Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
SKY CUSTOMERS IN Ireland will be able to view the new GB News channel when it launches this weekend but Virgin Media Ireland has “no immediate plans” to broadcast the channel.
The new 24-hour news channel is promising to “have different views” with its chairman Andrew Neil saying that the station will be “proud to be British”.
The channel will officially launch on Sunday at 8pm, with Sky Ireland telling The Journal that it goes live for Irish customers on channel 515.
In the UK, channel bosses say it will reach an estimated 96% of British television households via a range of providers including Sky and Virgin Media.
If it matters to you, it matters to us. GB News starts Sunday 13 June. pic.twitter.com/rOvzmwJhmP
— GB News (@GBNEWS) June 8, 2021
When the channel was being put together, it was reported that the slant of GB News was going to be unashamedly pro-British, pro-Brexit and right-leaning.
This led to it being compared to a British version of Fox News.
The money men behind the channel have been eager to downplay the comparison but it is clear that GB News will at least seek to lean into that kind of audience.
The channel’s logo prominently features the British flag and on its launch website the channel says it will “give the people of the UK the space to have their say”.
If it matters to you, it matters to us. GB News starts Sunday 13 June. pic.twitter.com/rOvzmwJhmP
— GB News (@GBNEWS) June 8, 2021
In a nod to criticism that often comes from conservative politicians in both the UK and abroad, the station says “there are always more than two sides to every story” .
Comedian Andrew Doyle, who will present Free Speech Nation on the channel, said in a promo that the Brexit debate was “reduced to a binary issue of good versus evil, racist versus not racist”.
GB News says it will promote debate whilst also “bringing all of the nation together, all in one place – uniting, not dividing.”
The channel is being funded by various sources, with the involvement of US broadcasting giant Discovery perhaps the most significant investment.
Discovery Inc, the US-based documentary network, was the first major investor with reports of it investing around £20 million. The full amount raised was not revealed but is understood to be in the region of £60 million.
Discovery’s involvement provides both expertise and heft to GB News but the channel is also funded by Dubai-based investment group Legatum.
Another investor is one of the UK’s most prominent hedge fund managers Paul Marshall.
Marshall is the co-founder of hedge fund Marshall Wace and was a donor to the Vote Leave campaign. His stake in GB News will be in a personal capacity, the company has said.
There will be a few faces on GB News that will be familiar to Irish viewers.
Fermanagh-born Darren McCaffrey was formerly the Dublin Correspondent at Sky News before moving to Euronews. He now moves to GB News where he will be the station’s Political Editor.
In the past few days McCaffrey has been tweeting about various UK news events, including tweeting a number of times about the Oxford students who voted to remove a portrait of the queen from their common room.
Let’s be clear - ridiculousness of this, not students being anti-establishment and choosing to ditch portrait
— Darren McCaffrey (@DarrenGBNews) June 9, 2021
It is the reasoning, if a painting of The Queen makes you feel uncomfortable, should probably stay home, rather than attend country’s top Uni! https://t.co/3ntmDxQD3P
You may also recognise the aforementioned Andrew Neil.
Neil was a veteran BBC journalist and one of the best-known political interviewers in the UK before leaving the broadcaster last year.
A former editor of the Sunday Times, he has had a long – and sometimes controversial – career as a broadcaster. As well as presenting his own show, Neil is one of the founders of GB News and will serve as its chairman.
He said last year that the station will be less like Sky News and “will be based more like MSNBC in America, which is on the left, and Fox, which is on the right.”
He has already already trailing that “Woke Watch” will be a segment on his new show.
Other UK journalists making the move to GB News include former BBC newsreader Simon McCoy, former Sky newsreader Colin Brazier, former Sky Sports presenter Kirsty Gallacher, ex-Sun journalist Dan Wootton and former Apprentice winner and tv panellist Michelle Dewberry.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Opinion masquerading as news.
@DJ François: You are probably right on this but is there any news outlets these days that doesn’t slant their news slightly to their political opinion?
@Longlin: this is a British FOX news. It’s going to be ugly. Dangerous propaganda.
@DJ François: The Journal is the same a lot of the time.
