Even if GB News and UK News attract a small audience, they can still wield influence. Fox News, which being one of the most watched cable news networks in the U.S. still only reaches 3.78 million primetime viewers, is a textbook example of how opinionated news channels can have a significant intermedia effect, setting the agenda of mainstream network news as well as its cable TV rivals.
Despite concerns both companies will not comply with impartiality rules, Ofcom has already granted GB News and News UK TV broadcast licenses, and Neil has said that the channel will be “committed to impartial journalism.” While News UK TV will also have to remain impartial, Murdoch’s influence on Fox News in America and newspapers in the U.K., U.S., and Australia has long revealed a preference for partisan reporting.