Advanced Television

Neil splits with GB News?

September 6, 2021

Andrew Neil is highly unlikely to return to GB News. Relations between the veteran broadcaster and GBN CEO Angelos Frangopoulos are said to have broken down and Neil was not expected to appear on the station again, according to sources cited by the FT.

The rift comes as the station makes a series of changes to its schedule to try and boost low ratings. Branded as a right-leaning counter to liberal-elite media, the station is shuffling further right and has already brought in Nigel Farage, former UK Independence party leader, as a prime time presenter.

Insiders said there had long been tension between those at the channel who want a right-of-centre yet mainstream alternative to Sky News and BBC News, and others pushing for a more radical platform. Neil left the BBC in 2020 to chair the channel, whose investors include Discovery, and presents a primetime politics and news programme.

The station’s launch was plagued with technical problems. Neil took an extended break from his scheduled slot two weeks after the launch.

At the time of its launch, Neil said GB News would offer an antidote to what he described as the “metropolitan mindset” of other London-based media. At the same time, he also pledged that the station would be “guided by the highest journalistic standards” and would avoid any association with the far right and disinformation.

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