Discovery dumps stake in GB News as it claws £60m investment
GB News has secured £60m in fresh investment as part of a new ownership arrangement, which sees Warner Bros. Discovery dump its hefty stake in the firm.
The US entertainment giant was bought out by Sir Paul Marshall and investment giant The Legatum Group in a deal that GB News chief exec Angelos Frangopoulos has said would give the channel “financial muscle” to build for the long term.
GB News co-founders Andrew Cole and Mark Schneider have also resigned as company directors.
Discovery was an original investor in the channel, with Frangopoulos stating that it was the first to see “the importance of a new voice in British news broadcasting”.
Warner Bros. Discovery said the decision to sell its shareholding was part of continued evaluation of its investments after the merger, a move that brought several wholly owned news assets, including CNN Worldwide, into its portfolio.
However, the announcement comes as the news channel, which has around 200 journalists and boasts hosts like Nigel Farage, struggles to crack a mainstream audience.
The right-leaning channel got off to a rocky start last summer. Not only was the launch plagued with technical difficulties, but it also saw the sudden departure of former Sunday Times editor Andrew Neil as its star presenter.
According to the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board, the TV channel reaches around two million people each month, compared to BBC News Channel’s 15.9m and Sky News’ 10.9m.
The broadcaster has had some wins though.
Last week The Telegraph revealed that GB News had beat out Ruper Murdoch’s TalkTV for a channel slot on Virgin Media, opening itself up to fresh audiences.