GB News overtakes Sky News viewing figures | Guardian journalists on strike
And we have our latest top-50 audience rankings for US and global news sites
Welcome to your daily newsletter from Press Gazette on Wednesday 4 December 2024, brought to you today in association with Glide Publishing Platform, who provide a specialist headless CMS and customer data platform for publishers and media organisations.
GB News has celebrated a major milestone, overtaking Sky News on live TV viewing for the first time across an entire month.
The right-leaning channel has a fraction of the budget of Sky. It doesn't have the same expensive network of correspondents and bureaux or anything like the reputation for investigations and news breaking.
But it has found a new audience who felt underserved by the existing media.
The challenge for both broadcasters is how they make a profit. GB News has lost more than £76m since it launched in 2021. The losses for Sky News are not known, but owner Comcast is only committed to maintaining financial support of the channel at former levels for another four years.
It is worth noting that actual TV viewing is only part of the audience picture for both channels and GB News is claiming victory using just one metric.
Around 500 Guardian and Observer journalists began the first of two 48-hour strikes today in protest at the planned sale of The Observer to Tortoise Media.
We will have more updates from the picket line on Press Gazette today.
Our top 50 US websites ranking shows most sites growing year on year in October (which is not surprising given the boost to traffic many will have seen from election coverage). But UK tabloids appear to be having a tough time in the US: the Daily Mail fell 23% year on year, and The Sun and Mirror do not feature in the top 50 at all.
Our global top-50 ranking offers a more mixed picture with most sites at the top of the table falling year on year. Newsweek is still the fastest growing top-50 site (read our recent interview with the brand's SVP of audience development here to find out how they are doing it).
And we mark the International Day of Disabled People with a piece from Claire Harris of the BBC explaining how employers can remove barriers to entry into journalism.
It is worth remembering that these barriers aren't always physical and that disabled people, including those who fall into the category of neurodivergence, offer a huge amount to publishers by bringing different voices and perspectives into the media.
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On Press Gazette
Guardian strike: Scott Trust offers new assurances but presses on with Observer sale
Hours before Guardian journalists started a 48-hour strike at midnight, Scott Trust chair Ole Jacob Sunde offered new promises over the future of The Observer.
GB News live TV audience overtook Sky News in November
GB News overtook Sky News for live TV viewing across one month for the first time in November, according to data from broadcast audience body BARB.
Top 50 news websites in the US: Most newsbrands returned to growth in October ahead of election
Most of the top newsbrands in the US saw web traffic growth in October following two months of declines.
Top 50 news websites in the world: Traffic bounces back from September lull
New York Times was fastest-growing top ten global news site in September.
Comment: Barriers still exist for disabled people in journalism
“If a disabled person finds it difficult to get a job in journalism because the hiring manager thinks they won’t be able to do the job as well as a non-disabled person, what is disabling us?”
News in brief
Forbes staff walked out for a 24-hour work stoppage on the magazine's "biggest day of the year", the 30 Under 30 launch, in protest at stalled bargaining talks and the company allegedly "paying some of the lowest salaries in news journalism". (Press Gazette on X)
Ofcom is consulting on proposed revisions to how it investigates broadcast licence breaches. The changes would introduce a time limit for lodging complaints and would mean complainants are no longer informed directly about the outcome of an assessment. (Ofcom)
Spanish-language US media giant Televisa Univision, which runs Hispanic broadcaster Univision, is preparing to lay off a “mid to high single digit percentage” staff. (Press Gazette)
Also on Press Gazette:
Who’s suing AI and who’s signing: Major Canadian news outlets sue OpenAI over copyright
Ofcom: BBC now part of ‘headwinds’ facing local news publishers
Reach editorial boss: BBC should work with us, not against us
Reporter launches funding campaign to bring local news back to Chelsea
Lord Kinnock joins chorus of concern for future of The Observer
Latest podcast
Podcast 79: How Bluesky became News-sky, Google Discover, US election lessons
Press Gazette editor-in-chief Dominic Ponsford talks about the benefits of Bluesky for publishers with the zeal of a new convert, reporter Bron Maher explains how publishers are getting new traffic from Google via Discover and Charlotte Tobitt reveals the biggest lessons for the news industry from the US presidential election.