Fox News Shows Advertisers a Softer Side

Fox News executives presented advertisers with what they said would be lighter fare after a tumultuous year of pandemic and presidential politics, Bloomberg reports.

The Fox Corp. cable network emphasized some of its feel-good programming in a presentation to advertisers on Tuesday, pointing to a series called “America Together,” featuring inspiring stories of local communities accomplishing common goals, and the Patriot Awards, honoring local heroes.

The Fox News Media portfolio also includes Fox Nation, a subscription-based streaming service that’s expanding with cooking and outdoor shows, as well as a Fox-branded weather app launching later this year.

“While the past year was dominated by politics and the pandemic, we look forward to covering more diverse topics around lifestyle, business, sports and entertainment,” Jeff Collins, executive vice president of ad sales at Fox News Media, said in the presentation. “We’re also confident that the year ahead is sure to include more optimistic stories, as vaccines are distributed, schools reopen, the economy continues to grow -- a much more positive environment for your brand message.”

Fox made the pitch at the start of the annual “upfront” period, when broadcasters promote their new shows to advertisers and sell TV spots in advance of the fall season.

Cable-news viewership has plummeted since the November election, although Fox News remains the leader, with more than two million viewers nightly in prime time.

Suzanne Scott, the chief executive officer of Fox News, said the network has made some changes to its lineup to reflect the news cycle of President Joe Biden. For example, without Donald Trump’s tweets setting off late-in-the-day news storms, Fox News moved anchor Martha MacCallum to a 3 p.m. time period from 7 p.m., allowing for more opinion in the evening.

“I felt like there’s so much tough news right now, with everything everyone’s been through this last year with the pandemic, it’s nice to have a reason to laugh at the end of the day,” Scott said during the presentation.