Fox Corp Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch says Fox Corp. is in a good place despite the ongoing WGA strike given its mix of programming.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor The costs of settling a closely scrutinized defamation lawsuit levied by Dominion Voting Systems wiped out profit at Fox Corp., spurring a loss of more than $50 million in its third fiscal quarter despite seeing increases in revenue from advertising and distribution. The costs of setting the suit — Fox agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle claims that Fox News personalities had deliberately passed along erroneous information about Dominion’s role in the 2020 presidential election — that it offset a 43% gain in advertising during the quarter due to Fox’s broadcast of Super Bowl LVII, typically an event that boosts corporate performance year in and year out. Fox posted a loss of $54 billion, compared to profit of $283 billion in the year-earlier period. It attributed the loss to “charges associated with legal settlement costs at Fox News Media.”

Confider reported that text messages between Carlson and the network’s then-chief political anchor Bret Baier revealed that they were worried that Fox would be “destroyed” by its early but accurate call of Arizona for Biden.“I’ve got four more years here. I’m stuck with Fox. Got to do whatever I can to keep our numbers up and our viewers happy,” Carlson tweeted.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Tucker Carlson is out at 8 p.m. on Fox News Channel, and the network hopes that a host of blue-chip advertisers that for years avoided his controversial hour will soon come back in. Since Carlson’s stunning exit last month, a timeslot that has been shunned by many Madison Avenue stalwarts seems as if it is being embraced. 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.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor How much should it cost to end media scrutiny on the internal workings of a news organization? Fox Corp. thinks an outlay of $787.5 million ought to be sufficient. In a letter filed Wednesday with the Superior Court of the State of Delaware, an attorney for Fox Corp. sought to keep redactions intact in documents supporting the case, and pressed a judge to keep media organizations from being able to examine the evidence further. “Fox agreed to settle this case to buy peace and bring an end to the media spectacle that the case had become,” says Katherine L. Mowery, an attorney representing Fox Corp. in its bid to quell further releases pertaining to its recent defamation settlement agreement with ballot-technology firm Dominion Voting Corp.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Shares of media companies stayed relatively tranquil Wednesday amid the work stoppage imposed by the WGA’s writers strike and another interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve. WGA union members took the picket lines in L.A. and New York for a second day, as they called on studios and streaming companies to agree to new contract terms for Hollywood writers. Meanwhile, the Fed on Wednesday raised its benchmark policy rate by 0.25%, to a new range of 5% to 5.25%, which is the highest it’s been since September 2007. On the interest-rate hike, the Dow Jones Industrial Average turned negative and closed down 0.8% Wednesday, down 270.29 points to 33,414.24, while the Nasdaq ended the day down 0.46%.

Charlie Collier, who segued last fall from lengthy exec stints at Fox Corp. and AMC Networks to a top post at Roku, took the stage at his first NewFronts pitch Tuesday to invite advertisers to bring their messages to the stream.

surprise firing of the channel’s controversial opinion host Tucker Carlson.“Conservative media and the conservative movement are very effective. They’re rich, effective, successful, thriving enterprises,” Maddow said during her show as she addressed what Carlson’s shocking departure means for conservative media.

Ellise Shafer Brian Kilmeade took over Fox News’ 8 p.m. hour on Monday night following news of Tucker Carlson’s exit from the network. The “Fox & Friends” anchor briefly addressed Carlson’s departure at the top of the program, which was renamed “Fox News Tonight” instead of “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” “As you probably have heard, Fox News and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways,” Kilmeade said. “I wish Tucker the best. I’m great friends with Tucker and always will be. But right now, it’s time for ‘Fox News Tonight,’ so let’s get started.” In a surprise move, Fox News announced on Monday morning that its most-watched primetime host would leave the network. “Fox News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways,” the company said in a statement. “We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor.” 

settling with Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit for $787.5 million.Following his abrupt exit, the Los Angeles Times reported that Fox Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch made the decision to terminate Carlson and that it was related to a discrimination lawsuit filed by former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg, which accused the “Tucker Carlson Tonight” anchor and his staff of making sexist and antisemitic jokes.

Brian Kilmeade will host Fox News Tonight on Monday and is expected to address the exit of Tucker Carlson from the network.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Sean Hannity was blindsided by Fox News’ announcement that Tucker Carlson is parting ways with the network. Carlson was Fox News’ most-watched primetime host with his 8 p.m. ET news hour “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” which Hannity then followed in the 9 p.m. hour with his own eponymous series. Carlson’s show launched in November 2016, while “Hannity” has been a Fox News flagship series since 2009. “It’s very hard,” Hannity said at the start of his radio show, “The Sean Hannity Show,” regarding Carlson’s Fox News departure (via The Wrap). “My phone has been blowing up all day. The hard part for me is I don’t have a clue… I have no idea. Was it Tucker’s decision? Was it Fox’s? Was it a mutual agreement that they had? I don’t know.”

