“TalkTV”, the upcoming news, current affairs and entertainment channel, is set to launch in the UK on April 25, 2022.
At launch, the channel will be free-to-watch on Freeview, Freesat, the pay-TV platforms (such as Sky and Virgin Media), and on the leading streaming devices, with a TalkTV app.
The channel will feature several prominent news and entertainment figures, headlined by the sometimes-controversial Piers Morgan, former presenter of Good Morning Britain on ITV.
Unlike early plans and speculations from last year, the channel will not be a 24/7 news channel, but will instead feature entertainment programmes, magazines, documentaries and sports – along with news bulletins.
talkTV will be built around programmes with talent from News UK’s other properties – talkRADIO, talkSPORT, Virgin Radio, Times Radio, The Sun, The Times and The Sunday Times.
News UK has invested in new TV studios in its HQ in the News Building in London Bridge, where live news bulletins are already filmed (and streamed) for talkRadio. TalkTV will also use state-of-the-art studio facilities in Ealing.
Once TalkTV launches, its schedule will be intermixed with that of talkRadio – TalkTV’s primetime schedule will be simulcast on TalkRadio, and TalkRadio’s roster of daytime talent, including Julia Hartley-Brewer, Mike Graham, Ian Collins and Jeremy Kyle, will be broadcast on TalkTV.
Scott Taunton, EVP, President of Broadcasting, News UK said:
“TalkTV will be a new voice for viewers who are interested in straight-talking opinions and expert insight on news and current affairs.
“The channel has been designed for the streaming age and will be accessible on linear TV as well as via social and on-demand programming”.
What Can I Watch on TalkTV?
Two of the shows announced so far, ahead of TalkTV’s April launch, are:
Piers Morgan Uncensored
The show, which will headline the channel’s opening night, will be “a fearless forum for lively, intelligent debate and agenda-setting interviews, celebrating free speech and the right for people to share their views”.
In a global first, the new sixty-minute daily show will be broadcast on weeknights in the UK on TalkTV, streamed on FOX Nation in the US and aired in Australia on Sky News Australia.
BREAKING: I’ve gone home. Great to be rejoining Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation after 28 years. The place I started my media career, with the boss who gave me my first big break. We’re going to have a lot of fun…. pic.twitter.com/g6xBWvgXzd
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) September 16, 2021
In addition to his new show, it was previously reported that Piers will also present a series of True Crime documentaries on the channel.
Tom Newton Dunn’s Current Affairs Programme
Award-winning political journalist Tom Newton Dunn will present a major weeknight news and current affairs programme on the channel.
The lively, hour-long primetime show “will give viewers the news that matters to them in a straight and balanced way.
“News UK’s world-beating stable of specialist journalists from print and broadcast will join Tom every night to share the very latest in their fields.”
Where Can I Watch TalkTV?
The channel will be available on Freeview, YouView, Freesat, Sky, Virgin Media and other pay-TV set-top boxes that support Freeview, like those from BT TV and TalkTalk.
The channel numbers are: Freeview (Channel 237), Freesat (Channel 217), Sky TV (Channel 526) and Virgin Media (Channel 627).
On Freeview, the channel will only be available in SD (Standard Definition), while on Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media it will be available in HD (High Definition).
TalkTV will also be streamed live via Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Samsung TV Plus and YouTube, as well as via the Talk.TV website and TalkTV iOS and Android apps.
Update: TalkTV announced that it won’t be available to Sky’s streaming TV, Sky Glass, at launch, but only in “the coming months”.
TalkTV will also be available via Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Twitter.
Dedicated apps for other streaming devices – such as Roku and Google TV – haven’t been announced yet, but there’s a good chance those will be added following the launch.
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(Featured Image: TalkTV / Deposit Photos – Jean Nelson)