@DJ François: like every other outlet doesn’t do the same.
@2thFairy: dangerous propaganda from whom exactly? Like every media outlet is completely ideologically free..
@DJ François: Brown bread masquerading as white.
@Valthebear: like FOX news. Did you not read my comment? Pay attention…. the devil is in the detail…. or you’ll find it in a news channel who’s only purpose is to spew false propaganda about one subject.
@2thFairy: the dangerous propaganda these days comes from the predominantly leftwing MSM, who masquerade as politically neutral.
@Elrond Rivendell: If you are trying to compare the Journal to Fox news, then I suggest you go back to bed for a rest.
everyone knows the British people brought Brexit upon themselves and now they must live with the consequences, but I would never wish the equivalent of Fox News on them.
there are too many good and decent people in the UK who deserve a lot better!
@Longlin: This is not a slant this is a whole lot more, Fox news on steroids
@2thFairy: I did read your uninformed comment. Fox News is right wing, CNN us left wing etc.. So what? Surely you have the intelligence to listen to different viewpoints?
@Angela McCarthy: tell us in your wisdom why Brexit will be a disaster for the Brits..
@Valthebear: it already is a disaster for the UK. You need to open your mind and educate yourself.
@2thFairy: disaster for whom? No answer again from you there? Educate yourself? Maybe start by looking at trade balance figures this week between the Brits and the EU? You might learn something.. Although I doubt it, given your closed mind and fantasies about some non existent hard right. Britain will do OK out of Brexit. Incidentally, tell us how easy it is to buy a home in EU Ireland? You might be better served analysing our own economic problems rather than rambling about the Brits.
@Squarepeg01: Youu really dont understand media iff you think it is left leaning. Either that or you dont understand left wing politics
Fox News of the UK
@hello: At least its not the CNN of the UK
@john malonoy: You think cnn is worse than fox?
@john malonoy: I would much rather a CNN than a FOX. Have you actually watched either channel?
@Tomo: chicken noodle news.
Fox News doesn’t hide their bias.
CNN pretends to be down the middle… they’re very much not.
I’d rather honesty so I can make up my own mind.
@Franky Jefferson: How does fox do that? I’d love to see a clip of fox saying they are biased!
@Bill Spill: only a complete m0r0n would think that!
GB does not include Northern Ireland….see….even they know the writing is on the wall….preparing for life without Edwin….
@Austin Shields: GB never did include Northern Ireland
@Christopher Venton: The UK is a union of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is not part of Great Britain. Northern Ireland is in a political union with Great Britain.
@Austin Shields: lord kilclooney having a meltdown on Twitter about it as well.surely the Irish unionists know their days are numbered
@Christopher Venton: No one here is saying otherwise.
We’re inundated with American and UK news channels and all we have is RTE, whose news is based on Dublin, London and Washington only. Is it any wonder most people in Ireland are so Anglicised with little regard for our own culture and history.
@Teresa Ryan: that is only the case if you are influenced by it it I give the paddy more credit to see through the bullshit we have been dealing with our own politicians for a long time now and have plenty guile
@Teresa Ryan: We have little regard for the European norms either. We are basically still a faux colony of the U.K./ have severe colonial hangover.
Everything they do we follow. There are more similarities between us and the U.K. than any other nation. Only difference is we don’t get free healthcare and they do.
@Teresa Ryan: what are ya shiting on about, irish people are the most patriotic people ive ever seen, we love our country and culture
@sineP: ….every country says that about its people O_o
And no… Irish aren’t the most patriotic, not even close… Americans and Russians are way more patriotic.
@Franky Jefferson: For a little Island whose so unpatriotic ,there’s a he’ll of alot of Countries that Celebrate St Patrick’s Day, how the feck did that happen????
@sineP: With all due respect, you’re obviously over a certain age. Over the last 7/8 months, at work we’ve had three college students on work experience and one referred to St Stephen’s Day as Boxing Day, the second referred to Boris Johnson as our prime minister and more recently, the third referred to Joe Biden as our president. Neither of the last two knew the names of our Taoiseach and president.
These youngsters are university students and this is what they know and believe.
