Rupert Murdoch has drastically scaled backed plans for a new opinionated television service in the UK, after concluding that it is not financially viable to launch a fully fledged rolling news channel in the style of Fox News. Rebekah Brooks, the chief executive of his News UK company, told staff the enormous cost of getting a television news channel on air meant it did not make business sense to push ahead. She said the company would instead focus on reaching news audiences via shows on streaming platforms, adding: “While there is consumer demand for alternative news provision, the costs of running a rolling news channel are considerable, and it is our assessment that the payback for our shareholders wouldn’t be sufficient. We need to launch the right products for the digital age.” The News UK TV boss, David Rhodes, an American television news executive who moved to London last summer to run the project, will be leaving in June. He will be staying to advise the wider global Murdoch business on streaming news media, where he has repeatedly been tipped by insiders for promotion or a possible return to Fox News. Brooks’ declaration that it would not be possible to make a healthy profit from traditional television news will increase attention on the finances of the forthcoming Andrew Neil-fronted GB News channel. It has raised £60m from the likes of the US media company Discovery, Dubai investment company Legatum, and the Brexit-backing hedge fund boss Paul Marshall to secure slots on traditional television distribution platforms such as Freeview. GB News is building a new right-of-centre 24-hour television channel from scratch centred on presenter-led shows. It is hiring dozens of journalists and has signed up presenters such as Sky’s Colin Brazier, the BBC’s Simon McCoy and former ITV presenter Alastair Stewart to host programmes. Brooks said News UK would still invest in television-style content, with increasingly professional video output produced by its radio stations such as TalkRadio, where presenters have regularly gone viral with clips berating coronavirus lockdowns. The News UK radio boss, Scott Taunton, will take over responsibility for its television output. The decision also leaves a large number of established television producers who were hired by Rhodes asking questions about their future at the company if its focus switches to a handful of streaming shows. Studios had been built and rehearsals for some programmes were under way. Last year the intention was for News UK TV to launch with about five hours of output every night, including an early-evening politics show, a daily political debate programme and an evening news bulletin. Murdoch has increasingly looked towards charging people to watch opinionated TV news streaming services, launching the likes of Fox Nation in the US and Fox News International for global consumers. Brooks said News UK would still produce standalone shows, with the intention of making money via personalised adverts on smart televisions, adding: “We have already announced News To Me, an entertainment news show hosted by Gordon Smart, which will drop a new episode each weeknight, and will be viewable live or on-demand via streaming. Other shows are planned.”