Losses at Talk TV widened to £54 million in the year to July 2023, its latest accounts show, in signs of the difficult financial state the broadcaster found itself in before deciding to cease broadcasting on linear television.
The loss at the ‘Piers Morgan Uncensored’ and ‘Independent Republic of Mike Graham’ producer increased by nearly 60% or £20 million on the previous year, while turnover rose by £4.5 million to £5.6 million over the same period, in signs advertising revenue was unlikely to cover the costs of running the TV station.
By July Talk TV had racked up liabilities of £95 million owed to its parent company, News Corporation.
Last month, TalkTV announced it will be taken off air in the summer and move online, weeks after Piers Morgan left his daily show on the channel.
Morgan said he was leaving to focus on the Uncensored YouTube channel, saying that daily, fixed TV schedules have been “an increasingly unnecessary straitjacket”.
A statement from Scott Taunton, TalkTV’s president of broadcasting, said in a briefing to staff: “Two years ago, we would not have been brave enough to launch a channel without a linear presence, but audiences of all ages have moved fast and smartphones are now the primary device where news is consumed. We need to adapt to this as a priority.
“We are therefore intending that Talk comes off linear television from early summer and our focus will be on streaming.”
He added: “Talk will continue broadcasting as a live streaming news and opinion channel, distributing through streaming platforms to include YouTube, Amazon Fire, Samsung, LG and others.
“A large proportion of our live viewing is already through streaming on televisions and we intend to continue to grow this.”
Talk TV’s broadcasting rival GB News saw its losses balloon by nearly 40% last year as its owners continued to pour millions of pounds into the broadcaster.
But the company said that its audience figures had ballooned, especially online where page fields increased more than fivefold.
GB News said that its pre-tax loss had gone from £30.7 million in the year to the end of May 2022, to £42.4 million a year later.
Despite almost doubling, the company’s revenue was still considerably lower than its losses, reaching £6.7 million.
