Fox Weather, the free ad-supported streaming network from Fox News Media, will begin to simulcast weekday mornings on Fox Business Network Monday, July 15, from 5-6 a.m. ET. Britta Merwin and Craig Herrera co-anchor Fox Weather First in that time slot. 

It represents an expansion of Fox Weather’s simulcast strategy at Fox Business Network. Fox Weather has aired weekend morning content on FBN since December 2021.  

Fox Weather correspondent Max Gorden will transition to a reporter role at FBN, taking over duties in the Los Angeles bureau previously held by Kelly O’Grady, who is now a New York-based correspondent for FBN. Gorden joined Fox Weather before it launched. Extreme weather events he has covered include Hurricane Hilary, which hit California in August 2023, and the wildfire outbreak in Hawaii that same summer. 

Fox Weather launched in October 2021. 

Fox Nation today announced an upcoming partnership with Oscar-winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese for an eight-part documentary series.

Slated for November, Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints will feature eight hour-long special episodes exploring the stories of eight Christian saints. Scorsese will host, narrate and executive produce the upcoming series.

The Lionsgate-developed docuseries is written by Kent Jones and will be directed by Elizabeth Chomko.

“I’ve lived with the stories of the saints for most of my life, thinking about their words and actions,” Scorsese said in a statement. “I’m so excited that this project is underway, and that I’m working with so many trusted and talented collaborators.”

Added Fox News Media chief digital and marketing officer Jason Klarman, “Having the greatest storyteller tell some of the greatest stories of all time is exactly the kind of exclusive content that is driving Fox Nation’s success.”

The series will premiere in two parts, debuting its first four episodes on Nov. 16, before concluding in May 2025. 

Each episode will focus on a different saint, including Joan of Arc, Francis of Assisi, John the Baptist, Thomas Becket, Mary Magdalene, Moses the Black, Sebastian and Maximillian Kolbe, “examining these extraordinary figures and their extreme acts of kindness, selflessness, and sacrifice,” Fox said.

With the platform dubbed “Netflix for Conservatives” in 2018 by The New York Times, the docuseries will add to Fox Nation’s “exclusive content library, with nearly 10,000 hours of faith, historic and entertainment programming.”

Scorsese is the latest in a list of big names to collaborate with the Fox Nation, which has previously worked with Kevin Costner, Matthew McConaughey, Rob Lowe, Dennis Quaid, Dan Aykroyd and Jim Belushi.

Scorsese revealed in February at the Berlin film Festival that he is “currently contemplating” a film depicting the life of Jesus.

Fox Nation also recently picked up the rights to faith-based series The Chosen and The Passing of Christ.

Fox News Media said it named Trey Gargano as executive VP of ad sales, overseeing all Fox News platforms.

Gargano had been senior VP of Fox News Media since 2020. He succeeds Jeff Collins, who was named president of ad sales for Fox Corp. in January.

Both execs worked at Turner and CNN before joining Fox News.

Fox News Media also promoted Ryan Roelle to senior VP, national sales. She will report to Gargano. Based in Chicago, Roelle will focus on endemic and national advertising, in addition to leading linear and digital sales.

“Over the past four years, Trey’s vast knowledge and deep understanding of the news marketplace helped drive new revenue streams while Ryan has increased the effectiveness and performance of our endemic and national sales teams,” Collins said. “Together, they will ensure continued growth across Fox News Media platforms and success for our valued partners.”

Gargano spent 20 years with Turner Broadcasting System, where he held a number of leadership positions including VP of portfolio ad sales and client lead across CNN and Turner/WarnerMedia. He got his start in the industry working as a broadcast specialist for Young & Rubicam.

For the past five years, Roelle has served as the VP of linear and digital ad sales, central from Fox News’s Chicago Bureau. She rejoined the network in 2018 following three years at Viant, where she was the senior director of sales and enterprise sales. Roelle started at CNBC as a sales assistant and planner.

Fox News has agreed to pay Abby Grossberg, former producer at the network, $12 million to settle a lawsuit. Grossberg accused the network of operating a hostile workplace. 

Grossberg had been head of booking on Tucker Carlson Tonight. 

In a statement that ran in The New York Times, Grossberg said she is “hopeful, based on our discussions with Fox News today, that this resolution represents a positive step by the network regarding its treatment of women and minorities in the workplace,” she said.

Fox News said in a statement, “We are pleased that we have been able to resolve this matter without further litigation.”

Grossberg filed a lawsuit accusing Fox News and Tucker Carlson of allowing a workplace culture of misogyny and sexual harassment. She filed a second lawsuit claiming that Fox News coerced her into lying in testimony she gave in the Dominion Voting Systems case. 

She was fired not long after filing the lawsuits. 

Grossberg joined Fox News in 2019 as a senior producer for Maria Bartiromo. In 2022, she moved to Carlson’s program. 

Fox News dismissed Carlson in April, and reshuffled its primetime lineup. 

Host Tucker Carlson has left Fox News Channel. His last program was Friday, April 21. 

“Fox News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways. We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor,” said the network. 

Fox News did not give a reason for parting ways with Carlson, who hosted Tucker Carlson Tonight in the 8 p.m. ET weeknight slot. 

His departure comes on the heels of Fox News paying $787.5 million to settle a defamation lawsuit brought on by Dominion Voting Systems. Private text messages and emails from Fox News journalists and executives were revealed in stacks of testimony pertaining to the lawsuit, which saw Carlson express his disdain for former President Donald Trump.  

