Tucker Knows His Brand Better Than Murdoch

Tucker knows his brand, Fox, not so much

One thing is for sure: Tucker Carlson understands branding. Whether you like him or not, the conservative firebrand knows his brand and appreciates all its benefits.

His departure from the "fair and balanced" network — FNC, has prognosticators speculating on what happened, leading to the news of why he left the Fox News Channel.

Some have identified his moving on from being one of the casualties of the Dominion Voting Machines lawsuit, where Fox had to pay over a half-billion dollars in damages, to speculation there were additional lawsuits that Carlson was involved in, to the simple old idea, that Rupert Murdoch didn't like Tucker.

It is no secret that the news business is a personality industry replete with egos that can turn a career faster than a speeding bullet or, for that matter, a news cycle.

There is also the theory that Mr. Murdoch was over Carlson's prima-donna antics. His airing of additional January 6 footage challenged the Democrat's insurrection theory, his anti-Ukraine anti-war position, and his many other nonconventional opinions that only reinforced his brand to his countless and loyal audience.

This series of events didn't wear well with the elder Murdoch and led to the parting of ways between these grand brands.

If Tucker understands his brand, what can be said about the Fox News Channel? It doesn't say a lot. From a branding perspective, Fox has lost sight of its brand and appeal to its loyal audience over the years.

Some have pointed out that their calling Arizona for Biden in 2020 was the beginning. Before this, Fox was positioned in its loyal viewers' minds as the place to go for the other side of the "liberal-speak" associated with mainstream networks.

Many are criticizing Fox for letting their top ratings-getter go. And it doesn't stop there. In a recent Rasmussen poll, Carlson was more popular than Fox (59% for Carlson, 52 % for Fox).

An alternative point of view regarding Brand Fox is that they understand branding and want to pivot from a right-leaning network to a center-left one more consistent with the advertising models other cable news networks utilize. The dirty little secret here is that even though Tucker was a rating grabber with 3.03 million viewers, advertising on his show did not attract many advertisers for fear of being "canceled" by activists who opposed Carlson's opinions.

Freeing Fox from Carlson allows Fox to rebrand itself with a new, more desirable position for those suitors interested in purchasing a new news organization without any old image issues. In other words, the new owners could choose whatever they believed could attract the most viewers without preconceived perceptions.

With his branding know-how, Tucker will land on his feet, whether on another network, his own podcast, or even a political career, as some have suggested. And Fox also has options — to sell or continue to rebrand itself. But for both brands, it is always easier when you have branding and marketing in mind.