Former Fox News star is generating a lot of interest in a new media venture he is putting together after the network took him off the air in late April.
According to Axios, “Carlson has struck an ad deal worth more than $1 million with PublicSq, an online marketplace for companies with conservative values, two sources familiar with the agreement told” the outlet.
“Omeed Malik, the chief executive and chairman of the board of the blank check company looking to take PublicSq public this month, is also planning to invest in Carlson’s company, sources told Axios,” the outlet reported.
Malik intends to invest a significant amount, ranging from seven to eight figures, in Carlson’s media empire through his private investment firm, 1789 Capital, the outlet noted further, citing sources.
Axios added:
1789 Capital focuses investments in companies that support the “Replication/Parallel Economy,” “Deglobalization” and “Anti-ESG (i.e. sectors that have been negatively impacted by such principles).”
The ad deal is the first major one for Carlson’s new venture, which, as The Wall Street Journal reported, will hopefully be one of many more to come.
The WSJ added:
Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and former White House adviser Neil Patel are seeking to raise funds to start a new media company that would potentially use Twitter as its backbone, according to people familiar with the matter.
The new company would be anchored by longer versions of the free videos that Carlson has been posting regularly on Twitter since shortly after his departure from Fox News, but would ultimately be driven by subscriptions, some of the people said.
Carlson and Patel are looking to raise hundreds of millions of dollars to fund the company, the people said.
Those utilizing Twitter and other platforms would retain the ability to view condensed versions of his show, interviews, and documentaries at no cost. However, to access the complete content, a subscription would be required. The sources also mentioned that the company has plans to incorporate shows from other hosts in the future.
Carlson and Patel, who were roommates at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., and graduated together in 1991, joined forces in 2010 to establish the conservative news website, the Daily Caller. Patel continues to maintain control over the publication.
The duo has assembled a team of financiers, lawyers, and media strategists to collaborate on their new venture, as reported by individuals familiar with the project, the WSJ reported.
“Carlson’s team met with a Twitter team in recent weeks to discuss the endeavor, people familiar with the matter said,” the outlet reported. “Carlson and Patel’s new company would also have its own website and mobile app, and is exploring other homes beyond Twitter for its content as well, some of the people said.”
Meanwhile, Fox News on Monday launched a new prime-time lineup that features Laura Ingraham followed by Jesse Watters, Sean Hannity, and Greg Gutfeld — but the network has clearly suffered in terms of declining viewership since ditching Carlson.
In fact, Hannity is struggling to win his own timeslot on most nights.
As noted by AdWeek, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow beat Hannity in the 8 PM ET time slot on Monday, bringing in 2.40 million total viewers compared to his 1.95 million.
Last week, Hannity barely won his timeslot when he brought in 1.34 million total viewers compared to CNN’s “Primetime” getting 416,000 and MSNBC’s “Wagner Tonight” getting 1.12 million.
Hannity’s show, which got up to nearly 2 million in the final weeks of May, has fallen to around a 1.7 million average in July so far. For comparison, Hannity’s primetime show averaged around 3 million each night before Carlson’s departure.
After dominating cable news ratings for years, Fox News was knocked from its top perch by left-wing rival MSNBC in key time slots.