Fox News’ parent company is in the midst of a stunning financial rebound after a rocky start to 2023 – after the broadcaster fired longtime star Tucker Carlson and settled a $788 million lawsuit just days earlier.
On April 17, a day before its landmark settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, Fox Corp stock was trading at $33.99 — a value that had fallen to $30.53 by mid-May.
Carlson, whose career at the network spanned a whopping 14 years, left his show on April 23 without giving a reason at the time why the company let its most-watched host go.
Some pundits were predicting the network’s demise by dropping one of its biggest stars, but it seems Wall Street, at least, is beginning to believe in Fox again.
The stock, which was once considered a blue-chip stock, has since rallied dramatically to stand at $34.38 as of Wednesday afternoon — about 1 percent higher than before the currency troubles began.
Fox News’ parent company is in the midst of a financial rebound after a rough start to 2023 — after the broadcaster fired Tucker Carlson and settled a $788 million lawsuit just days earlier
Former Fox New executive Ken LaCorte, who left the network in 2016 after his longtime ally Robert Ailes was ousted over sexual assault allegations, was among many commenting on Thursday’s comeback from the station’s stock.
Like Carlson, LaCorte has been with the network for 20 years, holding several leadership positions.
Now the owner of several competing websites, including Conservative Edition News, Liberal Edition News and LaCorte News, he took the opportunity to call Carlson’s firing last spring a “debacle.”
“Less than four months after the debacle of Tucker Carlson’s firing and Dominion’s $788 million settlement, Fox stock is now trading higher than before,” the 58-year-old wrote, sharing a chart showing the showing the stock’s recent volatility and recovery.
Many assumed the 54-year-old’s ouster was about allegations that he and other network operators had been spreading lies about Dominion machines during the 2020 election – claims that Rupert Murdoch’s news network vowed to fight before finally throwing in the towel threw.
Since then, the parent company has struggled to fill the financial void left by the stellar host. It reported a loss of $50 million last quarter and saw its share price fall sharply throughout the remainder of April and throughout May.
Carlson, whose career at the network spanned a whopping 14 years, left his show on April 23 without giving a reason at the time why the company let its most-watched host go
Former Fox New CEO Ken LaCorte, who left the network in 2016 after his longtime ally Robert Ailes himself was fired over sexual harassment allegations, was among many on Thursday to comment on the stock’s comeback
In 2021, Dominion sued Fox, alleging that the host and other network operators knowingly spread lies about his machines during the 2020 election, allegedly to help Trump win re-election.
The lawsuit came at the height of Carlson’s success — specifically targeting statements made by the announcer and others like Sean Hannity, Lou Dobbs, Jeanine Pirro and Maria Bartiromo.
Several text messages Carlson had sent to colleagues over the course of the 2020 election were released during the investigation into the case, greatly embarrassing the network.
Sent to peers like Laura Ingraham, they revealed how behind the scenes Carlson secretly despised Trump – despite repeatedly publicly praising the then-president, whose victory further fueled his success.
A Nov. 5 broadcast of that same year — days after Joe Biden was declared the winner — appeared to show that Carlson realized that a Trump loss could cause trouble for the broadcaster given how much he’s moved in recent years relied on the politician.
“He could easily destroy us if we get it wrong,” Carlson wrote of Trump in one of the many startling text messages received by the polls office – which claimed in court the correspondence served as evidence that he knowingly disseminated false information .
On Nov. 17, Carlson complained about attorney and frequent Fox guest Sidney Powell for promoting the voter fraud conspiracy — though he’d appeared to agree with the theory himself several times on the show.
Many assumed the 54-year-old’s impeachment was about allegations that he and other network moderators had spread lies about Dominion machines during the 2020 election – allegations Rupert Murdoch’s news channel had vowed to fight before finally threw in the towel
“Sidney Powell is lying. “Damn bitch,” he wrote.
A day later, in a message to Ingraham, Carlson stated, “By the way, Sidney Powell is lying.” I caught her. That’s crazy.’
Then, after the Jan. 6 riot, Carlson took aim at the ex-president himself, saying he couldn’t wait for him to be out of office – and, more importantly, out of the headlines
“Most nights we come close to ignoring Trump,” Carlson wrote in a message. “I can barely wait for it.”
He added, “I hate him passionately.”
The messages served as evidence that Carlson and others knowingly spread false information that their machines played a role in Biden’s victory, according to attorneys at the Toronto-based elections office.
After a jury was assembled and Fox promised a vigorous and bitter court battle, the network inexplicably backed down and agreed to the splitting off of the largest civil settlement in history.
The move confused many who thought Fox would never have shrunk from a fight when it came to their lucrative golden boy.
However, Carlson, who is technically still signed to Fox despite being fired, plans to start his own media company that could potentially use the site formerly known as Twitter as a platform.
After launching the weekly web show on the site, Fox threatened to sue Carlson for violating terms in his $20 million annual contract that prevented him from working at competing networks.
In a statement to Axios at the time, Carlson’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, accused his client’s former employer of committing hypocrisy by silencing Carlson, citing that the company claims to “defend its very existence on the grounds of freedom of speech.” “.
Despite the legal threat, Carlson is reportedly planning a more formal weekly web project with Neil Patel, a former political adviser to Dick Cheney, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal last month.
The couple, who met as roommates at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, want to take over longer versions of the free videos the social media platform is offering – after Carlson’s first episode on Elon Musk’s X surpassed 81 in 24 hours has received millions of views.
Carlson’s team has been meeting with Twitter officials in recent weeks to discuss their plans and the demand for more Conservative content, the Journal reported, as other commentators, including fellow former Fox News anchors Megyn Kelly and Bill O’Reilly , have increasingly sought a subscriber-funded long-term business model.
Carlson has continued to post videos on the platform on an almost regular basis since his departure in April, but remains on a multi-year deal.
His contract runs until January 2025 – after the election – and Fox wants to continue paying him, which would prevent him from starting a competing show.