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Ellise Shafer During Jesse Watters’ first show in Tucker Carlson’s coveted 8 p.m. slot on Fox News, his mom called in with some sage advice, telling the host: “Do not tumble into any conspiracy rabbit holes.” As the show came to an end, Watters took a call from his Democrat mom, who said: “I have enjoyed the show. I want to say congratulations, honeybun, we are so proud of you and your accomplishments, and you’ve worked so hard. Now, let’s aim to have you keep your job.” Carlson, the most-watched primetime host on Fox News, had been known to stoke conspiracy theories, especially in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election and the Jan. 6 insurrection. In April, it was announced that Carlson had exited Fox News just days after parent company Fox Corp. agreed to pay $787.5 million in a settlement to Dominion Voting Systems in a defamation case in which they were accused of questioning the company’s role in the outcome of the election. Carlson was expected to testify should the case have continued. In late June, it was announced that Watters, who previously had his show at 7 p.m., would take over Carlson’s time slot.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Anjali Sud is taking over as CEO of Tubi, Fox Corp.’s free, ad-supported streaming TV service, after she stepped down as chief exec of video-hosting platform Vimeo. Sud will officially start as Tubi’s CEO on Sept. 1, 2023, succeeding founder Farhad Massoudi. Sud reports to Paul Cheesbrough, CEO of Tubi Media Group, which Fox formed this spring to house its digital businesses including Tubi (acquired in 2020) and Blockchain Creative Labs. Sud spent nine years at New York-based Vimeo, originally serving as VP of global marketing before assuming oversight of the creator business unit and getting promoted to CEO in 2017. Under Sud, Vimeo has undertaken employee layoffs and made other cost-cutting moves to improve its financial profile.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor A former Arizona man who claims he had to flee his home after former Fox News host Tucker Carlson deliberately and falsely portrayed him as an undercover FBI agent who launched the January 6, 2020 attacks on the U.S. Capitol, has sued the cable-news outlet for defamation. It is the latest suit from a series of parties who allege Fox News deliberately and with malice broadcast incorrect and damaging accounts about them. Fox Corp., the outlet’s parent, recently paid out $787.5 million to voting-technology firm Dominion Voting Systems over allegations that Fox News deliberately implicated the company in false allegations about the security of the 2020 presidential election, and paid $12 million to a former Fox News producer who alleged she had been hectored into providing false testimony in that matter.

“Trump is the only person… who is saying: ‘Wait a second. You know, why are we supporting an endless war in Ukraine?’”“All I can say at… pic.twitter.com/dTEbQvD27k“I’m struck by his foreign policy views,” Carlson said. “Trump is the only person with stature in the Republican Party really who’s saying, ‘Wait a second, why are we supporting an endless war in Ukraine?’”Carlson went on to say that aside from the fate of Trump’s pursuit to presidency, he’s “grateful that Trump is using his platform to voice his concern about the war. Nevertheless, Carlson did share that he is aware of the ongoing Republican primary and its two lead contenders Trump and Ron DeSantis.

Fox may have forked over $787 million to avoid going to trial in Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit over false 2020 election claims, but the Rupert Murdoch-owned company is far from free of the fallout.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Fox News agreed to pay $12 million to Abby Grossberg, a former producer for Tucker Carlson and Maria Bartiromo, who alleged the Fox Corp.-backed outlet had coerced her into providing false testimony in a deposition related to a recent defamation suit levied by Dominion Voting Systems as well as operating a hostile and discriminatory workplace. In her suit, filed in the Southern District of the State of New York earlier this year, Grossberg alleged she was harassed and forced to give inaccurate information in the Dominion matter, which Fox agreed to settle for $787.5 million in April. Parisis G. Filippatos, an attorney for Grossberg, did not respond immediately to a query seeking comment. “We are pleased that we have been able to resolve this matter without further litigation,” Fox News said in a statement.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Jesse Watters, the wisecracking conservative who got his start with man-on-the-street interview segments for Fox News opinion host Bill O’Reilly’s 8 p.m. program, is about to enjoy a homecoming of sorts. Watters will take over Fox News’ 8 p.m. hour, assuming a role previously assigned to Tucker Carlson. The move is part of a broad overhaul of Fox News’ primetime schedule that takes place in the wake of Carlson’s sudden ouster and a subsequent decline in viewership at the Fox Corp.-backed outlet. Watters had previously led Fox News’ 7 p.m. show. Fox News will also move Greg Gutfeld into the primetime block, giving him the 10 p.m. hour, while the current occupant, the conservative firebrand Laura Ingraham. takes up the reins of the early-evening 7 p.m. hour. Sean Hannity will keep his perch at 9 p.m., a slot he has held since 2017. Trace Gallagher’s late-night news program, “Fox News @ Night,” will follow Gutfeld at 11 p.m., an hour earlier than its previous midnight slot.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Fox is granting new status to one of its veteran research chiefs. Michael Mulvihill will take on the role of president of insights and analytics at Fox Corp., expanding his purview from Fox Sports, where he had held forth for years, to Fox Entertainment and the Tubi streaming-video hub. Mulvihill will continue to report to Mark Silverman, president and COO of Fox Sports, while additionally now reporting into the leadership of Fox Entertainment and Tubi. He will not have oversight over any functions at Fox News Media, “Mike has been an unbelievable asset to the FOX Sports team, providing unmatched insightful analysis, and helping us grow our business to new heights,” said Silverman. “We are thrilled to see Mike expand his portfolio and bring his unique talents to our Fox Entertainment Group and Tubi.”