Carlson, and Fox News, is also facing a lawsuit from a former Tucker Carlson Tonight producer, Abby Grossberg, whose suit mentioned a workplace where “the staff’s distaste and disdain for women infiltrated almost every workday decision.” 

Tucker Carlson Tonight is described on FoxNews.com as “the sworn enemy of lying, pomposity, smugness and groupthink.” It launched at 7 p.m. in 2016 and moved to 9 p.m. in 2017, when Megyn Kelly departed Fox. It moved again, to 8 p.m., when Bill O’Reilly left the network that same year.

Fox News Tonight will air live at 8 p.m. starting April 24 as an interim show helmed by rotating Fox News personalities until a new host is named. 

Carlson was on CNN and MSNBC before joining Fox News in 2009. 

Fox News Media is telling advertisers they don’t have to run commercials in news coverage to take advantage of the big Fox News Channel audience in an election year.

At its upfront presentation for advertisers Tuesday, Fox News will be outlining packages that only include lifestyle and weather programming, late-night programming and connected TV programming, Jeff Collins, executive VP at Fox News Media, told Broadcasting+Cable.

Recent headlines from the $1.6 billion defamation suit that Dominion Voting Systems levied against Fox News indicated that network executives, producers and on-air personalities knew what the channel was reporting about election fraud was baloney.

Despite polls suggesting the revelations have turned off some viewers, Collins said it hasn’t affected ad revenue. 

“In fact, we’ve seen no impact,“ Collins said. “We have not had one advertiser cancel or pause or reduce their schedule with us.” 

As one media buyer said: “Most of our clients decided some time ago whether they were comfortable airing on Fox News, and any news properties, or not. That is mostly unchanged.”

An analysis by iSpot.tv found that in January and February, Fox News had 649 advertisers, little changed from the 642 advertisers it had in January and February of 2022. The biggest advertisers on Fox News were Balance of Nature, My Pillow and Nutrisystem.

Viewing Up Despite Cord-Cutting

At a time when cord-cutting is ravishing cable networks, Fox News viewership is up 11%, one of just two cable networks to grow in 2022. 

“We continue to see a lot of strength in linear,” Collins said. “We may be defying gravity right now.”

Collins said that while most of the industry is cutting back, Fox News is leaning in, investing in new programming. Since its last presentation, before the pandemic, ”we have a lot of new content that we’ve launched over the last several years. So we want to get that out front of advertisers.”

In particular, Collins says Fox News is investing in covering stories from the whole country.

“Many other networks are flying over states,“ he said. ”We’re flying into them and telling those stories and that's a really important point of distinction for us.”

Some of that programming is in nontraditional categories for a news network, and Fox News will give advertisers packages of only non-news programming if that’s what they want.

Fox Business Network’s primetime programming now features lifestyle shows like American Dream Home, Mansion Global and How America Works.

That programming has been very popular with clients because of opportunities for contextually relevant placement. For example, bedding marketer Boll & Branch sponsored segments in Mansion Global in which their sheets were featured in the bedrooms.

Lifestyle programming from the Fox Nation streaming service has also been popping up Sundays on Fox News Channel, giving an advertiser like Camping World the opportunity to sponsor Yellowstone 150, with Kevin Costner.

Fox’s late-night show, Gutfeld, has also started to attract Colbert, Kimmel and Fallon advertisers. “We’re working with clients that want to run Gutfeld-only plans,” Collins said. In terms of pricing, “I wouldn't say we're quite up to where a broadcast level would be. I would say it's a work in progress.”

Meanwhile, Fox Weather has increased distribution and leads a group of digital and streaming properties available to advertisers.

To be sure, the upfront will feature many familiar Fox News anchors and correspondents. 

Election-Ready

But most crucially the big story coming up is the election and Fox News expects to generate big numbers with debates, primaries and ultimately Election Day.

“It’s coming and it’s coming quickly,“ Collins said. ”The first Republican debate is going to be this summer. It’s coming actually before the upfront.”

Four years ago, the first Republican debate in August drew 24 million viewers. 

“We expect and anticipate, given the competitive field, that there’s going to be as much interest,” Collins said. “We’re also excited to be able to talk about the fact that we’re reaching a more politically diverse audience than any other network out there, with more Democrats and independents watching Fox News than the cable news competition.”

Collins said he is planning to bring in four major sponsors for election coverage across the Fox News portfolio. Some of those conversations are already going on and might result in deals before there is movement in the overall upfront market. 

Fox News will hold aside some election inventory for movie studios, streaming services and other advertisers launching new products that want to reach the large audiences it expects to attract.

Collins said Fox is willing to work with advertisers in the currencies they want to use, but at this point most alternative currencies are being used on a supplemental basis. “People still want to see their Nielsen currency and transact on that. That, by and large, is what we’re seeing, but they want secondary looks and secondary reads to be able to go a level deeper.”

Fox News offers research on business outcomes and return on investment. “We are in my mind, the most efficient and effective medium out there for an advertiser’s messaging,“ Collins said. “In any sort of ROI study, we perform very well.” 

While the end of last year and the beginning of the first quarter were rough, Collins said that over the last several weeks and months business has been picking up. 

“I wouldn't attribute that to anything that’s been written about us,” he said. ■

Alan Komissaroff, who had been with Fox News since its launch, died Friday at age 47, the company said.

Komissaroff, who rose to become senior VP of news and politics for Fox News Media, suffered a heart attack at his home almost two weeks ago.

“Alan was a leader and mentor throughout Fox News Media who was integral to our daily news operations and played an indispensable role in every election cycle. The recent midterm election coverage was easily one of the finest nights of special coverage he produced throughout his career,” said Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott and Fox News Media President and Executive Editor Jay Wallace in a note to staff.

