Fox News Channel has suffered a television ratings collapse since former host Tucker Carlson departed in early April.
For years, Fox was easily the most-watched cable news channel and dwarfed liberal rivals MSNBC and CNN. Now FNC is in second-place in primetime behind MSNBC, after losing almost half their viewers since Carlson left.
But in a bizarre shift in the narrative, Fox News claims that advertising is up — despite half the eyeballs on their channel.
Replacing Tucker Carlson with interim hosts has brought in over 40 new advertisers, Executive Vice President Jeff Collins told Variety in a recent interview.
“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,” Collins claimed.
“We have seen new advertisers come in, and new demand.”
Some of the “Madison Avenue stalwarts” that Fox News Channels said have returned to the 8:00 p.m. timeslot include General Motors and Proctor & Gamble.
Not everyone is convinced that Fox News’ Public Relations team is telling the truth.
Take a look —
Yeah, haven't seen evidence of this, and reads aspirational. I did however notice for other hours that @GM is back sponsoring Fox News. They mostly sat out the last few months. Will be drawing attention to them after a little more data comes in. pic.twitter.com/74jvdrkKZa
— WhoAdvertisesOn (@WhoAdvertisesOn) May 8, 2023
In fact, the social media blow back become so direct the Variety author, Brain Steinberg, took to social media to defend his report.
He was also met with disbelief.
Take a look at the exchange —
1) That isn’t 40
2) Fox shifting “no Tucker” advertisers into 8pm is not the same as advertisers intentionally returning; Fox just rearranging decks.
3) You’ve often dismissed ad losses, but now they’re real, eh? Curious.
— Angelo Carusone (@GoAngelo) May 8, 2023
The Horn editorial team