News UK kills TalkTV linear channel, pivots to streaming-only model

TalkTV has announced its decision to cease linear television broadcasting and transition exclusively to online streaming platforms starting this summer. This move comes amidst a challenging period for the channel, marked by initial viewership struggles, competitive pressures and the loss of lead personality Piers Morgan.

Morgan announced in February his plans to leave the network to focus on his YouTube Channel, which has grown to 2.3 million subscribers.

“It’s clear there’s a huge global demand for the content we’re making, but the commitment to a daily show at a fixed schedule, with all the editing and time sensitivities that involves, has been an increasingly unnecessary straitjacket,” said Morgan.

“People are watching the content on YouTube rather than conventional television and I have no problem with that.”

TalkTV was designed to be the United Kingdom’s version of Fox News, with a focus on conservative viewpoints and personalities. The network is owned by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp, which owns Fox News.

From its launch, TalkTV faced uphill battles in establishing a strong foothold in the traditional broadcasting landscape. Notably, the channel experienced moments with “zero viewers” during prime time slots, indicating an audience count too low for detection by the official ratings agency, Barb.

Although there was a subsequent increase in viewership, reaching 2 million viewers by December 2023, TalkTV still lagged significantly behind its competitors including rival start up GB News.

That network, despite its own financial difficulties, maintained a lead over TalkTV with 2.87 million viewers, while Sky News and BBC News dominated the market with 8.5 million and 11.4 million viewers, respectively, according to reporting from The Guardian.

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Scott Taunton, president of broadcasting at TalkTV, underscored this transition in an email to staff, highlighting the rapid move of audiences of all ages towards online platforms, with smartphones emerging as the predominant device for news consumption.

Both TalkTV and its competitor GB News have faced regulatory scrutiny from Ofcom over complaints related to impartiality breaches by their presenters. These challenges underscore the complex regulatory and competitive environment in which contemporary news broadcasters operate.

After initially launching with studios at Timeline Television, TalkTV moved into purpose-built spaces in the headquarters of News UK in April 2023.