Piers Morgan began life as a full-time YouTuber today by saying an emotional goodbye to shut-down TalkTV.
The plug is about to be pulled on the terrestrial TV channel after News UK owner Rupert Murdoch hauled it off air just two years after it was launched. The move comes after Piers quit and moved his Uncensored show to the online streaming platform permanently.
Piers paid tribute to the closed down channel and his colleagues on X, writing: "Saying a sad goodbye to some top production staff from the now demised @TalkTV.. they’ve all been brilliant, so professional & loyal. But I’d especially like to thank @timcarrfm @chloeoakes1 & Ingrid Jasper for being absolute rock stars. Great at their jobs, & great people too."
The channel made headlines when Piers made a £1,000 bet with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak when pushed on being able to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda before the next election., a move which was described as 'tone deaf'. He also convinced 'TikTok terror' Mizzy to appear - a real ratings winner for bosses.
But falling figures meant News UK announced the end of the TalkTV channel earlier this year. President of broadcasting Scott Taunton, revealed plans to move the channel online. He reportedly told staff in a briefing: "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.
"We are therefore intending that Talk comes off linear television from early summer and our focus will be on streaming. Talk will continue broadcasting as a livestreaming news and opinion channel, distributing through streaming platforms to include YouTube, Amazon Fire, Samsung, LG and others," as reported by The Guardian.
“A large proportion of our live viewing is already through streaming on televisions and we intend to continue to grow this. Clips will continue to be shared through social media. There is no doubt over Talk’s future as an audio and video channel, it just won’t be distributed on linear. Radio on DAB continues unchanged too," the briefing added.
Piers announced his move away from TalkTV, after being at the forefront of the channel's inception two years, last month. He likened a fixed scheduled TV show to being "an increasingly unnecessary straightjacket" as he announced the news to fans.
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