“And he was the ultimate producer: breaking news, politics, special events — there was no steadier or more trusted colleague to be with in the control room during the most consequential events of our time and his incisiveness and passion for news made our work better,” they said.

Fox News anchor Brett Baier aired a tribute to Komissaroff on Special Report Friday night (January 20).

“As we head to break, we remember one of our own. We are heartbroken that our colleague Alan Komissaroff has died from a heart attack," said Baier. "He has been a crucial leader in our coverage for every major news event and every election night. He was a happy warrior [who] thought outside the box and made us better every day. Our FOX family is hurting tonight..."

Komissaroff went straight from college to Fox News Channel when it launched in 1996. He went on to become a writer, producer and showrunner before becoming an executive.

He is survived by his wife and high school sweetheart Rachael and two children, Ben and Olivia.

Services will be held this January 22 at Mount Sinai Memorial Chapels.

A GoFundMe for his family has been set up. ■

Fox Business Network anchor Liz Claman is looking forward to covering CES 2023 in Las Vegas next month.

Last year, because of COVID-19, most of Claman’s competitors stayed away from the massive consumer electronics showcase. Their loss, Claman told Broadcasting+Cable.

“Why wouldn’t we go? That’s what we do in journalism,” she said. The big story was the supply chain clog caused by a shortage of microchips. “Every single thing on the millions of square feet at CES needs a microchip. People needed technology more than ever during COVID and during the lockdown and these were the companies that were right at the forefront, stepping it up.”

This year, Claman will be back and Fox News Media is one of CES’s official media partners for the first time.

“We are thrilled to welcome Fox Business to our fantastic lineup of top-tier media partners from around the world for CES 2023,” a CES spokesperson said.

Claman has been covering CES since her early days in the TV business as a cub reporter for WSYX Columbus, Ohio, in 1989. “I convinced them to send me and a cameraman because technology is the way of the future,“ she said. “I was fascinated and I was hooked completely.”

Fox News becoming an official CES media partner was exciting to Claman. “I probably levitate three feet off the ground when I hear that because it is the most important trade show in America and the most important tech trade show in the world, in my opinion,” she said.

The arrangement will bring additional exposure to all of Fox News’ platforms and enables Fox News to stream content within the CES Digital Venue.

The official media partner designation will also give Fox Business additional access to companies and executives, Claman said.

The day before the conference starts, she will be doing her show live from Qualcomm’s headquarters in San Diego. “I’m going to be there with the CEO. They’re the largest chipmaker for smartphones but they’re expanding big into the auto business,” Claman said. “There are more than 1,000 microchips in your average electric vehicle and Qualcomm wants to own that. They will be at CES, but we’re grabbing them first.”

Claman will also host the CES 2023 Leaders in Technology Dinner for the fourth time and have a discussion with the dinner’s headline speaker Adena Friedman, president and CEO of NASDAQ.

“As one of the most respected business journalists in America, we’re honored to have Liz join us again on the stage at CES to lead this thought-provoking conversation,” said Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, which puts on CES.

Interviewing Friedman will be interesting because the NASDAQ is home to many disruptive tech companies, Claman said. Claman plans to ask Friedman what she sees for 2023, what she’s seen on the conference floor and how the exchange plans to grow at a time when the initial public offering market has dried up and the special purpose acquisition company market has shriveled.

Claman will be scouring the convention looking for the technology that everyone will want to have on their hands, while avoiding the flashes in the pans.

While Fox Business will have a prime broadcast location, Claman plans to drag her crew from one end of the huge conference to the other.

“I didn’t fly 3,000 miles across the country to sit at CES,” she said. “I drive my team crazy. I’m walking, I’m moving, I’m running. They’re going to have 2 million square feet of space to cover. We can go live from anywhere on that floor. We’ll map it out and run from guest to guest. It’s a little frantic but, I live for it. I love the challenge.”

As a CES veteran, Claman knows some tricks for covering the sprawling event. “I have a whole system of what should I wear. And believe me, they’re not high heels. It’s fun to see the newbies show up in skirts and stilettos and then by the end of the day they can’t move.”

At last year’s CES she took to TikTok at the handle @RedFoxLiz and now has about 250,000 followers. This year, she might make TikTok videos live from the CES floor. The new media attracts different viewers. “Sometimes I’m walking down the street and people will point at me and say you, you you’re the . . . TikTok lady who does the stock-market stuff,” she said, adding, “my kids are thrilled and mortified.”

Speaking of kids, there is one thing that can keep Claman away from opening day at CES. She’ll be dropping her son Julian off at USC. “At some point, I’ve got to be a mom,” she said. ■

It was a year ago October 25 that Fox Weather, a 24/7 multiplatform weather channel from Fox News Media, launched. Free and ad supported, Fox Weather has had an eventful year, never more eventful than when Hurricane Ian struck Florida late last month. Sharri Berg, Fox Weather president, said the extreme event resulted in "the awareness of Fox Weather increasing exponentially."

"The most important part of it, for us, was hearing and seeing viewers who had lost power, who had downloaded our app and got all the alerts, all the latest editorial, the constantly live information," she said. "They also had the ability to watch the continuous live stream on their phone or iPad."

Fox Weather broadcasted live for 45 straight hours, Berg said. "We knew how big the story would be, and we were prepared," she added.

