Posted on 04/28/2017 9:26:54 AM PDT by COUNTrecount
EXCLUSIVE: Advanced Talks Underway For New Conservative Network Amid Fears Fox News Moving Too Far Left (title)
On the heels of major shakeups at the Fox News Network, an alternative conservative network is being actively discussed amongst conservative fat cats.
A well-placed source close to the proposal tells Mediaite that serious discussions are underway to create an alternative conservative cable network on the belief that the Fox News Network is moving too far to the left. The source, who is engaged in the talks, says a meeting is planned for today with two prominent high-powered television executives, some underperforming conservative networks and people who have an interest and the ability to fund a new network.
The potential aim? Putting “the old band” back together. There are certainly plenty of (out-of-work?) conservative powerhouses to pick from that could star on a new network, and perhaps even some executives from within Fox News who might be lured by the new opportunity. Could the new channel include stars like the ousted Bill O’Reilly, who didn’t waste much time hitting the podcast waves after he was fired amid a sexual harassment scandal? Could Tomi Lahren, the conservative mega star, who was recently sidelined at The Blaze also take on a prominent role? The exact “who” won’t be clear until the deal is more defined but the source says the pitch is that the network could immediately reach at least 85 million homes.
This news comes on the heels of a long profile in last weekend’s New York Times which paints a picture of a changing Fox News Network with Murdoch’s sons, James and Lachlan, CEO and co-chairman of parent company 21st Century Fox, at the helm. The piece struck fear into the minds of some Fox News’ hardcore conservatives with talk of the sons wanting to rid the company “of the old-guard culture on which their father built his empire” and bringing “a warmer and fuzzier workplace” that would move away from an “anti-politically correct environment.”
On Thursday, New York Magazine‘s Gabe Sherman, a constant thorn in the side of Fox News, reported that “sweeping management changes” may be coming to the network as well. Sherman’s report cited three anonymous sources that contend that the network’s co-President Bill Shine recently asked the Murdoch sons to release a statement in support of him amid the roiling lawsuits and scandals. Both Fox News and 21 Century Fox have vigorously denied that Shine made such a request but the report by Sherman prompted a rather mysterious tweet about the “total end of the FNC as we know it” by the network’s biggest remaining star, Sean Hannity:
Gäbe i pray this is NOT true because if it is, that’s the total end of the FNC as we know it. Done. Best Sean https://t.co/W3BJ2wjzRD
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) April 27, 2017
It is no surprise that a savvy investor would see the turmoil within Fox News as a major opportunity. As The Times piece noted, analysts estimate that Fox News produced 25 percent of 21st Century Fox’s operating income last year or a whopping $6.6 billion. Conservative news remains a cash cow for investors, but the media landscape is quickly changing with younger viewers “cutting the chord” and turning to alternative over-the-top live streaming platforms like Hulu, Amazon, Roku and YouTube TV. Could a conservative alternative channel with some big names have an edge on the 20-year-old conservative network? Stay tuned. Our source is convinced it can happen.
You’re absolutely right, they’ll do the same dumb stuff they’ve done before. Conservative radio works better because it is so much more personal. The connection with tv personalities isn’t the same. It doesn’t come off as honest and respectful to the audience. They make it worse with their little outrage of the day stories. It’s obvious they don’t really care and are just trying to hook us.
If it were up to me, they would add some weather and sports coverage, with less global warming slant and celebrity athlete trash. They are on 24 hours a day, how about playing something like a Clint Eastwood movie or some funny old sitcom in the middle of the night or on the weekends with limited commercials? It would be fun and they could report on it, call it the “Newsbreak.” Why not admit to viewers that there isn’t always something to say?
FOX can keep the liberal/lit blond bimbos...
For the rest of us?
We’re ready to jump.... (Hannity, Watters, Miller, and Tucker need to jump ship with us.)
Don’t forget Lou Dobbs.
These names originated with entities that were not news organizations, and for the most part, they are known as their acronyms only today. They really are just names denoting a geographic area. National, American, Columbia (the personification of America).
Nattering nabobs of negativism?
Money is honey: OAN would be, greatly, improved upon if more people and more money were involved with OAN.
Both left and right are the problem. DC leaks a lot so just take them all down this time. Murdochs are still more evidence of reversion to the mean.
Lou Dobbs is wonderful... Thanks for the reminder.
Others were left off too but I should have put Dobbs in the top tier. Thanks Truth.
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