Video has become “the focus for everything” at The Sun over the past year with increased investment following the closure of TalkTV.
The Sun’s biggest example, Youtube-based political show Never Mind the Ballots, is now returning weekly after a summer break, backed by new sponsorship from Betfair.
Hosted by political editor Harry Cole, Never Mind the Ballots launched in March and secured a number of scoops during the UK general election period, when it aired five days a week. It was the only non-broadcaster to hold back-to-back live audience questions with Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak.
The Sun has 5.7 million followers on Youtube and views of Never Mind the Ballots have typically registered in the tens of thousands on the Alphabet-owned platform.
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But according to The Sun, the series has had over 30 million views since launch across Tiktok, Instagram, Facebook as well as Youtube and The Sun website.
The show takes a “360-degree” approach to storytelling, Cole told Press Gazette. The main programme is filmed on Thursday morning and airs in the evening on Youtube and The Sun’s website, but it is also repackaged into short shareable video snippets and online stories, with some coverage carrying over into the next day’s paper.
The Sun has its own studio at its London Bridge headquarters. News UK closed its linear TV news channel TalkTV in the summer and is instead focusing investment on News Studios, which is creating video content across The Sun, The Times and Sunday Times, Talksport, Virgin Radio, Piers Morgan Uncensored and Talkradio to go out via their websites and apps, streaming and social platforms including Youtube and Tiktok.
Betfair is to going to sponsor three special editions of Never Mind the Ballots which will have a US focus in the run-up to the presidential election, including a leaders’ debate watch-along and polling day special edition.
Cole told Press Gazette he is looking forward to airing exclusive analysis of Betfair gambling data, noting: “Opinion polls did not have a great election. People willing to put their money where the mouths are could give us a better insight.”
He noted that Never Mind The Ballots has already gained traction in the US with its reports from the G7 Summit in June which revealed how “doddery” Joe Biden was “losing focus” and concentration leading to concern from insiders.
Cole said: “The American press weren’t touching it.” The story proved to be a particular hit for The Sun on Tiktok.
Asked whether The Sun’s leader column support for Keir Starmer had been an uncomfortable moment for him, given the title’s long-standing opposition to Labour, he said: “It was clear the country wanted a change and wanted the Tories to take a very long bath.
“Everyone wanted change. We are a patriotic newspaper and we want the country to do well.”
Cole is also adding to his responsibilities by taking over the prestigious Monday political comment slot in the newspaper vacated by Trevor Kavanagh after the election.
He said: “At a time of untrammelled Labour domination in Westminster, a Tory opposition in tatters and Nigel Farage on the march, there’s going to be plenty of feet to hold to the fire.”
Sun editor-in-chief Victoria Newton said of the weekly political show: “Over the past year, video has become the focus for everything we do and has been at the heart of our coverage of big events, big exclusives, and our new studio video series produced by News Studios are finding highly engaged global audiences.
“The Sun’s unique character features within all the shows – showing the unique place of popular journalism to engage huge audiences and help them dissect the news.
“Our partnership with Betfair is an exciting opportunity for us, and one that shows the value of Never Mind The Ballots.”
Sun commercial revenue director Owen Griffiths said: “Never Mind the Ballots’ exemplifies The Sun’s ambition to transfer the power of our journalism into creating best-in-class video content for a video-first audience. The engagement with the UK series was beyond expectation and we are excited to build on this momentum with our coverage of the US election.”
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