Fox Weather launched October 25, 2021, with veteran meteorologist Amy Freeze on board, along with Marissa Torres, Nick Kosir and Ian Oliver, among many other weather figures. Reporting also comes from Fox Television Stations, which has 28 stations in 17 markets. Live programming consists of morning, afternoon and evening shows, hosted by meteorologists.

As it launched, Fox Weather aimed to stand out in the crowded weather space by offering users and viewers a more personalized experience. "Our storytelling, our connection, our relatability with our audience is a big driver for us," said Berg.

With Fox News and Fox Television Stations as cornerstones, Fox Weather is well equipped when weather becomes headline news. "We are the national weather organization that has roots in news," Berg said. "We're built from news."

When Hurricane Ian hit Florida September 28, Fox Weather's simulcast from 1-4 a.m. averaged 552,000 viewers.

Bryan Norcross, Fox Weather hurricane specialist, was a key player during Ian. Berg called him "the thread guiding us through a lot of the coverage." As Norcross was peppered with questions from concerned residents in Ian's path on social platforms, he helmed a Facebook Live segment, and Fox Weather carried it too. "People were in harm's way and they looked to connect with us for that expertise," said Berg. "And we ended up doing the simulcast."

During the storm, Fox Weather peaked as a top 25 free app in Apple's App Store.

Fox Weather continues to grow, including distribution. Berg mentioned Fox Weather evolving from something a user primarily watches on their phone to more of a big-screen, living room play. Earlier this year, it partnered with Verizon FiOS, YouTube TV, Amazon News, The Roku Channel, fuboTV and Xumo, among others. The owned stations also air the stream on digital channels.

More partners are coming. "We continue on our ubiquitous distribution journey," said Berg.

And so the new network's sophomore season begins. "Someone asked me recently when Fox Weather will move from startup mode to the next level," said Berg. "My answer was, hopefully never." ■

Shannon Bream, a 15-year Fox News veteran, has been tapped to succeed Chris Wallace as host of Fox News Sunday. She has been guest hosting the Sunday-morning public affairs show, which airs on the Fox network and repeats on Fox News Channel, since Wallace left for the now-shuttered CNN Plus.

Bream, who will be the first woman to anchor the political talk show, will continue as Fox's chief legal correspondent when she takes over as permanent host on September 11. Fox pointed out that since her guest-hosting duties began, the Sunday show's ratings have improved in overall audience and the key news demo.

Bream is a founding author of Fox News Books and since 2017 has anchored the late-night newscast Fox News @ Night, which airs from midnight to 1 a.m. ET on Fox News Channel.  

Before joining Fox News, Bream was a weekend anchor at WRC Washington and before that anchored evening and late news at WBTV Charlotte, N.C. ▪️

The broadcast networks are ramping up for some prime primetime viewing across various platforms as the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection prepares for hearings this Thursday (June 9).

It will be, arguably, the most high-profile investigative hearings since Watergate, to which the Trump-fueled election protest has been compared. The Senate Watergate Committee hearings ran from May 17 to Nov. 15, 1973, and were covered gavel to gavel by public television.

This time around, commercial networks and outlets of all stripes, and with an assist from streaming platforms, will be blanketing the proceedings.

Also: Journalists Exposed Ugly Face of Jan. 6 Insurrection (Blog)

The “Jan. 6” hearing will be June 9, starting at 8 p.m., a primetime slot certainly meant to give the public a chance to tune in after work as the committee continues its work.

NBC News‘s Lester Holt will anchor NBC News Special Report coverage starting at 8 p.m. on that network and streaming service NBC News Now.

Holt will be joined by, among others, Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd, senior Washington correspondent Hallie Jackson, chief White House correspondent Kristen Welker, NBC News correspondent Pete Williams and Washington correspondent Yamiche Alcindor.

NBC News Digital will live-blog the hearings with real-time updates and analysis. There will also be extensive cable coverage on MSNBC, anchored by Rachel Maddow, Nicolle Wallace and Joy Reid.

Fox News Media will be blanketing the airwaves, cable services and broadband connections with coverage anchored by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum in primetime, with that coverage offered to Fox broadcast affiliates.

Coverage will air live on Fox News Channel (in prime time programming as news warrants), on Fox Business Network, and live-streamed on Fox News Digital for free as well as on subscription streaming service Fox Nation.

Starting at 11 p.m. and pre-empting Gutfeld!, Fox News@Night anchor/chief legal correspondent Shannon Bream will anchor a two-hour live special with Baier and MacCallum.

CBS News will air a prime time special on the network at 8-10 p.m., according to a spokesperson--it was still firming up plans at press time. CBS Evening News anchor/managing editor Norah O'Donnell will anchor. CBS coverage will also be carried on CBS News Streaming, which will stream any subsequent Jan. 6 Committee hearings as well, the next one of which is scheduled for June. 13. 

Joining O'Donnell on the coverage will be chief political analyst John Dickerson, who covered the insurrection; chief election and campaign correspondent Robert Costa who, along with Bob Woodward of the Washington Post, broke the story of texts from Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' wife about overturning the election; chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes, and chief national affairs and justice correspondent Jeff Pegues, who also reported on the insurrection.

Also part of the coverage will be congressional correspondents Nikole Killion and Scott MacFarlane.

PBS NewsHour will offer noncommercial stations live coverage of the hearings on broadcast, online, and social media beginning at 8 p.m. June 9 and 10 a.m. June 13.

