Fox News Execs Make Big Announcement After Tucker Carlson Ouster

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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.


Fox News has lost its perch atop the cable news industry after executives decided to take top host Tucker Carlson off the air, and now they have to figure out how to deal with it.

Lachlan Murdoch, the CEO of Fox Corporation, announced on Tuesday that the network will not change its primetime strategy following the removal of Carlson.

During a Tuesday earnings call, Lachlan Murdoch, the CEO of Fox Corporation, stated that the network’s primetime strategy would not change following the unexpected departure of Tucker Carlson, who hosted “Tucker Carlson Tonight” for seven years and became a prominent figure in the conservative movement, the Daily Wire reported.

Fox News announced last month that it would be “parting ways” with Carlson.

“As regards to our programming strategy in primetime, there’s no change to our programming strategy at Fox News,” Lachlan responded after being asked about the network’s strategy moving forward. “It’s obviously a successful strategy. And as always, we are adjusting our programming and our lineup, and that’s what we continue to do. We are pleased with the strength of the advertising demand throughout our schedule, but particularly primetime.”

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The outlet noted further:

Fox News dominated primetime ratings in the first three months of 2023, easily surpassing networks such as CNN and MSNBC with more than 2 million viewers each evening, during which “Tucker Carlson Tonight” was consistently the top primetime show, especially among the 25-54 age demographic coveted by advertisers.

In the weeks after the Carlson ouster, on the other hand, Fox News averaged 1.5 million viewers at primetime and maintained none of the ten most popular cable programs. The five final editions of “Tucker Carlson Tonight” had accounted for each of the five largest primetime audiences at Fox News in the week before the ouster.

Murdoch and the other Fox executives announced a quarterly loss of $50 million during the call, a significant decrease from the $290 million profit made in the same period last year. The loss was mainly due to the nearly $800 million settlement paid to Dominion Voting Systems, which accused Fox News hosts of spreading false claims about the company’s voting equipment following the 2020 presidential election. The allegations against Dominion included claims that the company had offered bribes and changed votes.

“We made the business decision to resolve this dispute and avoid the acrimony of a divisive trial and a multiyear appeal process,” Murdoch said during the call. “Our decision is clearly in the best interest of the company and its shareholders. The settlement in no way alters Fox’s commitment to the highest journalistic standards across our company or our passion for unabashedly reporting the news of the day.”

Meanwhile, Carlson turned heads Tuesday afternoon after posting a video on Twitter in which he said he would be moving his show to that platform.

“At the most basic level, the news you consume is a lie. A lie of the stealthiest and most insidious kind: facts have been withheld on purpose, along with proportion and perspective. You are being manipulated,” he said in the video. “Twitter has long served as the place where our national conversation incubates and develops. Twitter is not a partisan site. Everybody is allowed here. And we think that’s a good thing.”

“There aren’t many platforms left that allow free speech. The last big one remaining in the world is Twitter,” Carlson added. “If you bump up against the limits [in the news business] you will be fired for it.”

“The rule of what you can’t say defines everything,” he said, adding, “You can’t have a free society if people aren’t allowed to say what they think is true… There aren’t many platforms left that allow free speech. The last big one… is Twitter, where we are now.”


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