WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 29: Fox News host Tucker Carlson discusses 'Populism and the Right' during the National Review Institute's Ideas Summit at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel March 29, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Image: Getty)
Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch said Fox News would happily compete with a rival conservative network headed by Donald Trump, if he leaves office.
“We love competition,” Murdoch said of the possibility during a quarterly earnings call. “We have always thrived with competition… The only difference today versus some years ago is as our audience has grown and our reach has grown, we see our competition as no longer only cable news providers but also as the traditional broadcast networks.”
Trump has recently criticized the network, complaining of their coverage of both him and his political rivals. He called Fox News’ decision to broadcast a campaign speech by former President Barack Obama “disappointing.” and told conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh that Fox News is “a much different thing than it was four years ago.”
He continued: “Somebody said, ‘What is the biggest difference?’ I said the biggest difference is Fox.”
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Trump has mentioned the idea of creating his network before, proposing it as an alternative to CNN’s “fake news” coverage. He also played with the idea of taking a stake in One America News, according to a Vanity Fair report — though a spokesperson denied the idea.
On the earnings call, Murdoch seemed pleased with Fox News’ performance during the pandemic. The overall numbers exceeded analysts’ forecast but ad revenue dipped 7%.
However, the election has allowed the network to perform extremely well, with total revenue at the network up 36% in the quarter.
“As we enter a more normal news cycle, which has to happen eventually,” Murdoch said, “the appetite for news will shift back to appetite for the great American pastimes of watching football and watching baseball and watching The Masked Singer.”
The network also boasted being the most-viewed network in broadcast or cable from Labor Day to Election Day.
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