Andrew Neil resigns as chairman of GB News three months after the network’s launch

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Neil, a former BBC journalist with more than four decades of experience, will also leave his prime time program, although he will continue to make appearances on the channel as a guest commentator.

“I am sorry to go, but I have concluded that it is time to reduce my commitments on several fronts,” Neil said in a statement. “I would like GB News to continue to fulfill its founding promise and mission to reach the public that is not currently served by existing news broadcasters.”

Neil’s decision is a major blow to the network, which was launched in June with the promise of shaking Britain’s television landscape with more opinion-based coverage.

“GB News will not be another echo chamber for the metropolitan mentality that already dominates much of our media,” Neil said in his welcome monologue on June 13th.
A GB News presenter takes a break, just two weeks after the channel’s debut
But at first, the network was besieged by technical difficulties and has since struggled to generate publicity. Neil said goodbye to his eight-night program, which was supposed to air four nights a week, after only two weeks.

According to data from the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board, the network attracted 975,000 viewers the week ending September 5, compared to 6.6 million viewers for BBC News and 4.3 million for Sky News.

GB News secured initial funding of £ 60 million ($ 83 million) from investors, including Discovery, which agreed to a merger with WarnerMedia, CNN’s parent company, and hedge fund title Paul Marshall.

Neil had set out big plans for the network, predicting that he would make money in the third or fourth year and then expand to other national markets in Spain or Eastern Europe.

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