28/04/2022
A new talk television network in the United Kingdom, delivered on free to air and cable packages went live on Monday 25th April. Called Talk TV, the new channel is an opinion station from the same company that has been running the similar Talk Radio UK station on digital radio for some years. We asked our media watcher Terry for his initial reaction to the new network’s service. He said “In presentation and tone, Talk TV is ploughing a very similar furrow to the other new network, GB News. It aims at a dissatisfied audience of white men who want a channel to challenge the more diverse viewpoints put across on Sky and BBC News. The long term aim of these channels is to foster right wing discourse. Remember that even the conservative commentator Andrew Neil quit GB News saying he did not want to be associated with an attempt to create a FOX News equivalent in the UK, which would promulgate right wing extremism. It is quite ironic that the broadcast regulator, OFCOM, removed the license of the Kremlin controlled conspiracy network Russia Today whilst GB News is transmitting just as much unfounded material. Mind you”, Terry went on, “Recent viewing figures show that GB News nationwide has a smaller audience than a small station like the Welsh language network S4C. So perhaps there is not as much public demand for right wing talk channels than the broadcasters think”.