@FlopFlipU: And people are influenced by it. I’m afraid you hive Paddy too much credit.
@Tomo: Nail on head.
@Teresa Ryan: sorry, i dont believe your story
@Tomo: We are far from being the same, we have similarities and some of them are horrible similarities. The yobbo culture for one with younger people.
@Franky Jefferson: Wrapping yourself in Believing everything that the government tell you is not being patriotic. Bowing down to your leaders is not being patriotic.
Look at the people on social media who claim to be Irish Patriots, it is like short hand from right wing activist.
@sineP: Do you ever work with young people?
@FlopFlipU: really? Tell us for example how anyone can afford to put a roof over their head here? Never mind the Brits or Yanks, our shower are the biggest bsers going..
HARD PASS
This is a TV manifestation of Talk Radio, which is basically run by cynical, hard right brexiteers who I have very little doubt are racists behind closed doors. All these ‘funders’ are the very same people who spin anything bad the corrupt UK govt into the long grass in the UK media and who control the agenda their media wise.
They are so powerful they’ve even turned the Bbc into whimpering cowards with regards holding the UK govt to account for its multiple acts of cronyism or ministerial code breaches.
In the middle of the spiders web is rubert murdoch.
@Gary G: are you not bored yet, calling everyone you don’t agree with a racist? I’m right of centre, but I don’t feel I have to vilify people on the left unless they’re out and out vile. I can happily listen to Sam Harris, Bret Weinstein and others. Maybe you could try expanding your horizons a little.
@Squarepeg01: well said. Yer man Gary understands nothing about Brexit, and has obviously no knowledge of the whole swathe of political opinion that backed brexit, from the British Communist Party to the Tory right. He merely regurgitates the nonsense that Brexit is ‘racist’ to justify his hatred of a sovereign country deciding to democratically vote to leave the EU.
In many ways, these types of media destroy society, for example, fox news or the sun newspaper/ daily mail. When opinion become facts, when lies are tolerated then democracy is dead. No taoiseach could have got away the scale of the bare faced lies of Donald trump or borris Johnston. The Media are not holding their leaders to account. We can be very thankful that we don’t have the same type of media here.
@Wesley Conboy: “It is morally wrong, unjust and unfair to tax a persons home” – Enda Kenny.
When asked if the IMF were in Dublin, Dermot Ahern said “It is fiction because what we want to do is get on with the business of bringing forward the four-year plan and deal with the budget.”
We could go on and on here…
@Wesley Conboy: you think our media is unbiased?
@Wesley Conboy: Are you taking the piss?
Besides, it’s not always what we are told, it’s what we are not told. I refer you to the untold story of NI. So many who live through the Troubles never heard of Ballymurphy until recently.
“Proud to be British” news in Ireland? What’s the point? I will give this the respect any proud Irish person would, I will pass. Perhaps people interested in the likes of union ism could find this to their liking but I certainly wouldn’t
@Carm(Orange Vampire): We speak the language, embrace British culture, copy their laws, use british sockets, drive on the left, etc etc. Sounds like many Irish people are already proud to be British.
@Tomo: embrace British culture LOL cheers for the chuckle.
@Tomo: I for one love taking my top and screaming at other grown men in a stadium and then getting my head taken clean off me by opposing fans.
@Tomo: We were all part of the same union up till a little over a hundred years ago 76 countries drive on the right hand side of the road. We share the same plug but not the same voltage and our 3 pin sockets are safer. The added earth lead Sounds like you are the one being proud.
It would be great if we were able to post gifs in the comments section, so many spring to mind
God save sinn fein
Sounds like a GB version of fox news so, full of deluded turkeys saying the opposite of what the other media outlets claim, to get viewers…
Propaganda masquerading as news. Will be steering clear of it and those companies whose advertising budgets support it.
@headbeagle: you do that. But keep buying products from companies who pay slave wages in the far East but have lovely rainbows in their packaging..
Britain need wins to tell themselves that brexiteers did the right thing.
This station is going to provide them with British accomplishments whether there real, slanted or losses.
@James Behan: where do you derive this insight from?
