GB News ‘Superfan’ Funding Proposals Could Bypass Awakened Boycott with Financial Boost | United Kingdom | New UK News

GB News appeared on the small screen last Sunday, but hours later left-wing Twitter users began to wonder why some well-known advertisers were using the channel. The new outlet – which has vowed to tackle the cancellation of cultivation and ‘wokery’ – quickly found big brands such as furniture giant Ikea, Kopparberg cider house, Specsavers and Octopus Energy, pulling out their channel advertisements. Piers Morgan, a renowned television presenter who was considering switching to GB News, was one of many to show his support for the channel amid the ongoing backlash and “awakened” wars.

Targeting the furniture store, he tweeted, “Oh shut up you pathetic virtue-signaling assholes. I boycott Ikea.

However, the dismantling of the channel’s financial backers has raised fears that Andrew Neil’s new platform is heading for disaster, especially after racking up £ 60million in start-up costs.

Financial worries were also behind the collapse of the TV channel proposed by media mogul Rupert Murdoch before it attempted to launch earlier this year.

As News UK CEO Rebekah Brooks noted: “We determined from the start of this review [of a new station] that it was not commercially viable to launch a traditional news channel on linear television.

“Although there is consumer demand for an alternative news offering, the costs of running a continuous news channel are considerable, and we believe that the return on investment for our shareholders would not be sufficient.

“We have to launch the right products for the digital age.”

His comments were interpreted as a subtle attack on GB News, who had been singled out as Mr Murdoch’s main contender before he retired from the race.

But, the new organization may have an alternative that would resolve concerns about its funding.

Insiders claimed there were new proposals revolving around new “superfans” for the “edgy” alternative channel, who might be interested in paying for a monthly subscription.

In return, they would get bonus content and access to featured presenters – executives hope this will then evolve into a burgeoning community of supporters who could access content stuck behind a digital payment wall.

Sources told newspaper i that GB News expected there to be around 135,000 “superfans” who would appreciate the challenger from both the BBC and Sky News.

READ MORE: GB News Cancels Culture Boycott – List of Advertisers Who Withdrawn

They are said to pay a monthly fee of £ 5, providing funds that GB News could count on in light of the recent publicity backlash.

The i said, “Viewers will be invited to continue the conversation via a subscription-funded streaming spin-off that will provide a forum for debate, live events and direct interaction with presenters.”

The outlet also hinted that GB News could partner with Discovery, which plans to launch its own on-demand streaming service for rival industry giants such as Netflix.

This supposed plan echoes Fox Nation, the derivative subscription service linked to the right-wing American cable channel Fox News, with which GB News has already drawn parallels.

Likewise, Fox News ‘superfans’ pay $ 5.99 (£ 4.28) per month for additional opinion pieces and documentaries.

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According to the i, GB News wants to create its own community by expressing the unfiltered opinions of those in the Red Wall towns of northern England and the Midlands, rather than responding to the so-called metropolitan elite.

This alternative could become the key to keeping the new business of free information afloat around the clock.

Indeed, even before the launch of GB News, the director of strategy of the media agency Wavemaker UK, Verra Budimlija, warned that it was dangerous to rely on advertisers for a project of this magnitude.

She told Campaign magazine: “When streaming news channels have seen huge audience growth, advertisers remain cautious about the emergence of content that could harm their brands.

“Advertisers will remain vigilant on the tone of the new station, wary of negative associations with the brand. “

Others have indicated that more unconventional TV advertisers could also bridge the gap, rather than just the big names in the house.

Anything Is Possible agency storyteller Rob Keery told Press Gazette the channel would appeal to “brands that wouldn’t normally see themselves as TV advertisers.”

He claimed he would be able to bring in different companies, especially as the cost of TV ads has come down in recent years and TV ad placements are now at their lowest price in two decades due to of the pandemic.

Mr Keery also pointed out that the Covid crisis saw television reach record viewing figures during the lockdown as the public sought reliable information on the virus.

He continued, “Compared to all the others [mediums] the confidence people have in a television commercial is exceptional and there is always a halo effect to appearing on a television channel.

“The perception of brand strength on a TV ad is far greater than that of social media, print media or any other.

“If you are on TV people think you are doing well and that has a tremendously beneficial effect on brands. “