Fox News announced on Monday morning that it and its hit cable host, Tucker Carlson, would be parting ways. That came as a shock to many of Tucker’s fans, as he had said on his Friday show that he would be back on Monday. It also came as a shock to investors, who quickly dumped the stock in the minutes after the announcement.
Such was reported by Business Insider, which reported that the stock took a nosedive and then slightly recovered in the hours after the announcement, saying:
Fox Corporation stock fell as much as 5% on Monday and erased $962 million in market value after it was announced that Fox News Media had parted ways with its host Tucker Carlson.
Class A shares of the media company recovered slightly and were trading at $32.65, down almost 3% at 1:32 p.m. ET.
Over the past month, the cable news network’s stock, Fox Corp Class A, hovered around $34 a share. Following the announcement, however, the stock plummeted to about $32 a share before recovering slightly, as reported by Business Insider. In addition, Fox Corp Class B stock hovered around $31 a share before falling to $29 a share in yesterday’s mid-morning trading hours.
While the announcement has hit Fox News and its stock, some think it might be good for Tucker and help him break free from the shackles of the corporate press. Megyn Kelly, for instance, said, “I firmly believe Tucker will be better off. I think these cable networks are dinosaurs … getting out under the thumb of the big corporate management is a blessing. It is a blessing and I know he’s smart enough to know that.”
It remains to be seen where Tucker will go or what he will do next, though his immense popularity means he could either land a very comfortable position at an up and coming conservative channel like Newsmax, or start his own show or podcast to capitalize on his individual popularity.
In the statement about it and Tucker Carlson parting ways, Fox News said:
FOX News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways. We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor.
Mr. Carlson’s last program was Friday April 21st. Fox News Tonight will air live at 8 PM/ET starting this evening as an interim show helmed by rotating FOX News personalities until a new host is named.
FOX News Media operates the FOX News Channel (FNC), FOX Business Network (FBN), FOX News Digital, FOX News Audio, FOX News Books, the direct-to-consumer streaming services FOX Nation and FOX News International and the free ad-supported television service FOX Weather. Currently the number one cable network, FNC has been the most watched television news channel for more than 21 consecutive years, while FBN ranks among the top business channels on cable. Fox Corporation owns FOX News Media, which reaches nearly 200 million people monthly.
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