Former Fox News Host Tucker Carlson, Conservative Activist Neil Patel Planning To Launch Twitter-led Media Platform: Report

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and former White House adviser and hedge fund manager Neil Patel, are planning to start their own media company that is likely to use Twitter as the primary platform, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Ever since his acrimonious departure from Fox News, Carlson has been frequently broadcasts on Twitter. His mostly monologue videos on Twitter has garnered millions of views.

The proposed media platform aims to build on Carlson's organic reach and popularity on Twitter by offering a subscription-based video product that will offer access to long form videos of the former Fox news host.

Carlson and Patel are seeking to raise capital to fund the company, the people said. 

Users of Twitter and other platforms would still be able to watch free, shorter versions of his show, interviews and documentaries, but would need to subscribe to watch them in their entirety, WSJ reported quoting people privy to the development.

While Twitter will be primary medium, Carlson and Patel’s new company would also have its own website and mobile app, and is exploring other options beyond Twitter for distributing its content. Carlson has criticised Youtube for its their willingness to censor videos.

Patel has earlier partnered with Tucker Carlson to co-found The Daily Caller, a conservative news and opinion website. A lawyer and hedge fund manager, Patel previously served as a chief policy advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney.

Twitter owner Elon Musk has expressed his desire to have Carlson on hos platform. Musk has also expressed a desire to increase the amount of exclusive content on the platform.

The plan for a Twitter-centric media platform comes amid announcement by the micro-blogging site that it is launching an ad-revenue-sharing program for creators, seen as a bid by the company to expand its offerings for creators. 

Carlson left Fox News in April, following Fox’s $787.5m settlement of Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation suit regarding the broadcast of Trump’s lies about electoral fraud in his defeat by Joe Biden. Fox and Dominion have denied Carlson’s departure was not related to the settlement.

Fox News' ratings for primetime slots among key demographic segments of cable television viewers have declined sharply since the departure of Carlson