


Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, along with former White House adviser and Daily Caller publisher Neil Patel, are planning to start their own media company that is likely to use Twitter as its backbone.
People familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal of Carlson’s plans on Friday. The host has already begun posting free videos on Twitter and is reportedly embroiled in a legal dispute with Fox News over breach of contract.
The new media company would build upon the free videos Carlson is already posting on Twitter. It would be driven by subscriptions. According to the unnamed sources, viewers will still be able to access the free videos but would need to subscribe to get access to the videos in their entirety. There are also plans for additional hosts.
Carlson and Patel, who were roommates in college, are looking to raise hundreds of millions to fund the creation of the company. It would have its own website and app and may look to other platforms in addition to Twitter. A spokesman for Carlson told the Journal that he is wary of using Youtube as the main engine of his company due to their greater willingness to censor videos.
Twitter owner Elon Musk has been vocal in wanting the social-media platform to be a haven for free speech. Musk has also expressed a desire to increase the amount of exclusive content on the platform. Florida governor Ron DeSantis notably announced his entrance into to the 2024 presidential campaign on Twitter.
The social media company is also offering ad-revenue sharing to content creators.
Fox News has struggled in Carlson’s departure, with Carlson having drawn higher ratings than his replacements. In April, he was reportedly fired for a number of reasons, including his coverage on the 2021 attack on the Capitol as well as a lawsuit filed by a former producer who alleged a toxic workplace.