Before Rupert stepped back, the Murdochs set Fox News on a new path.
A major transition at the top of a big company typically spells significant change. Just ask anyone who has worked for CNN while parent company WarnerMedia passed along to AT&T and then the new Warner Bros. Discovery.
But Fox News may — at least for now — remain as is, even though the network’s best-known backer, Rupert Murdoch, has signaled that he will step back from some parts of managing Fox Corp. and News Corp., handing the reins to his son, Lachlan, and becoming the companies’ chairman emeritus. Murdoch has vowed to remain active in matters of content, and people familiar with his management say it’s difficult to envision him not haggling over news cycles and Fox News Channel’s positioning on them.
To be sure, Fox News faces heady industry challenges. Linear TV audiences are shrinking, and with them, the leverage that media companies like Fox can use to seek top advertising prices and affiliate fees. Fox News remains the most-watched news outlet on cable and coverage of the 2024 election should boost some of its lines of revenue, according to Kagan, a market-research firm that is part of S&P Global Intelligence. Advertising sales in 2024 are projected to rise more than 105 to $992.3 million, compared with $896.8 million in 2023. But subscribers are expected to dip — to 64.6 million from 68.6 million — and with that, the money Fox News secures from cable distributors, falling to $1.
