WBD quits GB News
August 18, 2022
Warner Bros Discovery has walked away from GB News, selling its £60 million (€71m) investment in the fledgling channel to existing backers Legatum Ventures and its chairman Sir Paul Marshall.
WBD says that since the Warner-Discover merger, it had “evaluated our global and local investment portfolio” and is no longer a GB News shareholder. WBD is owner of CNN Worldwide, Poland’s TVN Group and New Zealand’s Newshub.
The WBD statement says: “Discovery was one of the first organisations to invest in GB News, doing so prior to the creation of Warner Bros Discovery. GB News has built a growing and loyal audience in its first year, bringing another voice to British news broadcasting, and we wish the management and shareholders the very best in their future endeavours.”
The shareholding has been bought out by Marshall, a right-wing hedger, and Legatum, which Legatum Chair Alan McCormick said is “testament to our confidence in the momentum and trajectory of GB News after a very strong first year.”
GB News’ ratings have been consistently low since launching in June 2021. A new competitor, Rupert Murdoch’s Talk TV, also launched recently.