GB News is a British free-to-air television and radio news channel based in London, England. It was announced in September 2020 and launched on 13 June 2021 from studios at Paddington Basin, London, becoming Britain's first television news start-up since the launch of Sky News in 1989.
Overview
GB News is jointly owned by hedge fund manager Paul Marshall and Dubai-based investment firm Legatum, under the holding company All Perspectives Ltd, registered in London. The channel's CEO is Angelos Frangopoulos, who formerly ran Sky News Australia. Alan McCormick, a partner at Legatum, serves as chairman. The channel was founded by Andrew James Cole and Mark Schneider.
The channel was set up with the aim of broadcasting "original news, opinion and debate," with a mix of news coverage and opinion-based content. It is widely described as having a right-wing political orientation. Notable presenters have included Nigel Farage, Eamonn Holmes, Michael Portillo, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Andrew Pierce, and Camilla Tominey. Former BBC journalist Andrew Neil became its first chairman and lead presenter but resigned in September 2021 after presenting only nine episodes.
History
All Perspectives Ltd was founded in September 2019 and was granted a broadcast licence by Ofcom in January 2020. The channel reached its £60 million fundraising target in January 2021, with the majority coming from Legatum, Paul Marshall, and Discovery, Inc. (later Warner Bros. Discovery, which sold its stake in August 2022).
GB News commenced broadcasting at 20:00 BST on 13 June 2021. Andrew Neil launched the channel, and its opening night reportedly out-rated Sky News and BBC News Channel combined. However, Neil took a break from presenting less than two weeks later and formally resigned as chairman and lead presenter on 13 September 2021. He later described his decision to lead the channel as the "single biggest mistake" of his career and expressed concerns about the channel's drift towards what he described as conspiracy theories and a style resembling Fox News.
Following Neil's departure, the channel shifted further to the right. In 2023, several Conservative MPs joined as presenters, including Jacob Rees-Mogg and Lee Anderson. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson was announced as a presenter in October 2023 but, as of January 2026, had not appeared on the channel.
Programming
GB News airs a mix of news, analysis, opinion, and debate. It does not provide rolling news but instead divides each day into individual programmes built around presenters. The channel has produced shows such as Farage, Breakfast with Eamonn and Isabel, The Camilla Tominey Show, State of the Nation with Jacob Rees-Mogg, and The Dinosaur Hour with John Cleese.
In addition to its television channel, GB News launched a national 24-hour radio station, GB News Radio, on the Digital One digital radio multiplex in December 2021, which is an audio simulcast of the televised channel.
Financial Performance
GB News has made consistent losses every year since launching:
- 2021–22: Loss of £30.7 million
- 2022–23: Loss of £42.4 million
- 2023–24: Loss of £33.4 million
- 2024–25: Loss of £22.1 million
As of May 2025, total losses amounted to £132 million, with £141 million owed to its parent company. Despite these losses, the channel's owners have continued to provide funding. In the year to May 2025, revenue grew by 58% to £26.2 million. In July 2026, GB News announced plans to cut more than one third of its workforce.
Audience and Reception
As of 2026, GB News has been ahead of Sky News and BBC News in average viewership for six consecutive months, though its total weekly reach remains lower than both competitors. The channel's average audience in December 2025 was 87,700, compared to 74,500 for BBC News and 58,300 for Sky News.
According to the 2026 Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism survey, GB News is the least trusted of the six main news broadcasters in Britain, with a net trust rating of -19% (46% untrustworthy vs. 27% trustworthy). It is the only major news broadcaster with a negative net trust score. The channel's audience is 62% male and 38% female, predominantly older, and leans heavily towards Conservative and Reform UK voters.
Ofcom Investigations
GB News has been the subject of multiple investigations by Ofcom, the UK broadcasting regulator. The channel has been found in breach of broadcasting rules on several occasions, including breaches of due impartiality rules and rules regarding politicians acting as newsreaders or interviewers.
In February 2025, the High Court ruled that two Ofcom rulings against GB News were unlawful, determining that the relevant codes applied only to news coverage, not to current affairs programmes. This led Ofcom to signal its intention to review its codes. As of March 2025, Ofcom dropped all remaining impartiality investigations following the High Court decision.
Criticisms
The channel has faced criticism for promoting what some groups describe as conspiratorial antisemitism, demonising transgender people, and broadcasting homophobic content. It has also been criticised for its employment of sitting politicians as presenters and for the volume of negative coverage about Muslims. In 2023, the channel suspended and later sacked presenters Laurence Fox and Calvin Robinson, and Dan Wootton exited the channel, following misogynistic comments broadcast on air.
