CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – I was as surprised as anyone to hear that Tucker Carlson is out at Fox News. He was a prime-time dynamo and one of the leading conservative commentators in the United States.
You’ve heard Occam’s Razor, which states that the simplest explanation is usually right. That suggests that this is about economics, not politics.
Everyone who works in the media knows that this is an audience-driven business. Our existence is based on selling advertising based on how many people show up. Suppose, hypothetically, I convinced one of my bosses that my salary should be $5-million. And let’s also suppose that my ratings are fabulous. A large audience each day is hanging on my every word. But, after selling each and every commercial, suppose the show only brings in $1-million in revenue. Well, my position will always be precarious. At some point either advertising rates would have to go up, I’d be asked to take a pay cut, or I’d be let go.
Fox News has some additional challenges. First, Fox has a non-advertising stream of revenue. Cable companies and streaming services pay to carry Fox News. And as more people cut the cord or pick their streaming apps a-la-carte, this revenue stream is drying up. And there are some advertisers that do not want their commercials associated with controversial or political programming, regardless of how large the audience.
Yes, Tucker Carlson figured in the Dominion Voting Technologies settlement – a whopping $787-million. But it’s much more likely that Fox News couldn’t make the economics of Tucker’s show work for them.
He’s incredibly popular. It’s likely that Tucker, and his large numbers of followers, will be getting together somewhere else soon enough.
Chris Conley
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