Coverage will be anchored by NewsHour managing editor Judy Woodruff, with reporting by chief correspondent Amna Nawaz, Capitol Hill correspondent Lisa Desjardins (from the Capitol), and chief Washington correspondent Geoff Bennett (from the White House).■

Fox Corp. has tapped Gabrielle Brown to head up investor relations as executive VP and chief investor relations officer. She succeeds Joe Dorrego, who continued in that role after he was named chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Fox News Media.

Brown reports to Fox Corp. chief financial officer Steve Tomsic, who thanked Dorrego for doing double duty since 2020, when he was tapped for the Fox News Media posts, while his successor as chief investor relations officer was found.

Dorrego continues as COO and CFO of Fox News Media.

Brown joins the company from UBS, where she had been managing director, global internet and media industries. She had previously been a portfolio manager at BBT Capital Management, where she focused on the internet, tech, media, telco and cable sectors. ■

At a time when linear ratings are hard to come by, Fox News Media is pitching scale in upfront conversation with clients.

Fox News Channel wants media buyers to know that it not only posts broadcast-level ratings during news time slots, but during other dayparts, including primetime and late night.

Those ratings can translate into incremental reach, a commodity many advertisers are looking for, Jeff Collins, executive VP of Fox News Media, told Broadcasting+Cable.

Also: Weekly Cable Ratings: Fox News Leapfrogs TNT in Return to First Place on Primetime Chart

“We’ve provided our upfront partners with reallocation schedules demonstrating the incremental reach that they would achieve by shifting broadcast budgets to Fox news programming while maintaining consistent frequency levels,” Collins said.

Collins said that advertisers are seeing increases of 15% to 25% in reach when they shift 10% to 20% of their budget to Fox News. The schedules substitute Fox News programming for morning news, evening news, Sunday discussion shows, even late night, where Fox News’s Gutfeld! draws more viewers than NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon or ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

Fox News Channel’s The Five has ratings above the network prime average, so it can add reach not only to news schedules but to prime entertainment schedules, Collins said.

Of course Fox’s controversial primetime lineup continues to generate huge numbers, which is enticing for some advertisers.

“Listen, there’s some advertisers that will run in opinion programming across all news, and there’s some that don’t,“ Collins said. ”We’ve been targeting the ones that will and would be willing to run within opinion programming. The point we’re making to a lot of our clients is that there’s plenty of programs outside of just prime opinion that deliver broadcast-like rating and could be suitable replacements for broadcast.”

Across all dayparts, Fox News has more than 20 shows that deliver more than 1.7 million viewers. “The scale does not only exist in prime. We see scale all day long,” he said. “So if your strategy is to include opinion, great. We have a whole host of programming that can work for you. If it does not include opinion, we also have a whole grouping of programming for you as well.”

Collins also points out that Fox News has more lifestyle content, including the Patriot Awards, American Built on Fox Business and an upcoming docuseries on the 150th anniversary of Yellowstone National Park hosted by Kevin Costner on the Fox Nation streaming service. ￭

Fox News will also be taking advantage of Atlas, Fox’s technology for matching advertisers and their messages with contextually appropriate content. Atlas will be used across Fox News’ digital inventory during the upfront, Collins said.

This is an election year and Collins would be remiss not to point out that Fox News draws a lot of viewers during elections.

“We deliver more consumers across all political affiliations, including more Democrats and independents than CNN and MSNBC,” Collins noted. “We’re reaching people across the entire political spectrum.“

Fox News is putting together its election coverage sponsorship packages. Those are likely to be sold in the upfront, with Election Day falling in the fourth quarter.

“We’ve had early discussions,” Collins said. “Fox News is going to be the place for advertisers to be for this election. If you look at past elections, you know Fox News pretty consistently delivers larger audiences than not only any other cable news organization, but any broadcast news organization, too.”

This year, Fox News is not putting on a separate upfront event. It will be a part of Fox’s big upfront presentation on Monday, May 16.

“It gets the Fox News brand in front of a larger and broader audience,“ he said. ”We’re excited to be part of the larger portfolio and show the combined power of Fox overall.”

That also includes the still-new Fox Weather service. ”We’re seeing quite a bit of demand and a ton of engagement on Fox Weather,” he said. He notes that the average length of tune for Fox Weather on Fox’s Tubi platform is more than 30 minutes — pretty long for a weather report.

Some network sales executives report a cooling off of the scatter market recently, a sign that the upfront might not be a picnic. But Collins is getting a different forecast.

“We’re still seeing a really strong scatter market,” Collins said. “I believe that has a lot to do with the fact that there’s been a lot of ratings weakness across the board, while our ratings have continued to grow. We’re also seeing quite a bit of endemic advertisers coming into news. That strengthens our marketplace and we’ve also seen just an incredibly strong DTC and direct-response marketplace as well. So I’d say we’re probably in a little bit of a different boat than maybe some other folks have been out there in scatter.” ■

Fox Corp. unveiled Atlas, a video technology platform that uses artificial intelligence to match commercials with contextually relevant content.

Atlas is being launched with two products. The first, Fox Navigator, focuses on contextual alignment, which puts advertisers in the right environment in real time, increasing engagement with viewers.

The second product, Fox Shield, provides brand suitability. During the upfront Fox News Media will offer Fox Shield to clients who make advertising commitments in Fox News Media digital video.

Fox announced the new products in connection with a pre-upfront meeting with advertisers in Los Angeles aimed at sharing upcoming Fox content and technology. 

“Atlas is another illustration of Fox’s commitment to providing solutions that deliver the necessary impact and outcomes for our ad partners,” said Jeff Collins, executive VP of ad sales at Fox News Media. “Contextual targeting will continue to grow in importance as third party data targeting options continue to decline. We are excited to offer advertisers greater precision when placing their ads across the FNM portfolio.”

