TalkTV's 'off-air' notice got double the viewing figures of Piers Morgan show

More than 140,000 people were watching TalkTV when Kate McCann fainted while presenting the Tory leadership debate - meaning the off-air message got around double the usual amount of viewers for Piers Morgan’s nightly show.

After Liz Truss looked horrified and a loud crashing sound could be heard, the camera stopped recording the broadcast, and the screen cut to a message that read.

“We’re sorry for the disruption to this programme. We’re working hard to fix the issue and will return to normal programming soon.”

It later emerged that McCann had suddenly collapsed during the segment.

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Although she was feeling okay soon after, medical advisers said she should not return to her presenting obligations, and the debate between Truss and Rishi Sunak was called off.

An average of 141,000 people tuned in to the broadcast - double Morgan's usual figures for the slot. A peak of 183,000 viewers watched the broadcast.

However, despite Tuesday’s jump in viewership, TalkTV was outperformed by BBC News, Sky News, and GB News, according to the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board (BARB) data.

The Tory debate was held in Morgan’s Ealing studio.

The gig ended up with Harry Cole and McCann, but Cole tested positive for Covid-19 on the day, leaving her by herself.

Since TalkTV’s launch earlier this year, Rupert Murdoch’s new TalkTV channel has experienced challenges.

Viewing figures fell 80 per cent for Morgan’s nightly show, Uncensored, and the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board (Barb) recorded zero viewers during some primetime broadcasts.

Averaging around 62,000 viewers for the show a night – after beginning with 317,000 views – has reportedly caused the channel to consider switching his schedule around.

Elsewhere, Morgan has said that linear TV views don’t matter in the digital space.

“Linear TV increasingly irrelevant to total eyeball potential for a global show like this, especially with younger viewers who don’t really watch TV any more,” he tweeted.

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