What Tucker Carlson’s ouster means for him and Fox News

The prime-time presenter still has plenty of options in broadcasting, although departing star anchors struggle to re-create the reach they enjoyed at Fox, media observers say.

Tucker Carlson won’t lack in job offers from other networks. Picture: AFP.

Tucker Carlson still has plenty of opportunities in broadcasting despite his ouster from Fox News, media observers say, though history shows that departing star anchors have struggled to re-create the reach that they enjoyed at the conservative news network.

“Tucker will have options, whether they’re entrepreneurial as he was before he came to Fox, or more traditional outlets,” Jonathan Klein, former president of CNN US, said in an interview.

However, he “probably won’t reach the same size audience and he won’t have the same influence that he had.”

Fox News on Monday parted ways with Mr Carlson after disparaging remarks he made about colleagues were disclosed during a legal battle with Dominion Voting Systems. In some, Mr Carlson complained about colleagues and Fox executives and said he hated former President Donald Trump.

Andrew Tyndall, publisher of the Tyndall Report, which analyses television news, said Mr Carlson likely won’t be able to reach the same audience size if he chooses to stay in the media sector, but he may be able to make as much money as he did at Fox. “I think everybody is waiting to see whether he wants to switch from media into politics,” Mr Tyndall said.

Mr Carlson declined to comment on his future plans.

Previous inhabitants of Fox’s prime-time line-up, including Megyn Kelly and Bill O’Reilly, have signed deals with Red Seat Ventures, a company that helps them create their own podcast, video and subscription-media businesses.

“Most of our clients are earning far more than they did in their previous jobs, but also have the freedom to build their own businesses,” said Red Seat Ventures partner Chris Balfe, who helped Glenn Beck – another former Fox News host – launch his own direct-to-consumer business after his departure from Fox.

Messrs. O’Reilly and Beck couldn’t be reached for comment.

Despite the departures of top hosts in the past, Fox News has remained the leader in cable news ratings.

Ms Kelly was one of the best-known personalities on Fox News when she left the network in 2017 to join NBC News, where she got disappointing ratings. A Sunday magazine show featuring Ms. Kelly was quickly cancelled, and NBC News pulled the plug on her morning show about a year in, after the star anchor came under fire for remarks that were viewed inside and outside the network as racially insensitive. Ms Kelly has apologised for her remarks.

On her SiriusXM show Monday, Ms. Kelly addressed Mr Carlson’s departure. “This is a terrible move by Fox, and it’s a great thing for Tucker Carlson,” she said. “Talk about misjudging your audience yet again.” When contacted for comment, Ms. Kelly pointed to what she said on her show. Some advertisers, on the other hand, see potential upside in Mr Carlson’s ouster. Fox News could stand to benefit if it replaces the well-known pundit with someone less controversial, ad buyers said.

“Ad revenues could be positively impacted if Fox picks a successor who is not as toxic or incendiary as Carlson was,” said Brian Wieser, an ad consultant.

During his prime-time tenure at Fox News, Mr Carlson became a lightning rod for frequently making controversial remarks. That has led many blue-chip brands to back away from advertising during Fox News’s prime-time line-up – specifically Mr Carlson’s program – out of fear of being associated with controversial comments made by the host, according to ad buyers and former Fox News executives. In 2018, Mr Carlson faced an advertising boycott after saying on air that certain immigrants were making the U.S. “dirtier and more divided.” Fox at the time blamed the boycott of Mr Carlson on advocacy groups that called out brands for advertising on the network.

Fox has been able to manage those headwinds, in part, by shifting some big advertisers into other parts of the day, say people familiar with the company’s ad business. Also, Fox has turned to so-called direct-response advertisers – typically, smaller businesses whose ads encourage people to take actions such as calling a toll-free number – to fill the prime-time void. That has helped steady Fox’s ad business, but is still not an ideal situation for the network.

Some ad buyers don’t expect to see any large-scale return of big advertisers to Fox News’s prime-time line-up because of a wider aversion to all-news programming. “There are many advertisers who want to avoid controversy, and cable news today is often filled with controversy,” said David Campanelli, executive vice president and chief investment officer at ad-buying firm Horizon Media.

Fox News parent Fox Corp. and News Corp, the parent of The Wall Street Journal’s publisher, share common ownership.

Fox News is currently relying on a rotation of hosts until it names a permanent anchor for the 8pm slot.

Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade anchored the temporarily renamed “Fox News Tonight” on Monday night. In opening remarks, Mr Kilmeade acknowledged Mr Carlson’s departure and said he was “great friends with Tucker.” Mr Carlson joined the prime-time line-up at Fox News in 2017, initially filling the shoes of Ms. Kelly, and then of Mr O’Reilly. He went on to become the highest-rated prime-time host in cable news.

Mr Carlson recently drew criticism from both Democrats and Republicans for airing a segment that showed previously unaired footage of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Mr Carlson said that politicians had intentionally overstated the violence. “The footage does not show an insurrection or a riot in progress” in the Capitol, Mr Carlson said during an early March show.

Fox’s decision to let Mr Carlson go came less than a week after Fox Corp. agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle its legal battle with Dominion Voting Systems, which had accused Fox’s news networks of airing false claims by hosts and guests that Dominion helped rig the outcome of the 2020 U.S. presidential election in favour of Joe Biden. Mr Carlson had been expected to testify during the trial.

Private messages sent by Mr Carlson to colleagues were made public in the legal proceedings of the Dominion defamation suit. Fox took issue with remarks Mr Carlson made that were derogatory toward the network, people familiar with the matter said. Much of the communications were redacted in court documents but became known internally to senior Fox management, they said.

Dow Jones