TalkTV will be taken off linear TV in the summer and move to online only, parent News UK has announced.
In February, Piers Morgan announced he was leaving his TV show on TalkTV to focus on his YouTube channel.
Scott Taunton, executive vice-president and president of broadcasting at News UK, told staff in an email: “It is obvious to all of us that, for the majority of people, news consumption is shifting online. 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.
“While linear TV has been a good marketing and awareness window for Talk, we now need to focus our investment on where the eyeballs are and where the revenues are in growth.
“Linear channel slots cost us millions a year and the advertising revenues are never going to materially exceed the cost of being in these distribution slots, while data-led digital advertising and CTV [connected TV] is in growth.”
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Taunton added that the channel will move to streaming on online platforms including YouTube and Amazon Fire, while its radio output is unaffected.
Furthermore, News UK is establishing a new division, News Studios, to create video content for all of News UK’s brands, including TalkTV.
As part of the changes, there will be a restructure process, although Taunton did not specify how many jobs will be affected.
TalkTV launched in April 2022.
