Andrew Neil is leaving the BBC to join forces with a news rival channel that has been backed by the US group Discovery aiming to bring talk-radio spirit to UK viewers.
Launching in early 2021 and with Andrew now firmly under GB News’ belt, they’ll be hoping to upstage the BBC on British current-affairs, after stepping away from the channel.
Andrew who was the leading political presenter for the broadcasting giant said: “GB News is the most exciting thing to happen in British television news for more than 20 years.
“We will champion robust, balanced debate and a range of perspectives on the issues that affect everyone in the UK, not just those living in the London area.”
Andrew Neil will join new BBC rival channel that is set to launch in 2021 (Image: BBC)
GB News has received the injection booster needed with the joining of Andrew.
However, the up and coming news station still has a lot of work to do in order to raise $55million to $65million in order to fund the channel, the FT reported.
Discovery, has helped and have now been confirmed as leading investor, reportedly coughing up almost a quarter of the funding target.
The new broadcast channel will be available via Freeview, Sky and Virgin Media in the majority of households.
With Andrew now firmed up to take on the political role GB News edge one step closer to getting the station off of the ground (Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Acting as another news outlet, they will be battling it out for a piece of the UK advertising spend on TV, which proved to be a tricky field even before the pandemic.
Andrew, who boasts a wealth of experience and was formerly the founding chairman of Rupert Murdoch’s Sky TV in 1988, will provide the expertise to hopefully aid with getting the project off of the ground.
The Scottish-born journalist and broadcaster has over three decades of expertise to bring to the table.
His career really began to take shape after he was hired as the editor of The Sunday Times back in 1983.
Since then, he has presented live political programmes, Politics Live and The Andrew Neil Show on BBC Two.
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