It’s been something of a transitional period for cable news lately, with CNN having recently terminated its allegedly problematic anchor Don Lemon on the same day that Fox News cut ties with Tucker Carlson. The latter network has also been in financial catch-up mode following the $787.5 million lawsuit settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, and amidst Smartmatic’s defamation lawsuit that’s aiming for a $2.7 billion payout. One can imagine that any amount of good news is appreciated and welcomed at this point, and it appears there’s at least one big way that Carlson’s exit has allowed for “new” sources of revenue: advertising at 8:00 p.m. ET.
In the years that Tucker Carlson Tonight and its namesake have been cemented in that primetime lead-off hour on Fox News, as a successful replacement for Megyn Kelly, the time slot has been abandoned by dozens of its former advertisers, in large part due to the comments and viewpoints espoused by the host. And in case it wasn’t already crystal clear that Carlson was the key reasoning for the ad company boycotts, his absence from the nightly newsfront has led a growing number of high-profile companies to refocus on that key hour for the replacement show Fox News Tonight. Here’s how Jeff Collins, Fox News Media’s executive vice president of ad sales, explained it to Variety:
We have had over 40 new advertisers come into the hour since we launched the new program, including some of the largest in the country and, really, across all major categories. We have seen new advertisers come in, and new demand.
One of the biggest companies to once again embrace the 8 p.m. hour is Procter & Gamble, which has even notably been running ads specifically directed at female viewers, with products such as Gillette’s Venus razors and Secret deodorant. Other consumer-hunting companies that have lined up for ad spots during Fox News Tonight are the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, which has been heavily pushing the diabetes medication Ozempic, and the lawn care brand Scotts, which has aired ads for Miracle-Gro during the slot.
But that’s just three of more than 40 different companies that now view the primetime slot as key for viewer engagement. Even though it would appear Tucker Carlson Tonight’s replacement hasn’t done as well in the ratings for now, it’s possible that the influx of new brands are helping balance such setbacks. And what’s more, Fox Corp’s head honcho for ad sales, marketing and brand partnerships confirmed that the company intends to welcome back all of the biggest national brands in time.
Part of the reason Fox News Media’s Jeff Collins thinks that ad companies are now comfortable with returning to that slot is the tried-and-true format of Fox News Tonight itself. In his words:
It takes a lot of audience risk out, because the audience is familiar with these personalities and knows them from other programming. We know from a program perspective that they are going to resonate with the audience and advertisers have a familiarity with them as well.
Though Tucker Carlson Tonight was largely avoided by the company’s biggest advertisers, the primetime show still raked in tons of money from far smaller companies that weren’t risking as much by sticking with the hour. It was certainly an impressive achievement, especially since those companies (such as My Pillow, Balance of Nature and others) spent less on the spots, with the agreement that Fox News could use the ads whenever needed. Still, it seems like the company’s higher-ups are A-OK with welcoming back more widely embraced national brands.
Neither the ousted host nor Fox News have shared in-depth responses to the shocking turn of events in April, with Carlson only sharing a video days later that spoke to the topic in an indirect fashion. It's been reported that Newsmax is willing to shell out money and power to the host once he's able to take jobs with other news organizations, but we have yet to get a clear picture of where he might pop up next. Though it probably won't be in a Venus razor commercial airing between segments of Fox News Tonight.
