Mr. Murdoch, who has presided over newspapers and television networks for more than 50 years, knows that opportunity awaits no matter who is temporarily in power: Some of Fox News’s highest ratings and profits came during the Obama administration, when the network was a gathering spot for dismayed conservatives, the same phenomenon that fueled MSNBC’s success with liberals in the Trump age.
“Fox News Channel has been on the air since 1996,” said Christopher Balfe, a right-wing media impresario who has developed digital ventures for conservative stars, including the former Fox News host Megyn Kelly. “They’ve been around for multiple presidents and they’re going to be around for multiple more.”
Fox News reached new heights of influence in the Trump era — it was the highest rated network in all of prime-time television this past summer — but it’s easy to forget it was the No. 1 cable news channel long before the New York real estate developer rode an escalator to the political stage. Many Fox News employees believe the network’s ratings are likely to surge again as an anti-Biden audience seeks succor.
“They don’t tend to back losers,” one longtime Murdoch lieutenant observed of the family.
To that point, Mr. Murdoch’s publicists — who declined to comment for this article — conspicuously confirmed rumors last month that the mogul did not expect Mr. Trump to recapture the presidency. And several people who have worked with Mr. Murdoch said he harbored no malice toward Mr. Biden and had even expressed some admiration of the former vice president on occasion.
It would not be the first time Mr. Murdoch has stayed loose to maintain influence with whoever comes into power. In England, he became an ally of the Labour prime minister Tony Blair, despite years of backing Tory rule. The Biden administration is likely to handle regulatory disputes that could affect Mr. Murdoch’s domestic assets, which include sports and entertainment networks as well as Fox News, The Journal, and The Post.
Last week, Fox News was upfront with viewers about Mr. Trump’s poor chances, standing behind its Decision Desk call in Arizona and, on Saturday, trumpeting the network’s projection that Mr. Biden would be the 46th president.
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/10/business/media/trump-murdoch-fox-news.html
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