch, thanks in part to an advertiser boycott led by pressure groups like Stop Funding Hate. To plug the gap, GB News has launched a paywall to cash in on loyal viewers.
Its deep-pocketed backers, hedge fund boss Sir Paul Marshall and Dubai-based Legatum, pumped another £34 million into the channel last year.
Sir Paul didn’t mince words earlier this year, accusing Ofcom of unfairly targeting the channel due to a “sustained onslaught” of activist complaints.
Ofcom insists it enforces its rules “fairly and proportionately”. But with the ratings crown firmly on its head, GB News is riding high… and showing no signs of slowing down.
Congratulations GB News!