Atlas was developed by the Fox ad technology unit. It uses artificial intelligence and on-screen visual detection to extract data that can be used to build advanced contextual segments. The data determines a video’s relevance and enables Fox to put an ad message in contextually resonant content.

“We built Atlas for the modern era,” said John Fiedler, executive VP and head of ad technology at Fox. “As the media landscape continues to evolve, traditional solutions have not served the buy-side or the sell-side well. In a world where context now matters more than ever, Atlas provides a new and precise level of insight and segmentation that will give buyers confidence when transacting with Fox.” ■

As a nor'easter threatened the East Coast with potentially heavy snowfalls and high winds, Fox Weather, Fox News Media's ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) streaming service, will make its debut on the Fox News Channel mothership, with added play on Fox Business News.

A live simulcast of Fox Weather will air Saturday morning (January 29) on Fox News Channel at 5-6 a.m., then Fox Business Network will carry live simulcasts at 6-9 a.m. and 6-10 p.m.

Also: Fox Weather Plans to Shake Up Weather Space

Fox Weather meteorologists Amy Freeze, Craig Herrera, Kiyana Lewis and Ian Oliver will report on the storm in the 5 a.m. simulcast. Meteorologists Marissa Torres, Kendall Smith and Jane Minar will helm the majority of coverage during the FBN 6-10 p.m. simulcast.  ■

Fox News Books has inked a deal with HarperCollins to publish six new books, after the two worked out a deal last year for three books. The partners will continue “to develop personality driven titles along with creative concepts surrounding key themes important to the Fox News Media audience,” according to Fox.

Fox News Books launched last November with Pete Hegseth’s Modern Warriors, followed by Shannon Bream‘s The Women of the Bible Speak in March 2021.

“We are thrilled to once again partner with HarperCollins, furthering the multiplatform brand extension of Fox News Media,” said Suzanne Scott, CEO of Fox News Media. “Over the past 25 years, we have developed a unique connection with our audience and look forward to delivering more of the content they desire from their favorite Fox News personalities through our expanded publishing platform.”

Publishing in November, All American Christmas will be the third title for the imprint. It is authored by Fox & Friends Weekend co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy and her husband, Fox News contributor Sean Duffy. The book will feature an inside look at how the family of 11 celebrates the holidays, along with other Fox News personalities, including Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade, sharing holiday stories and memories.

Fox News Books has sold around 800,000 copies so far.

Fox News Media said it will launch its new 24 hour a day, 7 days a week channel Fox Weather on Oct. 25.

Fox Weather will be free and ad supported. It will be available through the Fox Weather app for iOS and Android devices. On connected TV it can be received via the Fox Now app, the Fox News app and the Fox-owned Tubi streaming service.

Fox Weather said it hired meteorologist Amy Freeze as an anchor. Freeze was previously with WABC-TV, New York and Fox-owned WFLD-TV in Chicago.

Fox News is marking its 25th anniversary. Fox Weather will be the eighth platform launched by Fox News Media. The Fox Corp. unit also operates Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, Fox News Digital, Fox News Audio, Fox News Books, the direct-to-consumer digital streaming services Fox Nation and Fox News International. 

Fox News Media has named Nicole Valdes, Steve Bender and Max Gorden as correspondents for its Fox Weather AVOD service set to launch this Fall.

Valdes, who joins the platform from KNXV-TV in Phoenix, will serve as a field correspondent based out of Nashville, while Bender -- formerly morning meteorologist at KRNV-TV in Reno, Nevada -- will serve as a Miami-based reporter, said Fox. Gorden will serve as a Los Angeles-based field correspondent covering the West Coast. Previously he served as  a reporter and multimedia journalist at CBS

Also Read: Fox News Names Meteorologists for New Streaming Weather Service

In addition, Fox Weather announced five multimedia journalists who will be reporting for the service, including Will Nunley, Robert Ray, Katie Byrne, Mitti Hicks and Hunter Davis, said Fox News.

“We are excited to welcome this group of first-rate journalists to the Fox Weather team,” said Fox Weather President Shari Sharri Berg in a statement. “Their specialized skills in meteorology, in-depth reporting and storm chasing will be an important component of our coverage as we launch and grow the platform.”  

Also Read: Weekly Cable Ratings: Fox News Continues Ratings Roll

Fox News agreed to pay $1 million to end an investigation that began in 2017 after several employees complained about sexual harassment.

The settlement is the largest ever with the New York City Commission on Human Rights. It covers four violations of the city’s Human Rights Law, each carrying a $250,000 fine.

Former Fox News chairman Roger Ailes and anchor Bill O’Reilly left the network following sexual harassment allegations and the company has paid millions in settlement to employees, including $20 million to former anchor Gretchen Carlson.

In addition to the fine, the settlement forces Fox News to remove clauses requiring confidential arbitration of claims under the New York City Human Rights Law from employment contracts with employees including on-air talent for four years.

The network also agreed to provide all employees with a clear definition of “retaliation” and training for bystanders to intervene in incidents and to properly report any witnessed misconduct, according to The Daily Beast, which first reported the settlement.

“We are pleased to reach an amicable resolution of this legacy matter. Fox News Media has already been in full compliance across the board, but cooperated with the New York City Commission on Human Rights to continue enacting extensive preventive measures against all forms of discrimination and harassment,” Fox News said in a statement.

Fox News Media said that the prime time shows on Fox News Channel will be made available on-demand to subscribers to its Fox Nation subscription streaming service.