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “The View” hosts rejoiced during the April 24 episode of the ABC talk show as it was announced during the taping that Tucker Carlson was leaving Fox News. The audience cheered when “The View” moderator Whoopi Goldberg broke the news on air, saying, “Word has just come down that Fox News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways.” “Can I ask the audience if they’ll help me do something?” Ana Navarro said as she threw her hands in the air and started singing Steam’s 1969 hit “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.” “Come on folks! Na na na na. Na na na na. Hey, hey, hey. Goodbye! Sayonara,” Navarro said, leading “The View” audience in a sing-along to celebrate Carlson’s departure.

Tucker Carlson and Fox News have agreed to part ways, the media company said in a statement on Monday, less than a week after Fox News and parent company Fox Corp FOXA.O settled a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Tucker Carlson will no longer be able to carry on his self-generated battle against lying, pomposity, smugness, and groupthink at Fox News Channel. Carlson, Fox News Channel’s most-watched primetime host, will leave the network in an abrupt and surprise exit, leaving the network without a fill-in for one of its most popular hours and with dozens of questions hanging over it as it grapples with pressures resulting from a $787 million settlement it will have to pay to Dominion Voting Systems “Fox News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways,” the company said in a statement Monday. “We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor.” A spokeswoman for Fox News declined to elaborate.

Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch is dropping his defamation claimagainst Australian news site Crikey over a column that connected him to the January 6th attack on the Capitol.

Dan Bongino is departing Fox News, as the conservative host announced that his program last weekend was his last.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Dan Bongino, one of the most right-leaning hosts in the Fox News stable, is leaving the network after the Fox Corp.-backed outlet and he could not come to terms on a new contract. “Folks, regretfully, last week was my last show on Fox News on the Fox News Channel,” Bongino said on his podcast Thursday. “It’s tough. It’s tough to say that. You know, I’ve been there doing hits and working there for ten years…so the show ending was tough. And I want you to know it’s not some big conspiracy. I promise you. There’s no acrimony. This wasn’t some WWE brawl that happened. We just couldn’t come to terms on an extension. Bongino, who joined Fox News as a contributor in 2019, began hosting the Saturday-night program “Unfiltered With Dan Bongino” on Fox News in 2021.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Fox Corp. has put increasing amounts of money behind news and sports in recent years. But that doesn’t mean the company is completely free of drama. A landmark $787.5 million settlement made Tuesday between Fox and the voting-technology company Dominion Voting Systems does not end what is likely to be a period of tumult for the owner of Fox News Channel and the Fox broadcasting network. The payment to Dominion to keep an explosive investigation into how Fox News disseminated conspiracy theories related to the 2020 presidential election out of the public sphere does nothing to alleviate another wave of scrutiny likely to come from another, similar lawsuit.

John Poulos, the CEO of Dominion Voting Systems, defended the $787.5 billion settlement with Fox News and Fox Corp., telling Good Morning America that “all of the facts we had discovered during the case had already come to light.”

Fox has admitted telling lies, the company CEO John Poulos says in press conference.Fox Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch had been scheduled to be among the first witnesses in the trial, which legal analysts said was tilted heavily against the media company.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Fox Corporation and Dominion Voting Systems agreed to settle a much-discussed $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit mere hours after a jury had been seated to consider the matter in Delaware’s Superior Court. Attorneys for the two sides had been set to deliver opening statements to the jury. But that activity was delayed Tuesday after Judge Eric M. Davis called for a lunch break. “The parties have resolved their case,” the judge said. The legal case had already generated intense scrutiny, with documents, emails and texts from senior Fox executives and well-known Fox News anchors and hosts all suggesting many people at the company knew they were disseminating conspiracy theories around the 2020 presidential election and Dominion Voting’s role in it.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Rupert Murdoch can breathe easy for at least one more day. The judge overseeing the much-scrutinized defamation trial brought against Fox News and its parent, Fox Corp., has delayed its start by a day, according to a statement issued by Delaware’s Superior Court, where the case is being heard. The decision is sure to raise speculation that the two sides may be seeking a settlement. “The Court has decided to continue the start of the trial, including jury selection, until Tuesday, April 18, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. I will make such an announcement tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. in Courtroom 7E,” Judge Eric Davis said in a note Sunday evening.

