Farage’s masterplan for Reform TV – and how it could backfire

Reform UK is aiming to spend a significant chunk of its recent £72m windfall from two billionaire donors by turning its YouTube channel into a media empire to bypass traditional broadcasters who are bound by Ofcom regulation. Officials have said that “Reform TV” will have a budget of £10m to establish itself, while The i Paper reported last month that an estimated 25 new hires will probably be a mix of GB News alumni and recent graduates. Party leader Nigel Farage, deputy leader Richard Tice and chairman Lee Anderson all currently present shows on GB News. But despite the big names and talent, the channel lost £30m in its first year and has racked up £131m in total losses. GB News, which has paid Farage £700,000 in presenting fees since 2024, made a third of its production staff redundant this year, with one insider telling The i Paper: “People are priming their CVs for Reform UK TV.” While GB News has made over £100m in losses, Reform received £72m in September alone from the cryptocurrency billionaires Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne, the latter a longtime Reform UK and Brexit Party donor who lives in Thailand. Both men have sworn the party can do what it likes with the money, and half is set to cover costs for the party’s Westminster headquarters until the next general election in 2029. ‘Shaping Reform UK TV into a distinctive media platform’ At the start of October, Reform UK put out job adverts for 12 roles across video and social media production, website and senior leadership.The job description for an executive editor role makes clear Reform UK’s ambitions for lifting their YouTube channel – currently at 150k subscribers – into a significant media platform with a “high-quality, high-output media operation capable of delivering at national scale in the build-up to the next general election and beyond”. The new hire “will lead across broadcast, video, website, news and social, ensuring they operate as one coherent editorial operation”. The executive editor role will also develop “repeatable formats, including interviews, debates, panel shows, documentaries and personality-led programming”, the advert states, while building a “results-based culture”. “This is an opportunity to build a significant new media operation inside a national political party at a decisive point in its development,” the advertisement concludes. Unease in GB News over Reform UK TV bid Amid the news of the Reform TV push, one GB News insider said staff are already preparing to join Farage’s party. “They’ve just cut a third of the production staff here, so people are priming their CVs for Reform UK TV,” the insider told The i Paper. GB News could provide a ready-made talent pool of journalists and producers for Reform, the insider suggested, but there are also fears on-screen talent could follow. “It looks like they are using GB News as a template for what they are doing; it’s the obvious place to hire from. The fear here is that Farage and the leading on-screen talent will follow too. “Reform TV appeals to people who are politically motivated towards Reform. But there are other people at GB News who see themselves as professional journalists and won’t want to go to work for a propaganda channel.” However, one former presenter questioned how successful Reform would be despite its strong funding. “Reform has money and ambition, but they will see how hard it actually is to set up a TV station from scratch. GB News lost £30m in its first year and the first weeks were still a car crash. Now it has a loyal audience; they like debate, not one-way propaganda. Labour ministers regularly come on GB News now,” the former presenter said. “If Farage switched, it would be a blow, but GB News isn’t just Farage; they know he won’t be on air as much as it gets nearer to an election. The channel still outperforms the BBC News channel and Sky News when he is not on air. “Unlike Reform TV on YouTube, GB News has to follow Ofcom impartiality rules and spends a lot of time and money doing that despite people thinking it’s already ‘Reform TV’.” There are fears GB News talent could make the switch to Reform as the party boosts its online TV channel (Photo: Reuters/Isabel Infantes) The former broadcaster also doubted whether Reform’s pursuit for top-quality documentaries could replicate those of Channel 4 or the BBC. “Will Reform TV seriously be able to produce quality documentaries? Will they get revenge on the mainstream media by running sting operations on Channel 4 and ITV executives? “It looks like the Conservatives are back and Reform is deflating anyway. That might be a fatal problem for Farage TV. It’s supposed to be a mouthpiece for a Reform government. But GB News can still be influential as it reflects right-of-centre viewers across the spectrum; it doesn’t have to just cheerlead for Reform.” Although the Tories have seen a recent uptick in the polls due to Kemi Badenoch, Reform has consistently been one of the major parties. In YouGov’s voting tracker, Reform led both Labour and the Conservatives from May 2025 until July this year, at one point amassing a 12 per cent lead ahead of Labour this year. While dropping into third more recently, Reform still tracks at 22 per cent, just one per cent behind the Tories and only five below Labour. Picking YouTube Barb and Ipsos figures suggest that over half of all UK YouTube viewing now takes place on TV sets rather than mobile phones and laptops. YouTube is regarded as a video-sharing platform, rather than a channel and therefore is not regulated like a regular on-demand service or network. Regular channels and on-demand services are treated under the Media Act 2024, which imposes broadcasting standards around accuracy and impartiality. Platforms such as YouTube come under the Online Safety Act 2023, which focuses on risk mitigation rather than impartiality. In effect, a “Reform TV” channel would also allow Farage and other party candidates to sidestep Ofcom rules requiring them to step away from presenting shows on GB News when a general election is called. A recent international study found that allowing UK politicians to present news or current affairs shows is extremely unusual in Europe. Out of 37 European nations studied, 35 had no recent examples of serving politicians doing so. Only Iceland and Malta permitted it – the former with a population of around 400,000 people.The study, conducted by Dr James Painter of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism for the Demos think-tank, found that eight countries, France among them, have gone so far as to ban politicians from presenting such programmes. When approached for comment by The i Paper, Ofcom said it was a post-transmission regulator and could not get involved before a programme had aired. Facing allegations Last month, Reform UK refused access to its annual conference to journalists critical of the party, including The i Paper columnist Michael Crick, The Guardian’s City editor, Anna Isaac, and investigative journalist Peter Geoghegan. Fernando Casal Bertoa, associate politics professor at the ​University of Nottingham, told Reuters that UK politics was moving closer to ⁠a US-style funding model. “If you give large sums to a party, do you really think they won’t give you favours or help you?” he added. “It is never for free.” This also comes after the party has been the subject of several undercover stings regarding its finances, in particular the £5m gift from Harborne, and racist and sexist remarks made by party activists and councillors. Although the party has rejected any claims of wrongdoing, Farage could face a second by-election in his Clacton seat over the donation from Harborne. In one clip, Sarah Pochin, MP for Runcorn and Helsby, described Reform as “so f**king chauvinistic”, telling an undercover reporter: “I go out on all the shows, and go: ‘Oh no, it’s lovely, oh they’re all so welcoming.’ Shit… they just exclude you if you’re a woman… It’s really tough being a girl with all of this alpha male shit going on.” Reform said there was “no room for racism” in its ranks, and is tightening its vetting policy while also suspending activists found guilty of wrongdoing.