Tucker Carlson is entering the world of streaming. According to the Wall Street Journal, the former FOX (FOXA) News host launched his own streaming service today (Dec. 11). The Tucker Carlson Network (TCN) costs $9 monthly and will host five shows by midweek.
Since his ousting from Fox News in April, the conservative commentator has found new ways to grab mainstream attention. At its peak in October 2020, right before the presidential election, his primetime show Tucker Carlson Tonight was the most-watched show on cable, with 5,36 million viewers that month. After being fired, he began a new show on X, formerly Twitter, and later teamed up with conservative political advisor Neil Patel to start a media company. The two founded the conservative news company, The Daily Caller, in 2010, which Carlson left in 2020 while Patel remained at the helm.
Carlson is not the first among his Fox peers to start his own media company. Former hosts Megyn Kelly and Bill O’Reilly have also gone out on their own independently from Fox. The Megyn Kelly Show is a podcast hosted by Sirius XM. Her YouTube channel has 1.5 million subscribers. O’Reilly’s digital company and show No Spin News offers a premium subscription of $6.95 per month.
According to the original report, the shows on TCN will vary from interviews to short-form content and monologues. Carlson will also launch a podcast called The Tucker Carlson Podcast, reportedly backed by the same advertising company as Kelly and O’Reilly’s companies, Red Sea Ventures. He’s also slated to speak with Carlson today with more details about his streaming service.
Carlson interviewed many contentious figures while on Fox, including Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, and Elon Musk, whose platform X hosted Carlson’s show after he left Fox.
After starting his show on X, Carlson’s interview subjects have ranged from former president Donald Trump to rapper Ice Cube. It’s difficult to determine how many views his programs on X received by looking at the posts since Elon Musk removed the video views tally, but a report from NBC News found data that Carlson’s first episode on X was viewed 26 million times. Carlson’s interview with Donald Trump was viewed 14.8 million times, according to Mashable. Carlson’s interview with Andrew Tate, an internet influencer charged with human trafficking, is among his most controversial. His popularity and high viewership are often met with concern from critics as he uses his platform to endorse public figures accused of sexual assault, trafficking and misogyny, like Tate and Russell Brand.
Aside from his show guests, Carlson’s messaging and personal views, which often invoke racist, misogynist rhetoric and conspiracy theories, are a large part of his identity as a broadcaster. He was one of the public figures who upheld the conspiracy that President Joe Biden stole the last election from Trump, he’s spoken out against Black Lives Matter, made racist and xenophobic comments against people like Rep. Ilhan Omar and denied that climate change exists.