Starting June 2, the programs will be available the next day for on demand viewing.

Read Also: Fox Nation Offers Military Free One-Year Subscriptions

The move marks the first time Fox News’ linear prime time shows have been on VOD.

Since the launch of Fox Nation in November 20218, subscribers have been able to access audio versions of the programs in the Fox News prime time lineup.

Fox Nation costs $5.99 a month, or $64.99 a year. It is available  on iOS and Android devices as well as Apple TV, Web, Amazon Fire TV, Google Chromecast, Roku, Xbox One, Comcast Xfinity platforms, Vizio SmartCast and Cox Contour platforms. 

A little less politics might be good for Fox News Media, which might prefer to talk about the weather with media buyers during the upfront.

In the midst of a record revenue fiscal year fueled by an election cycle that elevated ratings, Fox News is launching a streaming weather channel and will start to sell ads on its subscription streaming service Fox Nation, where lifestyle programming might be appropriate for some advertisers.

Jeff Collins executive VP, advertising sales, at Fox News Media, is looking to increase revenue again in the upcoming fiscal year and he’s counting on a dramatically changed news environment, with less emphasis on politics, to attract otherwise skittish advertisers.

What’s different? “In the former administration, the news cycle was really dominated by politics. All news organizations were covering every tweet, every work that came out of the White House," he said.

At the same time, instead of negative stories about pandemics and demonstrations, “we’re just seeing a lot more optimism,” said Collins. “People are getting vaccinated. We’re doing these amazing stories of families being reunited, the economy getting back up and running and kids going back to school.”

More coverage of lifestyle, sports and business could be good for business: “That's a much better environment for a lot of our advertisers who want to be around something that might be more contextually relevant than just politics all the time.” 

Fox News Media is launching Fox Weather over the summer.

“That gives us a whole new area to play in for advertisers,” Collins said. “It’s weather content, so you could do more more things like brand integration across the network and there’s tons of ways to be contextually relevant.”

Collins expects to be able to sell the usual weather-related tie-in, such as ads for cough and cold remedies when it’s rainy and allergy relief medications when the pollen count is high, not to mention ads for snow tires when blizzards hit.

Since Fox Weather will be a streaming service, it will be better able to do data-driven targeting, dynamic ad insertion and addressable advertising than linear channels.

“It’s our belief that weather should be local and that opens up a lot of possibilities from an advertiser’s perspective, simply targeting certain [geographic areas] based on advertiser's target audience,” he said. “We’re seeing a lot of demand for that.”

Fox News just started selling Fox Weather, so those sponsorships aren’t locked down yet.

Fox News was going to start selling advertising in Fox Nation last year, but pulled back because the pandemic disrupted the production of some original shows.

With Fox Nation, the rules are more liberal, allowing show sponsorships and product integrations, particularly within lifestyle shows like Park’d. 

Collins said news remains an incredibly efficient vehicle to reach an engaged audience,” and that advertisers that have sat out of news are coming back in. Among them are the advertisers in the categories hardest hit by the pandemic, such as the travel industry.

Other sources of additional spending including direct-to-consumer brands focused on return on investment, and home-related brands. Collins noted that a commercial real estate company did a million-dollar deal with Fox Business.

Fox News’ primetime shows have been hit with advertiser boycotts in the past and more and more companies have been taking stands on issues like voting rights and social justice. But the so-called woke CEOs that Republicans rail against haven’t stopped their companies from advertising on Fox News.

“We are seeing advertisers that have sat out news coming back in,” now that the election is over and the economy is making a comeback, Collins said.

During this time of year, upfronts are about new programming and typically news networks don’t have have new shows to talk about. “This year we have a whole new daytime lineup and we have the launch of Gutfield!,” the late night show that beats the shows on broadcast some nights

Most years, Fox News and its competitors, hold upfront events where anchors and reporters talk about the news of the day in person for media buyers and clients. With upfronts being held over Zoom, that would look too much like what ad buyers can already watch on their laptop, so Tuesday's Fox News event featured execs, talent and producers talking mostly about what happens behind the scenes a the network.

On Fox Corp.’s fiscal third-quarter earnings call last week, CEO Lachlan Murdoch reminded investors that the company predicted that Fox News ratings would be lower post-election, but would bounce back.

“We were saying the same thing to our advertisers,” Collins said. 

And at a time when ratings are eroding, resulting in under delivery and make-good ads, Fox News’s numbers have been among the largest.

“We deliver every deal in full within flight, within the programming that was purchased. And that seems to be increasingly rare these days,” he said 

Bernard Gugar has been named general counsel and executive VP of corporate development at Fox News Media.

Fox News was sued for defamation by Dominion Voting Systems in a $1.6 billion lawsuit last month for its reporting on claims by Donald Trump and his allies about voter fraud and other issues in the 2020 election. Fox News said it would “vigorously defend against this baseless lawsuit in court” at the time.

Gugar, who had been U.S. head of industries for Google Cloud's Deal Pursuit organization, succeeds Lily Fu Claffee, who voluntarily left the company, according to Fox News.

Gugar will report to Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott. 

“We are pleased to welcome Bernard to the Fox News Media team," Scott said. "His extensive expertise and highly accomplished background will add immeasurable value to our thriving multiplatform brand.”

Before Google, Gugar was an advisor at the University of Chicago's Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship. Before that he was senior VP and general counsel for Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Inc.

“I am excited to join one of the most influential news operations in the world and look forward to utilizing my experience spanning media, law and technology to help Fox News Media grow, evolve and develop a diversified digital footprint,” Gugar said.

