Talk TV: Rupert Murdoch's Network will be taken off the air and moved online

Rupert Murdoch's Talk TV network is set to stop broadcasting as a traditional TV channel in the summer and move online only.

The network launched in 2022 but has struggled to attract viewers on its linear platform.

In contrast, many videos from her performances do well on YouTube.

“Two years ago, we wouldn't have been brave enough to launch a channel without a linear presence,” Scott Taunton, head of broadcasting at Talk TV, said at a staff press conference.

“But audiences of all ages have moved quickly and smartphones are now the primary device through which news is consumed. We need to adapt to this as a priority.”

“We therefore intend for Talk to cease linear television from early summer and our focus will be on live broadcasting,” he added.

Taunton said the clips will continue to be shared across social media, while the company hopes to increase the number of viewers who watch the service via live broadcast on TVs.

He said that “there is no doubt” about the future of the channel, adding: “It will not be distributed on the line.”

Piers Morgan Uncensored currently has 2.4 million subscribers on YouTube, while the channel as a whole has 812,000 subscribers.

TalkTV is a project of News UK, publisher of The Times and The Sun, launched in 2022.

Last month, Morgan said his show would leave television to focus on the Uncensored YouTube channel, saying fixed daily TV schedules were becoming “increasingly unnecessary restrictions.”

Announcing the news, Taunton reassured staff that it was “business as usual” despite the changes, but added that there would be “restructuring”.

Over the next few months, the company plans to set up a new division, called News Studios, to produce bite-sized content for brands such as talkSPORT, The Sun, The Times, Sunday Times and Virgin Radio.

“Because we are proposing to create news studios and change Talk's priorities, we are proposing that there be a restructuring so that we can focus our resources and talent on the productions that we will create.”

At the briefing, Taunton also admitted: “Linear channel slots cost us millions annually and advertising revenues will not materially exceed the cost of being in those distribution slots.”

Murdoch hoped that the network would radically transform the broadcasting establishment by offering an opinion-based alternative to the BBC.

Its launch followed the launch of GB News the previous year.