The message seemed clear: TalkTV was Piers TV.
Morgan vision made real.
Nobodys pretending mistakes havent been made, an insider reflects.
TalkTV’s launch campaign
Wallace told Brooks that he would have marketed and scheduled the channel differently at launch.
Its not just some tinpot thing thats been set up overnight, says a source familiar with his thinking.
Morgan, perhaps unsurprisingly, has a slightly different perspective on TalkTVs opening year.
Weve helped put TalkTV on the map, Morgan tells Deadline with his trademark zeal for modesty.
Getting to this point has not been cheap.
The new studios are a signal to the audience that coherence is coming.
TalkTV is an evolution of TalkRadio, meaning that the majority of its schedule is visualized audio.
As with the primetime schedule, a source says the winds of change are blowing for daytime output.
Wallace has done away with terrible 1930s-style microphones and is tweaking lighting, sets, and chyrons.
Change happens in a weird way in this place, says a presenter.
Its very quick and very slow.
There is a feeling among staff that costs are being gripped with a tighter fist.
Sources say Wallace has pulled resources out of on-the-ground reporting, while evening news bulletins have been axed.
One source even jokes that cans of Diet Coke disappeared from the green room.
I genuinely believe we have beaten every other news and TV show in the world, he says.
He is chairing morning conferences and dictating the days agenda.
Consistency in story selections has become more important and he talks of having one voice on the big calls.
There are opportunities for opinion-led news outlets in this country, he says.
He tells colleagues that he wants to appeal to the commonsense crowd.
One of the great things about this country is that there is a degree of tolerance, he says.
Thats not to say this sort of talking point is banished.
Morgan sternly threatened legal action, but never intended to follow through.
I just wanted to see his face.
He crapped himself, he laughs.
Morgan says hes quietly confident about the direction of travel at TalkTV.
Morgan was ratings obsessed atGood Morning Britain, regularly jousting with hisBBC Breakfastrivals about overnight ratings on Twitter.
He is noticeably quieter aboutUncensoredsperformance unless the show has a stand-out night.
He also monitorsUncensoredsimpact on Fox Nation, which displays whats trending without disclosing hard numbers.
Theyre cock-a-hoop, says a source familiar with Fox Nations thinking.
Theyve repeatedly made the point: its a marathon, not a sprint.
GB News Wars: Winner Takes It All?
As outsider upstarts with free speech agendas, the channels have common ground at first glance.
Morgan, unusually, is on the fence.
Is there room for both?
Maybe, he says.
Another TalkTV source puts it rather more succinctly.
Well win, exclaims the executive.
Few would bet against Murdoch getting what he wants.