Fox News Media Tuesday (Feb. 9) filed a motion to dismiss the multi-billion-dollar lawsuit by voting company Smartmatic.

Smartmatic filed a $2.7 billion defamation and disparagement suit against Fox News Media owner Fox Corp., alleging Fox conducted a disinformation campaign against the election technology company. Fox has said the suit was without merit.

In its motion to dismiss, FNM said Smartmatic was trying to “stifle debate and chill vital First Amendment activities."

Smartmatic cited Fox news reports it said had repeated false claims that Smartmatic had "fixed and rigged" the 2020 election.

Fox suggested the suit was meritless because the network provided fair coverage, and commentary, on the issue. 

“If the First Amendment means anything, it means that Fox cannot be held liable for fairly reporting and commenting on competing allegations in a hotly contested and actively litigated election," FNM said. " We are proud of our election coverage which stands in the highest tradition of American journalism.”

Fox said Smartmatic has not identified any Fox statement that was actionably defamation, or alleged that Fox published the statements with "actual malice."

The network owner said that Smartmatic's assertion that it is subject to billions of dollars of liability for "covering all sides of a vigorous debate of profound national importance" has to be dismissed.

“When a sitting President and his surrogates claim that an election was rigged, the public has a right to know what they are claiming, full stop," Fox said. "When a sitting President and his surrogates bring lawsuits challenging the results of an election, the public has a right to know the substance of their claims and what evidence backs them up, full stop. In that context, interviewing the President’s lawyers is fully protected First Amendment activity, whether those lawyers can substantiate their claims or not."

That was just what Fox was doing by allowing the President's surrogates to explain their charges and evidence.

Also Read: Fox Cancels Lou Dobbs

The Smartmatic suit claims that Fox made over 100 false statements and implications to the effect that Smartmatic had stolen the 2020 election, when that was false. In addition, it said, it had only provided election services and technology to Los Angeles county (a state the President lost by over five million votes).

“The logic of Smartmatic’s position would be that the press must censor all discussion of even the most newsworthy of public controversies to escape imputation of actual malice," said Fox, "even in the context of statements by objectively newsworthy third parties during live television interviews,” which is a "blatant affront to the First Amendment."

Fox News Media said it plans to launch an advertising-supported streaming weather service called Fox Weather in the third quarter of 2021.

The move comes amid media companies rushing to streaming. It will also follow an election year that boosted cable new ratings. It will challenge incumbents including The Weather Channel and AccuWeather.

Sharri Berg, currently COO of News and Operations for Fox Television Stations, will also serve as president of Fox Weather. She will give up her role as executive VP of news operating for Fox News Channel.

Berg will report to Suzanne Scott, CEO of Fox News Media.

“It was only natural to expand our footprint to weather with the launch of our eighth platform, Fox Weather and there is no one better to lead this new venture than Sharri Berg,” said Scott. “Sharri is an immensely talented executive with extraordinary leadership skills and a unique ability to collaborate and execute across multiple divisions.”

Berg has been with Fox News Channel since its launch. 

“Weather is a vital component to news and combining our trusted reporters and expert meteorologists from Fox News and FTS nationwide, the Fox Weather products will be built to serve our audiences in a customized fashion. I’m excited to get started as we continue to innovate and build new products from the ground up.”

Fox Weather will debut with the Fox Weather App in the third quarter of 2021. There will also be an integrated website and streaming service featuring local, regional and national updates as well as live programming.

Between Fox News and the Fox TV stations, there are more than 75 meteorologists already on staff. The New York-based Fox Weather Meteorological Center will integrate the Fox Television Stations radar network, display technology and weather experts to cover major weather events and provide local updates.

Fox News International, Fox News Media's over-the-top direct-to-consumer news streaming platform, has added another dozen countries and has caught "fire" as it were.

Starting Oct. 29, the service will be available in Costa Rica, Ireland, Norway, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia and Iceland, bringing the country total to 27.

Related: Fox News International Expands

The "fire" part is the launch of the service on Amazon's Fire TV--in all countries but Mexico. It is already available on iOS, Android, Apple TV and Android TV in all 27 countries. It has said it expects to add Roku to that list.

Fox News International launched in August, streaming Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network.

Fox News Media's Fox News International streaming news service continues to expand.

Fox News Media said the Fox News Channel and Fox Business content are now available on 11 more countries via the service,  which launched last month in Mexico and the UK, then added Germany and Spain in September.

The newest additions are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Sweden.

Fox News International is currently available on iPhone, Android, Apple TV and Android TV, and says it expects to add Amazon Fire TV, and Roku later in the year.

Cable industry veteran Jason Klarman has been named executive vice president of marketing for Fox News Media, the company said Monday.

In his new position, Klarman will oversee brand strategy for Fox News Media, which includes Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, Fox News Digital, streaming service Fox Nation, Fox News Radio, Fox News Headlines 24/7 and Fox News podcasts, said the company.

Most recently, Mr. Klarman served as president of media consulting company Hashtag Media Ideas. Prior to that, he was the Chief Marketing Officer for Fullscreen Media.

Klarman, who was part of the team that launched Fox News in 1996, has served as a consultant to Fox News Media since 2018 and helped launch the network’s direct to consumer service Fox Nation.

“After welcoming Jason back into the Fox News fold last year to launch Fox Nation, he made an immediate and substantial impact across all of our businesses with his strategic approach to branding and wowed us with his creativity in the process,” said Suzanne Scott, Fox News Media CEO in a statement. “We’re thrilled to be collaborating with him once again.”