40 Advertisers Return to Tucker Carlson’s Old Hour After Fox News Gives Him the Boot: Report

Fox News reportedly regained some “blue-chip” advertisers in its 8 p.m. hour after firing Tucker Carlson two weeks ago.

Variety’s Brian Steinberg reported on Monday that after Carlson’s abrupt ouster, some “Madison Avenue stalwarts” returned to advertise on Fox News Tonight, the program which has replaced with a new host each week.

“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,” reported Steinberg.

Fox News Media’s Executive Vice President of Ad Sales Jeff Collins told Steinberg, “We have had over 40 new advertisers come into the hour since we launched the new program, including some of the largest in the country and, really, across all major categories. We have seen new advertisers come in, and new demand.”

Carlson despite his sky-high ratings, particularly in the key 25-54 age demographic, struggled to keep advertisers during his hour, as the host often trafficked in conspiracy theories and racially charged content. Steinberg pointed to a 2018 controversy in which Carlson accused immigrants of making the U.S. “dirtier” as a key moment in which he lost major advertisers.

“For years, Carlson’s ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’ has largely been supported by so-called ‘direct response’ advertisers, which typically pay a lower price in exchange for allowing the network to place their commercials on an as-needed basis,” Steinberg explained, adding:

The top advertisers in the show in the past few years, according to audience-measurement firm iSpot.TV, have been Fox News Channel itself, via promos for its programs and its Fox Nation streaming service; MyPillow, the bedding product from conservative entrepreneur Mike Lindell; and Balance of Nature, a maker of nutritional supplements.

Steinberg’s report appeared to ruffle some feathers as Angelo Carusone, the head of progressive media watchdog Media Matters, shared the Variety report and wrote, “This is definitely not true. And Brian Steinberg at Variety is often a proxy for Fox PR; he will write anything they give him and he will never attempt to verify.”

Steinberg quickly defended his reporting and replied, “I actually spent a week watching the 8 pm hour before I wrote this and it is accurate that Procter & Gamble, Cologuard, Ozempic and other national advertisers have begun to run commercials in the time slot previously occupied by Carlson.”
Carusone hit back, writing:

1) That isn’t 40
2) Fox shifting “no Tucker” advertisers into 8pm is not the same as advertisers intentionally returning; Fox just rearranging decks.
3) You’ve often dismissed ad losses, but now they’re real, eh? Curious.

Media reporters from other outlets, like the LA Times and the Wall Street Journal came to Steinberg’s defense as well, noting they too had seen the ads.