Firing Tucker is going to hurt Fox News in more ways than one....
Firing Tucker is going to hurt Fox News in more ways than one. First, it is going to lose its most lucrative program. Now that will be painful financially, but the Murdock family is counting on dumping Fox News before the network goes south. That has got to be their strategy because no one at Fox can replace Tucker. Fox will lose a couple of million viewers. Some folks will stay out of sheer habit or lethargy, but most will go elsewhere. And why not? They are obviously not wanted.
The second reason is the 8:00 PM slot Tucker dominated was the lead-in for Fox’s prime time schedule. People sat down with Tucker, stayed for Hannity, and often hung out for Laura Ingraham. That lineup is gone and will hurt Fox’s standing… a lot. Fewer viewers mean less ad revenue and less income for the network. Advertisers may look for a new home or at least a big cut in ad costs.
Third, and this is the most potentially damaging, if (when) Tucker moves to another network, he will bring a couple of million followers with him. That creates a huge opportunity for Newsmax or another similar platform to grow into a serious rival for the affections of conservative audiences. So, Fox could lose even more viewers in the long run. Let’s hope so.