The start of the Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation trail against Fox News that was to start Monday has now been delayed until Tuesday.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Brian Stelter is getting ready to write a new chapter in his ongoing analysis of Fox News Channel. The former anchor of CNN’s “Reliable Sources” is gearing up for “Network of Lies: The Epic Saga of Fox News, Donald Trump, and the Battle for American Democracy,” a look at the Fox Corp. cable outlet’s trajectory following the 2020 election and through the much-scrutinized defamation trial brought against it by Dominion Voting Systems. That court proceeding is slated to open Monday. “Network of Lies” is billed as a sequel of sorts to Stelter’s 2020 book “Hoax,” which offered a deep look behind the mechanics of how Fox News Channel produces its news coverage and opinion programming. Stelter’s new book proposes to examine how Fox News proceeded after the election of President Joe Biden and how it oriented itself after President Donald Trump left office. The book, published by One Signal, an imprint of Simon & Schuster’s Atria division, is scheduled to debut in November of 2023.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor A judge overseeing a much-scrutinized defamation trial brought by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News and its corporate parent has admonished attorneys for the media company several times this week in preliminary hearings and suggested Wednesday he may appoint an outside monitor to ensure Fox isn’t withholding evidence. Judge Eric M. David of Delaware’s Superior Court suggested Wednesday that he might appoint a special master to probe whether Fox lied about withholding evidence after Dominion attorneys made a presentation about materials not given to them in the discovery process that they believe are warranted. There were also claims made that Fox Corp. declined to acknowledge that Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman of Fox Corp., was also an officer of Fox News — a detail that would affect what kinds of materials Dominion could obtain.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Google is bringing together more than 800 livestreaming channels — including news channels from ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox — into a new guide in the Google TV interface. Google TV is launching free built-in channels that users can watch without downloading or launching an app. In total, it now offers over 800 channels and premium programming, including the addition of free channels from Fox Corp.’s Tubi, Plex and Haystack News, alongside the existing lineup of channels from Paramount Global’s Pluto TV. Google TV also provides channels from around the world, with programming in more than 10 languages including Spanish, Hindi and Japanese.

As Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox News heads to a trial next week, the judge in the case placed limits on what attorneys can and cannot bring up before the jury.

Fox News has reached a settlement with Venezuelan businessman Majed Khalil, who filed a defamation lawsuit over a Lou Dobbs tweet and broadcast linking him to rigging the 2020 presidential election.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor As Fox Corp. prepares to fight a looming and high-profile defamation case, it has agreed to settle another. The company, which owns Fox News, has reached a confidential agreement to resolve a defamation case levied against it by Venezuelan businessman Majed Khalil that alleged Fox News and former host Lou Dobbs had harmed Khalil’s reputation by stating he and three others developed programs and machines to rig the 2020 presidential election. “This matter has been resolved amicably by both sides. We have no further comment,” Fox News said in a statement after being contacted by Variety. A letter filed Saturday to Judge Louis L. Stanton of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York informed authorities that the parties in the case “have reached a confidential agreement to resolve this matter. The parties anticipate filing a joint stipulation of dismissal with prejudice early next week.”

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Rupert Murdoch and Lachlan Murdoch could be called upon to testify in Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit suit against Fox News and Fox Corp., per a Delaware judge who says he is not against calling upon the media moguls. If the attorneys for Dominion issue trial subpoenas to force a testimony from the Fox leaders, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said at a public hearing Wednesday he, “would not quash it and I would compel them to come,” per NBC News. “It would be my discretion that they come,” Davis said. Dominion’s attorneys requested in a letter to the court Wednesday that live testimony be required from Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, as well as Fox board member and former House Speaker Paul Ryan and Fox exec Viet Dinh. Davis approved the request to compel each of them to testify, according to NBC News.

UPDATED: Rupert Murdoch and Ann Lesley Smith are no longer engaged, Deadline has confirmed, only weeks after news that the two were planning to tie the knot this summer. Smith was set to be wife No. 5 for the media mogul and chairman of Fox Corp.

The Fox News-Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit is going to trial.A judge denied granting a summary judgement Friday to Fox News. The cable network was attempting to get Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit thrown out.

Dominion Voting Systems’ upcoming defamation trial against Fox News and Fox Corp., scheduled to begin on April 17, may very well feature a parade of the network’s news personalities taking the stand, with both sides in the case planning to call figures including Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Bret Baier.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Fox News cut ties with Abby Grossberg Friday, Variety has learned, after the booker and producer for such hosts as Tucker Carlson and Maria Bartiromo alleged in court filings earlier this week that she was coerced by executives into providing misleading testimony in the $1.6 billion defamation suit that Dominion Voting Systems has levied against the Fox Corp.-backed outlet. Grossberg, who had worked as a senior booking producer for Bartiromo and head of booking for Carlson, alleged in filings in Delaware Superior Court and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that Fox attorneys worked to “coach, manipulate, and coerce Ms. Grossberg to deliver shaded and/or incomplete answers during her sworn deposition testimony, which answers were clearly to her reputational detriment but greatly benefitted Fox News,” according to her Delaware lawsuit.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor A producer for Fox News who has worked for Maria Batirormo and Tucker Carlson alleged in court filings Monday that she was coerced by executives into providing misleading testimony in the $1.6 billion defamation suit that Dominion Voting Systems has levied against the Fox Corp.-backed outlet. In filings made Monday Delaware Superior Court and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Abby Grossberg, who had worked as a senior booking producer for Bartiromo and head of booking for Tucker Carlson, alleged that Fox attorneys worked to “coach, manipulate, and coerce Ms. Grossberg to deliver shaded and/or incomplete answers during her sworn deposition testimony, which answers were clearly to her reputational detriment but greatly benefitted Fox News,” according to the Delaware lawsuit.