Nigel Farage’s rift with political rival Rupert Lowe is driving viewers from GB News to YouTube channels even further to the right, insiders say, as the insurgent broadcaster celebrates its fifth birthday.
Launched on 13 June 2021 as a right-wing challenger to the BBC, GB News was mocked for its amateurish production values and miniscule ratings.
Today its mix of opinionated debate and monologues by politician-presenters, led by Reform UK leader Farage, regularly attracts more viewers than Sky News and the BBC News channel.
Despite racking up total losses of £131m – and receiving a £100,000 Ofcom fine after repeated impartiality breaches – a bullish GB News has promised it will become “the UK’s biggest news channel” by 2028.
But its dominance of the right-wing space faces a new threat from YouTube channels tacking to the hard right, inspired by the rise of Lowe’s Restore Britain movement.
