In a series of posts on Truth Social, Donald Trump expressed his discontent with Fox News, attributing the Republican Party's midterm election losses to the network's coverage of Democrats. He noted that Fox's ratings had dropped by 27% year-over-year, with the network averaging 1.1 million viewers in October. Fox Corp.
CEO Lachlan Murdoch acknowledged the decline, attributing it to 'viewer fatigue' rather than a shift to competing networks like MS NOW or CNN, which saw increases in primetime viewership but still lagged behind Fox's total-day audience.
Despite the drop in viewership, Fox Corp. reported a strong fiscal first quarter with revenues of $4.57 billion, a 22% increase from the previous year, largely driven by political advertising and events like the FIFA Men's World Cup.
Trump's criticism of Fox News marks a notable shift in his relationship with the network, which he has previously supported, and raises questions about the potential impact on Fox's advertising revenue and overall market position as it navigates viewer engagement challenges