Untucked: The numbers behind Tucker Carlson Tonight

4/25/23 8:00PM

Untucked

‍Last Friday, Tucker Carlson unknowingly hosted his final show at Fox News, as the network confirmed on Monday it was parting ways with the controversial prime-time personality, an abrupt firing of one of the network’s most-watched anchors. Carlson’s departure came in a week of cable chaos — with high-profile exits at CNN and NBCU — and just days after Fox settled its lawsuit against Dominion Voting Systems for a staggering $787m, a trial which saw Carlson's texts and emails released during discovery.

Carlson had been a prominent figure at Fox News since joining in 2009, but his screen time — per Stanford’s Cable TV News Analyzer — skyrocketed in 2017 when he took over the coveted 8pm slot from commentator Bill O'Reilly. Regularly racking up 20+ hours of screentime a month, Carlson’s show often drew more than 3 million viewers, consistently ranking as the #1 or #2 cable news show.

That meant big bucks for Fox. Despite some premium advertisers boycotting the show, Variety reports that advertisers spent more than $77m on Tucker Carlson Tonight last year, more than the ~$54m worth of airtime that advertisers bought on The Ingraham Angle and the $50m spent on Hannity. The firing suggests that Fox execs are keen to show that no personality is bigger than the network, with plans to rotate hosts for the prized 8pm slot suggesting the decision was made abruptly, with no “succession” plan in place.

Max Knoblauch14h

Paramount reportedly offers concessions to resolve multistate antitrust investigation

Paramount has reportedly offered up some concessions in an effort to prevent an antitrust lawsuit by California and about 10 other states, according to Bloomberg reporting on Monday.

Reuters first reported on the potential suit from a group of unnamed states last week, which could throw a wrench in Paramount’s plans to buy rival Warner Bros. Discovery in a Hollywood megamerger.

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

Paramount Offers Concessions to Head Off State Antitrust Lawsuit

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

$98B ⛽

Max Knoblauch21h

The IATA released its latest financial outlook for the airline industry over the weekend, forecasting a $98 billion jump in the sector’s collective fuel bill. The world’s largest trade group representing airlines expects the oil spike to halve profits by 49% from last year to $23 billion.

The group also expects profit margins to halve year over year, falling from 2025’s 4.2% to 2%. Still, revenue is expected to climb to $1.17 trillion from $1.07 trillion.

A surge in the cost of jet fuel has rocked US and global airlines this year, leading Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, and others to raise fares and ancillary charges like bag fees. Low-cost carriers, which operate on smaller margins, have been squeezed the hardest, resulting in Spirit’s shutdown.

“It’s a tough year for all airlines, especially those whose balance sheets had not yet recovered from COVID. And, of course, for those operating in the Gulf,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh, who added that demand is holding up and about half of passengers expect to spend more on travel this year. “That bodes well for a strong northern summer peak season. The big unknown is how long travelers and shippers can tolerate the higher costs of connectivity.”

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GM has reportedly rehired more than 100 former Cruise employees, 18 months after shuttering the robotaxi unit

GM has rehired more than 100 employees it let go early last year when it shuttered Cruise, its former robotaxi business, according to reporting by The Information.

The hiring spree, which also includes employees from Nvidia and Uber, is geared toward ramping up GM’s plans for personal-use self-driving vehicles and not robotaxis. The former had been the focus of Cruise, prior to GM shuttering it in 2024.

Reporting last fall revealed that GM was attempting to rehire some former Cruise employees, but the scope of that effort wasn’t clear. More than 1,000 employees were laid off when the automaker scrapped Cruise, which it invested $10 billion into.

Google’s Waymo, Cruise’s former chief rival, is now worth $126 billion after a $16 billion funding round earlier this year. The company says it’s serving 500,000 paid robotaxi rides per week in the US.

Exclusive: With Some 100 Rehired Cruise Employees, GM Pursues Eyes-Off Autonomous Cars

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