The channel has parted ways with its prime-time anchor, who used to attract an audience of 3.7 million
Tucker Carlson during 2022 FOX Nation Patriot Awards, November 17, 2022, Hollywood, Florida.
The exit of Tucker Carlson, one of Fox News’ most popular prime-time hosts, has cost the channel’s parent company more than $500 million in market value, according to trading data.
Class A shares of Fox Corporation dropped as much as 5.4% on Monday before paring losses to 2.95%. The decline occurred shortly after the company announced plans to part ways with Carlson with immediate effect after more than a decade.
Carlson’s departure came several days after the broadcaster agreed to pay $787 million to settle a defamation suit brought by Dominion Voting Systems. The firm had previously sued the network for defamation in a Delaware court, alleging that Fox presenters including Carlson had promoted “baseless” claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
Neither Fox nor Carlson revealed the reasons behind the break-up. The network only said that last Friday’s episode of Tucker Carlson Tonight, which attracted a nightly audience of more than 3.7 million, was the last, and that a newscast will be aired in its time slot from Monday evening.
READ MORE: CNN abruptly fires longtime host
Speculation over Carlson’s next landing spot sent shares of Rumble, the Peter Thiel-backed conservative video network, and Digital World Acquisition, the special-purpose acquisition company merging with Trump Media, surging. Rumble rallied 6%, while Digital World gained 2.9%.
For more stories on economy & finance visit RT’s business section
