Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has reportedly failed with two bids to buy GB News in recent months.

The 92-year-old - former owner of Sky News - returned to the UK TV broadcasting scene last year when he launched TalkTV, a video-enhanced version of talkRADIO, with Piers Morgan as the star presenter.

The station has failed to set the ratings alight, however, with the latest BARB figures giving it an average audience share of 0.17% to GB News' 0.71%, while Morgan's show brings in less than half the viewers of competitor Jacob Rees-Mogg's programme in the same timeslot.

While GB News still lags behind Sky's 0.96% share, the gap has been closing - and the upstart broadcaster has begun to consistently outrate Sky during primetime.

According to Guido Fawkes, Murdoch has attempted to eliminate Talk TV's competition by offering to buy GB News and merge the two channels but has been knocked back on both occasions.

GB News is jointly owned by British entrepreneur Sir Paul Marshall and Dubai-based investment firm Legatum.