@James Behan: spot on. The Brexiteer British are completely in denial of facts. They haven’t been able to cite one solitary thing that has changed anything for the better. It’s very hard for them to admit the massive mistake they made in trusting a charlatan. The lie only gets bigger the longer they are in denial.
@2thFairy: higher wages, less reliance on cheap exploitable imported labour, ability to decide their own laws, run their own vaccine rollout, decide their own budgetary spending for a start.. Oh, and tell us what you think about German manuoevering during the week to remove the national veto on EU decision making during the week to stop ‘smaller countries’ from holding up further ‘integration’?
Nationalism can take a short walk off a tall pier. ARAC.
@Twitruser2021: It’s here… and will only get bigger.
@Twitruser2021: why? Whats with the current wokey trendy attack on nationalism? Would take proud independent nation states cooperating together any day rather than belligerent empire building
Please go home
The UK’s equivalent of Fox News….
It might be interesting to hear some of the stories that the other news outlets deem less than newsworthy or those that the public don’t need to hear or know
Talk about a clickbait headline…
It’s like my prayers have been answered! I’ve been waiting for this for as long as I can remember, and the country has been since……..well… 1916 I suppose
Simon McCoy going to be interesting, he hated reporting on the Royals every outing on BBC news, lol..
Andrew Neil to the rescue! Lol!… If you listen closely you can hear the creaking of the stiff upper lip.
@thesaltyurchin: suggest you do a little more research on Neil and how he has eviscerated so many hypocritical politicians from every part of the political spectrum in interviews. Probably the best TV political interviewer there is at the moment. We badly need someone like him here.
@Valthebear: He is so biased he can’t be taken seriously. Unless you are a hard right ultra brexiteer racist. Then he is just great.
@Gary G: clueless. Do some research instead of salivating over imaginary ‘hard right’ brexiteers.
@Valthebear: Would agree in terms of the depth of investigative journalism not being up to much here, there is a respectable culture of it in England but the union is destined to crumble, it’s foundations are soaked in a ‘rule Britannic’ rhetoric of imperialism. Would be a great idea to dissolve it and create a new union for the island nations of west Europe.Because we would kill it internationally.
@Gary G: biased? He is as pro as you get. Do you think Diane Abbott would have appeared for so long on This Week with himself and Michael Portillo if she thought she was going to be brow beaten? He is also quite happy to go to town on conservatives, as he did with Ben Shapiro a couple of years ago, although it has to be said American and British forms of conservativism differ in important respects.
@Gary G: so you have no argument. Other than shouting ‘racist’ to back up your uninformed nonsense.
@Valthebear: One of the most biased interveners ever who pushes his agenda over the guests. Not calling the guest out on issues attacking them for their views.
Does Britain need another right leaning Tory channel? There is an urgent need for a channel that tells and speaks the news as it is, the truth. Its badly needed as the tidal wave of the Tory right engulfs England. Wake up Britain. You deserve a decent press and TV news that tells you how seriously you are being mislead.
@Gerard O’Mahony: get a grip. There’s hardly any ‘Tory’ media in Britain. Rather there are different organs with varying shades of opinion, often changing to suit their owners’ interests.
I’m looking forward to seeing Alastair Stewart back on the air!
YES YES YES YES YES YES YES FINALLY!
No Thanks ☺️
This will appeal to National Party types.
Expecting the announcement of a new Dominic Cummings fronted show sometime next week
Personally it feels like it is just a 24hour version of the SkyNews Paper review. Most of the people on it seem to have been on that paper review at some point over the years.
I must admit I will watch it occasionally, I believe that you need to know what their latest off the wall idea is.
Watching fox can be funny as people earnestly believe what they are saving. Utterly wrong, completely incorrect but there are those that will believe it.
The British version of Fox and friends will be no different.
People talking about issues, they can only see one tiny part of and make themselves out to be experts.
Shows that the people must be aware of the right wingers and their belief that they can spoof their way into power everywhere.
@Gary Kearney: right wingers..right wingers everywhere.. Gas how people here blast the Brits and these imaginary right wingers.. This from a country where no one can afford now to put a roof over their heads. But yeah, blame rightwinger Brits man..
have your say