GB News overtakes BBC for the first time
New figures from official ratings agency Barb show GB News beat both BBC News and Sky News during key time slots in July, in a major coup for the start-up broadcaster just after its fourth birthday.
The latest data show GB News pulled in an average audience of 80,600 across each day in July. That was ahead of BBC News on 78,700 and 67,000 for Sky News.
GB News also triumphed during the breakfast show and primetime weekday evenings, as well as during the Sunday morning political slot, which is hosted by Telegraph associate editor Camilla Tominey.
Ben Briscoe, head of programming at GB News, said: '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.'
Bosses said the channel will build on its success as it prepares to launch a new US show from Washington DC in September. The broadcaster's website is already the fastest-growing news platform in the US.
Mick Booker, GB News editorial director, said: '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.'
Fresh boost
The rise of GB News comes against the backdrop of a declining market for traditional broadcast TV, as viewers increasingly switch to streaming.
Figures released by Ofcom this week showed Britons spent 4pc less time watching broadcast TV in 2024 compared to the previous year.
Nevertheless, the numbers will provide a fresh boost to GB News after the channel overtook Sky for the first time late last year – as viewers flocked to the channel for coverage of the farming protests.
Surging viewing figures at GB News come even as the channel is locked in a bitter dispute with Ofcom over its use of politicians as presenters.
GB News secured a major victory in the High Court earlier this year after a judge ruled the regulator was wrong to accuse Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg of breaching impartiality rules in two episodes of his show.
The court quashed the verdicts and Ofcom subsequently dropped three further breach rulings. The legal tussle contributed to a surge in costs at the regulator, which spent £4.6m on external advisers last year.
However, the row has been re-ignited after Ofcom outlined plans to further tighten rules around the use of politicians as presenters.
Under its latest proposals, politicians would be blocked from presenting news segments, though they would still be allowed to helm current affairs shows.
GB News has hit back against the plans, branding them 'irrational' and an 'unjustified interference with freedom of expression'.
Despite its popularity with viewers, GB News is still struggling to achieve financial success as it battles an ongoing advertiser boycott.
Even before its launch, GB News was targeted by campaign groups such as Stop Funding Hate – prompting brands including Ikea and Nivea to pull their campaigns.
While some advertisers including Marks & Spencer have since returned to the channel, the boycott continues to hurt the company's bottom line. GB News has launched a paywall on its website in an effort to boost revenues from subscribers.
GB News has lost more than £100m since its launch in 2021. Its owners – the hedge fund tycoon Sir Paul Marshall and Dubai investment firm Legatum – pumped a further £34m into the channel last year.
In a speech earlier this year, Sir Paul accused Ofcom of unfairly targeting the broadcaster due to an 'onslaught' of complaints from pressure groups.
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