Story from The Telegraph:When Richard Wallace, the head of Rupert Murdoch’s TalkTV, issued a call to arms to staff at the fledgling news channel over the weekend, he did not mince his words.“Let’s make a fuss of immigrant deaths in France,” he said in an internal email leaked to Byline Times, adding that employees should “get angry” about a story suggesting the leaders of a jihadi terror cell could be released from prison within weeks.For Wallace, a former Daily Mirror editor who was drafted in to lead TalkTV, the revelations are embarrassing. More broadly, though, they highlight a crisis at the channel, which has failed to capitalise on growing demand for opinionated news programming.Despite an overhaul of its schedule late last year, TalkTV is still suffering from lacklustre ratings, while its hefty losses are eating into the bottom line at parent company News UK.Now, as Piers Morgan’s contract comes up for renewal, and as Lachlan takes over the reins of his father’s media empire, the venture is at a crossroads. Is this the end of Murdoch’s British TV dream, or does the 92-year-old tycoon have one more move left in him?TalkTV launched in 2022 as Murdoch sought to take on traditional broadcasters such as the BBC and replicate the success of his controversial US network Fox News.Yet from the outset, the channel has struggled to get a foothold in an increasingly crowded market for opinionated programming. Murdoch’s venture launched months after GB News, which occupied a similar segment of the market and has dominated attention.TalkTV’s viewing figures have lagged well behind those of rivals, with some parts of the schedules registering no audiences at all. The station has been hit by the departure of high-profile presenters including Tom Newton Dunn and Kate McCann, as well as a number of editors and producers.These troubles sparked speculation last year that Murdoch could pull the plug. Ultimately, the mogul settled for a schedule revamp, which put Julia Hartley-Brewer, Mike Graham and Jeremy Kyle into prime slots. Yet this has failed to revive interest.Figures from ratings body Barb, seen by The Telegraph, show TalkTV’s audience averaged just 11,100 on Monday. That compares to more than 58,000 for GB News, 62,500 for Sky News and 76,000 for BBC News.“Rupert Murdoch will not be content with its current underperformance,” says media analyst Alex DeGroote, who adds that the benefits of using Murdoch’s newspapers, such as The Times and The Sun, to feed the channel have yet to materialise.One former Murdoch executive puts it more bluntly: “It’s been a complete failure. The weird thing about it is that Piers Morgan is a very popular broadcaster indeed, but for whatever reason the proposition has failed. It’s gone on too long. It’s embarrassing. It’s failing.”Wallace’s email suggests TalkTV may now be pursuing a shock factor strategy to draw in audiences.Earlier this month, Julia Hartley-Brewer attracted 15,000 Ofcom complaints following a heated exchange with a Palestinian MP. (Even here TalkTV is in GB News’s shadow – there are more open Ofcom investigations into GB News than TalkTV.)With the schedule revamp falling flat, Murdoch is likely to be considering more drastic action. TalkTV racked up losses of £34m in its first three months on air as the company generated significant startup costs and splashed out on new studios at its London Bridge headquarters.While TalkTV has avoided the ad boycott levelled at GB News, profitability is still looking elusive.DeGroote plays down financial concerns, saying TalkTV is “just a small rounding error” in the context of News Corp’s wider business. The station is drawing on a £20m overdraft facility guaranteed by its parent company.But with Murdoch facing high costs elsewhere, including £623.1m to settle a lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems over false vote-rigging claims aired on Fox News, he cannot keep losing money indefinitely.“News Corp is actually in rude health, so TalkTV can wallow in obscurity,” says DeGroote. “However, there needs to be a path to profit, or break even, or shareholders will question the rationale.”Complicating matters was the coronation of eldest son Lachlan as Murdoch’s successor in September. While Rupert ultimately still holds the power, his son is likely to be fine-tuning his own vision for the empire.Unlike his siblings James and Elizabeth, Lachlan has not lived in Britain and is thought to have less interest in the market.“Lachlan does not have an affinity with the UK,” says the former executive. “He’s very focused on the States and Australia and he may go: ‘Why are we paying vast sums of money for something that’s not working?’”Cost considerations will be front of mind as Piers Morgan’s contract, worth £50m for his work across various News UK outlets over three years, comes up for renewal in the coming months. 24-Morgan is by far the biggest star on TalkTV, and has landed major interviews with figures including Donald Trump, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kanye West.These set-piece events have helped to draw audiences, but average viewing numbers are much lower.Monday night’s edition of Piers Morgan Uncensored, which featured an interview with the father of a young Israeli girl kidnapped by Hamas, attracted just over 27,000 viewers, a lower turnout than the channel’s breakfast show.This has sparked speculation among some in the industry that TalkTV could cut ties with Morgan to reduce costs.The presenter himself has admitted frustrations with low ratings and could instead go his own way. With 2.3 million YouTube subscribers, Morgan’s programme has an online following more than three times larger than that of TalkTV itself.But a parting of ways with Morgan would raise questions about the channel’s continued viability.Enders Analysis wrote in a note: “Despite recent reports that News UK wants to make TalkTV less reliant on Piers Morgan, its viewing is noticeably more concentrated around its star man and peak hours than GB News’.”Morgan and News UK declined to comment on his contract.There are now signs that Murdoch is turning his attention elsewhere. Rebekah Brooks, chief executive of News UK, has recently been in talks with GB News about a possible deal.It is believed to be the third such approach to the rival channel, which is owned by Paul Marshall and Dubai-based investment firm Legatum, all of which have so far been rebuffed. GB News is currently in talks to raise around £30m of fresh funding.In a more radical move, The Telegraph has learnt that Murdoch is mulling a swoop to buy back Sky News from Comcast, six years after he sold it to the US media group.Comcast has drastically written down the value of Sky and is obliged to keep funding the news channel until 2028, so may be keen to offload it. However, there is no sign that Comcast is a willing seller.Murdoch would also likely face significant regulatory hurdles if he attempted such a move.A spokesman denied News UK was exploring a bid. 38-Ultimately, though, the fate of News UK’s TV ambitions may come down to who is calling the shots – Murdoch or his son. While Lachlan will look dispassionately at TalkTV, his 92-year-old father may have other ideas. 39-“Rupert is very old fashioned and he loves the idea of having a TV channel,” says the former executive. “TV channels are incredibly expensive, both to set up and then to run. They’re not the future, they’re the past. They’re a 20th century invention.”
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