As the world reacted to the US election outcome last week, the mood at GB News was jubilant.
“The Trump victory is ultimately a victory for Britain too,” said presenter Mark Dolan during one of the channel’s signature monologues, adding: “We are done with the woke crap.”
Ecstatic about Trump’s return to the White House, GB News was quick to gloat. In a column for the channel’s website in the wake of the result, former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng took aim at the “arrogance and stupidity from whining Lefties”.
Yet the internal celebrations were not purely political. For GB News, which is grappling with mounting losses and a looming £100,000 fine from regulator Ofcom, the result could not come at a more crucial time.
For many in the industry, the outlook for GB News looked bleak as it struggled to stem losses and repeatedly fell foul of broadcasting rules. But could the return of Trump offer the lifeline it so desperately needs?
As the dust settles on the election, executives at GB News are keen to seize on America’s shift to the Right. Their biggest asset is undoubtedly Nigel Farage, the Reform leader who has a prime-time show on the channel and is widely seen as Trump’s closest ally in Britain.
Before the election, he offered to “bridge the divide” between a Trump administration and Sir Keir Starmer’s Government in an unofficial ambassadorial role – an offer that was swiftly rejected.
Farage, who was paid almost £98,000 by GB News in August, has also boasted of being the only British person in the room as he celebrated the win at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago resort last week.
These ties put Farage – and therefore GB News – in pole position among UK broadcasters to secure interviews with the new president.
The Reform leader’s case is strengthened by the fact he interviewed Trump several times in the run-up to the election.
Nigel Fragae has interviewed the president-elect several times in his capacity as a GB News host – Twitter
More broadly, the Republican victory will provide a boost to Right-wing media in the US just as GB News looks to expand across the Atlantic.
The broadcaster launched a new US-focused section – GBN America – late last year. In March, it hired Steve Edginton, a former Telegraph journalist, as its first US correspondent based in Washington DC.
Media analyst Alex DeGroote describes the Trump win as a “really helpful step forward” for the channel, adding: “They have the narrative as a tailwind for four years.”
Domestically, too, there are expansion opportunities. The Guardian this week announced it was quitting Elon Musk’s X, saying the social media platform was becoming “ever more toxic”.
The platform’s lurch to the Right could hand GB News, which uses X and other social media platforms extensively to circulate clips from its shows, an opportunity to further expand its online reach.
When the channel this week posted a clip of Farage’s interview with Allison Pearson, the Telegraph journalist being investigated by the Metropolitan Police over her posts on the platform, Musk responded by saying: “This is insane. Make Orwell Fiction Again!!” He also responded to a post about GB News’s viewing figures with simply: “Wow!”.
More broadly, GB News has an opportunity to consolidate its power at a time of broader turmoil across the UK’s broadcasting landscape. The BBC is poised to begin discussions with ministers in January about the future of its licence fee funding model ahead of the end of its current charter period in 2027.
One TV executive says GB News is in a “sweet spot” thanks to recent political changes both at home and abroad.
“You’ve got a Labour government in power now in Britain and they can mount a very good critique of Starmer and they can exploit Trump’s victory in the United States,” the source says.
Yet all is not rosy for GB News.
Trump’s co-dependence with the media, not least Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News, has been widely documented. The president-elect this week nominated Pete Hegseth, a Fox News host who once injured a musician in an axe-throwing mishap live on air, to be his secretary of defence.
But cracks in this alliance – and Trump’s wider relationship with traditional news outlets – are beginning to show.
The president-elect’s relationship with Mr Murdoch has soured in the wake of a blockbuster defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems over its reporting of the 2020 presidential election, in which Fox News was sued over its coverage of false vote-rigging claims.
Fox ultimately agreed to settle the case for $788m (£621m), but only after the media mogul’s damning assessment of Trump’s “crazy” election fraud claims were made public.
Donald Trump reduced his reliance on mainstream media to reach voters in the wake of a break with Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News – REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/
Last week’s election also demonstrated how traditional broadcasters and newspapers have lost ground to more modern media formats.
Trump’s decision to spend the final months of the election campaign speaking to popular podcasters was widely ridiculed by those on the Left. Yet his huge gains among young male voters suggest the strategy paid off.
Most notably, Trump sat down for a mammoth three-hour interview with outspoken podcaster Joe Rogan, whose fan base is predominantly young and male. The interview has racked up 50m views on YouTube and, coupled with Rogan’s last-minute endorsement, is credited with helping to swing the election in favour of Trump.
“It was a very sophisticated bit of electioneering and connecting with voters who wouldn’t normally connect with the mainstream media,” says the TV executive regarding Trump’s podcast strategy.
Meanwhile, Trump is able to reach followers directly on his social media platform Truth Social, as well as on X, which is now run by one of his most powerful acolytes, Elon Musk.
For mainstream broadcasters, the shifting sands of media influence have prompted soul-searching. CNN is reportedly preparing to slash hundreds of jobs as the Left-leaning broadcaster looks to reverse a torrid period that culminated in disappointing election night ratings.
DeGroote adds: “The broader mainstream media has pretty chronic issues in terms of relevance and a cost base that’s completely out of whack with what’s happening in the real world.”
GB News also has its own troubles. The broadcaster was last month fined £100,000 by Ofcom after the regulator ruled it had committed an “egregious” breach of impartiality rules when hosting a debate with Rishi Sunak, the former prime minister.
The ruling, which the channel is challenging in the courts, was the culmination of a series of clashes with Ofcom that have proved time-consuming and expensive.
More broadly, GB News is struggling to keep its finances under control. The broadcaster saw its losses balloon to more than £42m as hefty costs dwarfed its £6.7m in revenues. It is also still feeling the impact of an advertising boycott that has hammered its finances.
The company has implemented a brutal cost-cutting plan that has led to around 40 roles – or 14pc of its workforce – being cut. It has also wielded the axe on expenses such as taxi journeys for staff and guests.
Yet these measures alone are unlikely to prove effective. Instead, GB News is attempting to find new sources of revenue through initiatives such as a membership scheme and live events.
“I think they’re in a good place strategically and politically, but the old problem with GB News is that it’s just losing s— loads of money,” says DeGroote.
GB News’s backers, hedge fund tycoon Sir Paul Marshall and Dubai-based investment firm Legatum, pumped a further £41m into the channel last year.
But their future support has been called into question, especially after Sir Paul forked out £100m to buy The Spectator in September.
Analysts say the election result could provide the perfect chance to raise more money, especially from the US, though the company has insisted it is not planning any new funding rounds.
Ultimately, GB News has succeeded in carving out a niche for viewers disillusioned with the offerings of more established broadcasters. However, it is yet to prove it can turn such a venture into a viable business model.
Now, Trump’s election victory has handed the channel a critical opportunity, and bosses will look to strike while the iron is hot.
“If GB News is ever going to be a meaningful business, now is the time,” says DeGroote. “You can’t ask for better tailwinds.”
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
