Entertainment
Andrew Neil insists GB News ‘has a great future’ as viewing figures collapse to ‘zero’
GB News chair Andrew said channel is ‘finding its feet’ (Picture: Rex/GB News)
Andrew Neil appears confident in GB News’ future despite the channel’s drastic decline in viewing figures, stressing that the company is ‘finding its feet’.
This week, it emerged that the day after a GB News presenter took the knee live on air, some of its programmes reportedly attracted ‘zero viewers’ after some called for a boycott of the channel.
It has since been reported that the presenter who took the knee live on air, Guto Harri, has been ‘suspended indefinitely’ from the channel, while director of programming John McAndrew has purportedly stepped down from his position.
In a new tweet, GB News chair Andrew addressed how GB News has been faring since its launch over a month ago, saying that ‘start ups are fraught and fractious’.
‘@GBNEWS is no exception,’ the 72-year-old said. ‘But the news channel is finding its feet and has a great future. Watch this space.’
In late June, Andrew announced he was taking a break from GB News mere weeks after its launch.
While closing his show, he told viewers: ‘That’s it for tonight and from me for the next few weeks. But I leave you in the safe and professional hands of Colin Brazier.’
‘I’ll be back before the summer is out and when you least expect it, so stay tuned,’ he added, before acknowledging that GB News had a ‘rocky start’.
‘Before I take this break, let me say this: yes, we had a bit of a rocky start with the launch of GB News,’ he stated.
‘We’re a start-up, they’re always a bit rocky these start-ups. But we are up and running as you can see, we get better every day and there’s clearly an appetite for what we’re doing.
Following the reports concerning GB News’ declining viewership, Simon McCoy hit back at critics as he emphasised that GB News is in its early days.
A Twitter user tweeted Simon asking him about his future on GB News, writing: ‘Do you reckon you’ll leave GBN before it closes?’
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‘No. Have been here before. At a new news channel,’ he replied.
‘All the same jokes back then – cheaper to send the videos round to viewers by bike etc etc .. the channel was Sky News. Things take time. We will get there. #GBNews.’
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