Laura Ingraham?s remarks about Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg and Tucker Carlson?s comments on immigration have come at a heavy cost for their Fox News shows, which have lost millions in ad revenue, according to new data provided to TheWrap.
According to an analysis for TheWrap by advertising data firm Standard Media Index, Fox News? 10 p.m. slot, hosted by Ingraham, was down at least $16 million in ad revenue in 2018. Carlson?s show, which airs at 8 p.m., has lost another $2.2 million thanks to an ad boycott that began in December after he said mass immigration makes the U.S. ?poorer, and dirtier, and more divided.?
That?s a total loss of more than $18 million ? though not all of the loss can be blamed directly on the boycotts, for reasons we?ll detail below. The boycotts ? fueled by liberal activists ? haven?t led to a major financial hit for Fox News so far. The company earned $805 million in ad revenue in 2018, according to Standard Media Index, which uses media companies? invoices to calculate revenues.
The ad losses have forced both ?The Ingraham Angle? and ?Tucker Carlson Tonight? to fill their commercial breaks with unpaid station promos. On Monday evening, Sun Basket Meals became the latest sponsor to pull its ads from the Carlson?s show.
Fox News disputed that it has lost any revenue from the boycotts and said that some advertisers are returning after previously pulling out as sponsors.
?Advertisers have started to return and this period is not representative of the status quo in commercial loads for the industry as virtually every network runs a lighter commercial load during the first two weeks of the year,? Marianne Gambelli, Fox News president of ad sales, told TheWrap in a statement. ?No revenue was lost as inventory has been shifted to other dayparts and we are on track to deliver a record year in ad sales.?
While Carlson?s numbers are only for recent weeks, since he made his remarks in mid-December, the Ingraham numbers aren?t just for the ?first two weeks of the year? ? her troubles began in March 2018.
05-02-2019 - Vidéo