Reform UK plans to relaunch and expand its YouTube channel after receiving £72m from crypto donors, seeking to reach audiences who prefer direct digital access to political leaders. The move could create a new rival to GB News and prompts speculation that Nigel Farage might defect to a party-owned platform. GB News faces commercial and regulatory headwinds—including £131m in cumulative losses, Ofcom censure and a £100,000 fine—while government plans to promote 'trusted' news on social apps add another layer of uncertainty. The story highlights a shifting media landscape where platforms, personalities and regulation will determine where viewers go next.
Reform UK Eyes YouTube Push — Could Farage Split the Right and Weaken GB News?
Nigel Farage outside GB News headquarters at Millbank, Westminster - Carlos Jasso/AFP via Getty Images
Reform UK is preparing a major expansion of its online media operation, relaunching its YouTube channel and investing in studio space at Millbank after receiving a reported £72m in donations from two crypto backers. The move could create a new competitor for GB News and raises questions about whether Nigel Farage, a high-profile GB News presenter and shareholder, might shift to a party-owned platform.
What Reform Plans to Do
Party officials say the cash will be used to boost media capacity, including new studios at Reform's Millbank headquarters. The plan to take Farage further into digital publishing predates the recent donations: strategists were already exploring moving his output to YouTube amid concerns about a serving prime minister hosting a mainstream TV programme.
Why YouTube?
Reform’s push reflects changing audience habits: many viewers increasingly prefer to access political content directly on digital platforms. Reform's YouTube channel currently has just under 150,000 subscribers. It is not yet clear whether the party will run a continuous 24/7 broadcast-style channel, a rolling highlights channel, or a mix of live and on-demand programming.
What It Means for GB News
GB News sees a potential challenge. Farage has earned substantial fees from the channel and also holds shares in it; his departure would be a significant talent loss even though GB News executives say audiences are now broader and not wholly dependent on one personality.
'GB News has essentially become Reform TV,' wrote Alan Rusbridger, the former Guardian editor, earlier this year in The New World magazine, accusing the channel of repeated breaches of broadcasting rules and criticising Ofcom for inaction.
'Is [Reform TV] a material threat to a channel which is doing its best to provide a proper rounded news service for quite a few hours of the day? It depends where Farage chooses to end up,' said Stewart Purvis, the former head of ITN.
GB News insiders stress that viewing figures remain strong whether Farage appears or not, and that the channel has diversified its roster of presenters. Still, losing a marquee host would be a major blow to any broadcaster’s profile and commercial prospects.
GB News was fined over GB News People's Forum, a programme hosted by then Tory prime minister Rishi Sunak - Matt Power/GB News
Regulatory, Commercial and Financial Pressure
GB News has faced sustained scrutiny since its launch five years ago. The channel has lost advertisers after boycott campaigns, been censured by Ofcom for broadcasting conspiracy theories, and is under investigation over a guest's comments that linked Pride to paedophilia and bestiality. Ofcom previously fined GB News £100,000 over a 2024 programme featuring Rishi Sunak as host.
More pressure could come from the appointment of Sir Ian Cheshire as Ofcom chair; he has signalled a tougher focus on impartiality and on the use of politicians as presenters. GB News executives are also watching wider industry moves, including Sky's planned takeover of ITV's broadcasting arm, which could affect advertising markets and media plurality.
Commercially, the channel has reported cumulative losses in excess of £131m and cut up to a third of its workforce as it seeks to reduce costs. Backers such as Paul Marshall and investment firm Legatum have continued to finance the venture, but the scale of past losses raises questions about long-term sustainability.
The Wider Stakes: Platform Rules and Visibility
The government's proposal to require platforms to give prominence to material from 'trusted' news providers could reshape how audiences discover news on apps like YouTube, Facebook and X. Ministers have not yet clarified the criteria for 'trusted' status, prompting concerns about politicisation and the risk GB News could be excluded from prominence measures that drive reach online.
Taken together, Reform's online push and the regulatory debate highlight a broader shift in the UK media landscape: a migration of political audiences toward unregulated or platform-governed spaces, and renewed scrutiny of how regulated broadcasters balance opinion, politics and impartiality.
Conclusion: Reform's YouTube expansion is a strategic bet on direct digital engagement that could splinter Right-leaning viewers and alter GB News’s audience dynamics. The outcome will depend on programming choices, where key personalities like Nigel Farage land, and how regulators and platforms respond.
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