Fox acquires podcast company; will new streamer carry podcasts?
Fox acquires podcast company; will new streamer carry podcasts?
Fox is now the owner of Red Seat Ventures, which produces audio and visual podcasts for conservative hosts.
Fox hasn’t made any big moves in the TV space since the joint venture streaming service Venu Sports went up in flames. However, that doesn’t mean that the company no longer has an eye on acquisitions. This week, the Fox Corporation announced that it was acquiring Red Seat Ventures, a podcast company that produces audio and video podcasts for conservative audiences. With plans to launch its own streaming service in the relatively near future, this acquisition could be part of the company’s plans for that forthcoming platform or its existing lifestyle service.
Key Details:
- Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Bill O’Reilly, and Dr. Phil are all clients of Red Seat Ventures.
- Red Seat will be part of the Tubi division of Fox.
- The acquisition could bring more content to Fox Nation or the new Fox streaming venture.
Red Seat Ventures produces podcasts for a host of clients, including many who used to work for Fox News. Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, and Bill O’Reilly. Red Seat also is the host for shows less by familiar names like Dr. Phil, Nancy Grace, and Piers Morgan.
Interestingly, Red Seat will not be part of the same division as Fox News within the Fox Corporation. Rather, it will be placed in the Tubi division, although separate from the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) service that was such a big part of Fox's Super Bowl success. When the deal was announced, Tubi Media Group CEO Paul Cheesbrough had a warm welcome for Red Seat.
“The creator economy is one of the fastest growing media categories worldwide by measure of reach and influence, and consumers are increasingly looking to get their information, insights and entertainment directly from the voices and brands they trust across these platforms,” he said. “Working with two outstanding entrepreneurs like [Red Seat founders Chris and Kevin Balfe], we see tremendous opportunities to drive additional scale in genres such as sports, news and entertainment and look forward to supporting the continued growth of this business.”
The acquisition of Red Seat could be intended to help Fox fill out the content offerings on its new streaming service. In early February, Fox announced that it was launching a new streamer, which would be populated by sports programming and its existing brands.
The conservative target audience of Red Seat Ventures could also indicate that its content will end up on Fox Nation, whose news and lifestyle programming has a decidedly conservative lean. If Fox wants its new platform to be more mainstream, putting video and audio content from Red Seat on Fox Nation might make more sense.
The traditional media landscape is changing, and podcasts — especially those with a video component — have a continually augmenting hold on audiences. Fox is trying to get ahead of that trend with its purchase of Red Seat, which already fits in with its conservative programming philosophies.
Fox Nation
Fox Nation is an entertainment streaming service created by Fox News and gives subscribers access to full, commercial-free episodes from well-known right-wing personalities like Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, as well as entertainment from Kevin Costner, Kelsey Grammer, Sharon Osbourne, Roseanne Barr, and Rob Schneider. Fox Nation service can be accessed as a standalone streamer or as an add-on to the live TV streaming services DIRECTV and Fubo.