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor The upfront presentation that looks most like traditional TV came from a company that likes to tell investors, advertisers and consumers how it’s leapfrogging that entire business. Netflix on Wednesday showed dozens of scripted series and movies that could support advertising — if only Madison Avenue would take a chance and bet on its nascent efforts to sell commercials. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Chris Hemsworth and Julia Roberts were only some of the actors whose efforts could be tied to advertising. Counterparts like NBCUniversal and Fox Corp. were hard-pressed to do the same earlier this week. “We are just getting started,” said Peter Naylor, vice president of global advertising sales at Netflix.

Tatiana Siegel The mystery surrounding Tucker Carlson’s ouster from the airwaves at Fox News — and his future plans in media — are coming into sharper focus. On April 26, Carlson spoke by phone with one of Fox Corp.’s eight board members, who told the host that his recent benching was a condition of Fox News’ settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the conversation. The unnamed board member told Carlson that the condition does not appear in any of the settlement’s documents, and instead was a verbal agreement. If Fox didn’t comply, the settlement was off, Carlson was told. Dominion had plenty of leverage given that the $787.5 million deal to settle Dominion’s defamation suit against the network wouldn’t officially close until late-May.

Fox News is facing another defamation lawsuit, this time from the former executive director of a Department of Homeland Security division tasked with monitoring the threat of disinformation.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor In an era when gargantuan media conglomerates hope to tempt advertisers into buying tons of commercials across many networks, streaming outlets and digital sites, Marianne Gambelli has come to appreciate the art of staying small. The executive, president of ad sales for Fox Corp., says in an interview that she believes the company will stand apart in the TV industry’s looming “upfront” sales session by not pressing potential sponsors to snap up commercial inventory in multiple venues. Want to buy an ad in a Fox Sunday NFL broadcast without having to load up on commercial avails at Tubi? Gambelli says staffers are willing to accomodate.

Fox Corp. said it swung to a $50 million loss last quarter from a $290 million profit the year before mostly due to the cost of a legal settlement with Dominion Voting Services.

Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch says Fox Corp. is in a good place despite the ongoing WGA strike given its mix of programming.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor The costs of settling a closely scrutinized defamation lawsuit levied by Dominion Voting Systems wiped out profit at Fox Corp., spurring a loss of more than $50 million in its third fiscal quarter despite seeing increases in revenue from advertising and distribution. The costs of setting the suit — Fox agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle claims that Fox News personalities had deliberately passed along erroneous information about Dominion’s role in the 2020 presidential election — that it offset a 43% gain in advertising during the quarter due to Fox’s broadcast of Super Bowl LVII, typically an event that boosts corporate performance year in and year out. Fox posted a loss of $54 billion, compared to profit of $283 billion in the year-earlier period. It attributed the loss to “charges associated with legal settlement costs at Fox News Media.”

Confider reported that text messages between Carlson and the network’s then-chief political anchor Bret Baier revealed that they were worried that Fox would be “destroyed” by its early but accurate call of Arizona for Biden.“I’ve got four more years here. I’m stuck with Fox. Got to do whatever I can to keep our numbers up and our viewers happy,” Carlson tweeted.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Tucker Carlson is out at 8 p.m. on Fox News Channel, and the network hopes that a host of blue-chip advertisers that for years avoided his controversial hour will soon come back in. Since Carlson’s stunning exit last month, a timeslot that has been shunned by many Madison Avenue stalwarts seems as if it is being embraced. Procter & Gamble, one of the nation’s largest and most influential advertisers, has been running ads in “Fox News Tonight,” the network’s new 8 p.m. program, for female-skewing products like Venus razor blades by Gillette and Secret underarm deodorant. Also showing up in commercial breaks: Novo Nordisk’s trendy medication Ozempic, and Scotts Miracle-Gro.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor How much should it cost to end media scrutiny on the internal workings of a news organization? Fox Corp. thinks an outlay of $787.5 million ought to be sufficient. In a letter filed Wednesday with the Superior Court of the State of Delaware, an attorney for Fox Corp. sought to keep redactions intact in documents supporting the case, and pressed a judge to keep media organizations from being able to examine the evidence further. “Fox agreed to settle this case to buy peace and bring an end to the media spectacle that the case had become,” says Katherine L. Mowery, an attorney representing Fox Corp. in its bid to quell further releases pertaining to its recent defamation settlement agreement with ballot-technology firm Dominion Voting Corp.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Shares of media companies stayed relatively tranquil Wednesday amid the work stoppage imposed by the WGA’s writers strike and another interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve. WGA union members took the picket lines in L.A. and New York for a second day, as they called on studios and streaming companies to agree to new contract terms for Hollywood writers. Meanwhile, the Fed on Wednesday raised its benchmark policy rate by 0.25%, to a new range of 5% to 5.25%, which is the highest it’s been since September 2007. On the interest-rate hike, the Dow Jones Industrial Average turned negative and closed down 0.8% Wednesday, down 270.29 points to 33,414.24, while the Nasdaq ended the day down 0.46%.

