Piers Morgan’s YouTube-based media venture, Uncensored, is approaching a valuation of £100 million following a significant funding round backed by high-profile investors in media and finance. Sky News reports that Morgan is finalising a $30 million (£22.5 million) investment, placing Uncensored’s pre-money valuation at approximately $130 million (£97 million). The surge in value comes less than a year after Morgan left Rupert Murdoch’s News UK empire.
The fundraising round has drawn support from prominent figures, including the US merchant bank Raine Group, known for advising on the sales of Chelsea FC and Manchester United. Raine co-founder Joe Ravitch is expected to join Uncensored’s board. Greek media owner Theo Kyriakou, who runs Antenna Group, has also invested, alongside multiple global family offices. Marketing strategist Michael Kassan is advising on advertising plans and may contribute personally.
Insiders estimate that Morgan’s stake is now worth tens of millions of pounds. Sources suggest his longer-term ambition is to grow Uncensored into a billion-dollar media company within a few years. Plans are underway to expand the platform into multiple editorial verticals covering sports, history, technology, and potentially politics, with high-profile hosts leading each channel.
Uncensored’s growth has been boosted by viral interviews, including conversations with Cristiano Ronaldo and Novak Djokovic, which have garnered hundreds of millions of views after being shared on social media. The YouTube channel currently has 4.3 million subscribers, roughly half of them in the United States. Morgan has noted that significant portions of the audience are located in the Middle East, South Africa, and Asia, highlighting the platform’s global reach beyond traditional national media markets.
Morgan’s access to influential figures, including former US President Donald Trump, is expected to enhance Uncensored’s international profile. Earlier this year, he parted ways with News UK, gaining full ownership of the channel while agreeing to a four-year revenue-sharing arrangement that allows Murdoch’s company to collect advertising revenue until 2029.
The move comes amid major changes in the media landscape, with Netflix’s $83 billion acquisition of Warner Bros, ongoing talks of Sky acquiring ITV’s broadcast arm, and speculation about a merger between the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail. Traditional publishers such as Reach, owner of the Daily Mirror and Daily Express, have valuations around £176 million, just above Uncensored’s emerging worth.
Morgan argues that these shifts favour personality-driven media brands. “Owning the Uncensored brand allows my team and me the freedom to build it into a standalone business … It’s clear from the US election that YouTube is an increasingly powerful and influential media platform,” he said.
He added over the weekend: “I am very excited that some of the most experienced and successful players in the global media industry share my ambitious vision for Uncensored. This is the future of modern media.”
The new investment round positions Uncensored as one of the fastest-growing digital media ventures in the UK, setting the stage for rapid international expansion.
