GB News is claiming a major victory in the UK broadcasting landscape, announcing it has officially become Britain’s most-watched news channel across key time slots in July, according to the network’s interpretation of industry ratings.
In a statement released on Sunday, GB News said it outperformed both BBC News Channel and Sky News throughout July, including during breakfast, weekday prime-time, and the Sunday morning political slot—marking what it describes as a “historic milestone” in British television.
The channel, which launched in 2021 and brands itself as “The People’s Channel,” says the figures from audience measurement agency BARB show it averaged 80,610 viewers per day across all hours between 6am and 2am. That compares with 78,650 for BBC News Channel and 67,000 for Sky News.
“This is a seismic moment, not just for us, but for British broadcasting,” said GB News Head of Programming Ben Briscoe. “We are ending the dominance of the BBC News Channel and Sky News.”
GB News highlighted several time slots where it says it led the ratings:
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Breakfast (6am–9.30am): GB News averaged 98,910 viewers, compared to Sky News on 71,560 and BBC News Channel on 41,250.
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Weekday prime-time (6pm–11pm): GB News reported an average of 102,690 viewers, ahead of BBC News Channel’s 91,790 and Sky News’ 75,500.
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Sunday morning political slot (9.30am–11am): The Camilla Tominey Show drew 123,900 viewers on GB News, ahead of the BBC’s 102,780 and Sky’s 78,980, according to the network’s data.
The network says this is the first time in its four-year history that it has overtaken BBC News Channel for an entire month.
Editorial Director Mick Booker described the result as validation of the channel’s approach: “GB News is winning because it is different, and because we place the community at the heart of everything we do.”
The channel also teased new programming to expand its reach further, including a show broadcasting from Washington D.C. launching in September.
GB News has positioned itself as a challenger to what it sees as the traditional news establishment. Since its launch, it has expanded into national radio and says its website has become the fastest-growing news platform in the United States.
While the channel’s interpretation of BARB’s publicly available data shows it ahead in average viewer numbers in some time slots, audience share remains fragmented, and overall news consumption habits across digital and linear platforms continue to shift rapidly.