Charlie Collier, who segued last fall from lengthy exec stints at Fox Corp. and AMC Networks to a top post at Roku, took the stage at his first NewFronts pitch Tuesday to invite advertisers to bring their messages to the stream.

surprise firing of the channel’s controversial opinion host Tucker Carlson.“Conservative media and the conservative movement are very effective. They’re rich, effective, successful, thriving enterprises,” Maddow said during her show as she addressed what Carlson’s shocking departure means for conservative media.

Ellise Shafer Brian Kilmeade took over Fox News’ 8 p.m. hour on Monday night following news of Tucker Carlson’s exit from the network. The “Fox & Friends” anchor briefly addressed Carlson’s departure at the top of the program, which was renamed “Fox News Tonight” instead of “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” “As you probably have heard, Fox News and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways,” Kilmeade said. “I wish Tucker the best. I’m great friends with Tucker and always will be. But right now, it’s time for ‘Fox News Tonight,’ so let’s get started.” In a surprise move, Fox News announced on Monday morning that its most-watched primetime host would leave the network. “Fox News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways,” the company said in a statement. “We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor.” 

settling with Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit for $787.5 million.Following his abrupt exit, the Los Angeles Times reported that Fox Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch made the decision to terminate Carlson and that it was related to a discrimination lawsuit filed by former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg, which accused the “Tucker Carlson Tonight” anchor and his staff of making sexist and antisemitic jokes.

Brian Kilmeade will host Fox News Tonight on Monday and is expected to address the exit of Tucker Carlson from the network.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Sean Hannity was blindsided by Fox News’ announcement that Tucker Carlson is parting ways with the network. Carlson was Fox News’ most-watched primetime host with his 8 p.m. ET news hour “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” which Hannity then followed in the 9 p.m. hour with his own eponymous series. Carlson’s show launched in November 2016, while “Hannity” has been a Fox News flagship series since 2009. “It’s very hard,” Hannity said at the start of his radio show, “The Sean Hannity Show,” regarding Carlson’s Fox News departure (via The Wrap). “My phone has been blowing up all day. The hard part for me is I don’t have a clue… I have no idea. Was it Tucker’s decision? Was it Fox’s? Was it a mutual agreement that they had? I don’t know.”

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “The View” hosts rejoiced during the April 24 episode of the ABC talk show as it was announced during the taping that Tucker Carlson was leaving Fox News. The audience cheered when “The View” moderator Whoopi Goldberg broke the news on air, saying, “Word has just come down that Fox News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways.” “Can I ask the audience if they’ll help me do something?” Ana Navarro said as she threw her hands in the air and started singing Steam’s 1969 hit “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.” “Come on folks! Na na na na. Na na na na. Hey, hey, hey. Goodbye! Sayonara,” Navarro said, leading “The View” audience in a sing-along to celebrate Carlson’s departure.

Tucker Carlson and Fox News have agreed to part ways, the media company said in a statement on Monday, less than a week after Fox News and parent company Fox Corp FOXA.O settled a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Tucker Carlson will no longer be able to carry on his self-generated battle against lying, pomposity, smugness, and groupthink at Fox News Channel. Carlson, Fox News Channel’s most-watched primetime host, will leave the network in an abrupt and surprise exit, leaving the network without a fill-in for one of its most popular hours and with dozens of questions hanging over it as it grapples with pressures resulting from a $787 million settlement it will have to pay to Dominion Voting Systems “Fox News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways,” the company said in a statement Monday. “We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor.” A spokeswoman for Fox News declined to elaborate.

Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch is dropping his defamation claimagainst Australian news site Crikey over a column that connected him to the January 6th attack on the Capitol.

Dan Bongino is departing Fox News, as the conservative host announced that his program last weekend was his last.