President Trump’s fans who don’t think Fox News is right-wing enough have another option on cable and satellite: Newsmax TV.
And something dramatic has happened in the past week: A big audience has sought out Newsmax TV for the first time.
Those two facts are connected.
Some Trump loyalists are raging against Fox and changing the channel to Newsmax instead.
On Newsmax, voter fraud innuendo is everywhere.
Conspiracy theory chatter is constant.
And perhaps most importantly, Joe Biden is not the president-elect.
The channel is tapping into a real vein of rage on the right.
.@FoxNews daytime ratings have completely collapsed. Weekend daytime even WORSE. Very sad to watch this happen, but they forgot what made them successful, what got them there. They forgot the Golden Goose. The biggest difference between the 2016 Election, and 2020, was @FoxNews!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 12, 2020
And Trump is encouraging it by retweeting Twitter users who are trashing Fox and promoting Newsmax.
Trump’s senior advisor and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is “talking up” the idea of a Trump-branded media company.
The New York Times reported this week that the 2016 discussions about launching a “Trump TV” entity have continued this year.
And Newsmax would be the perfect media entity to brand Trump News.
Trump’s camp is furious with Fox News for projecting Joe Biden would win the state of Arizona, which threw a wrench into the president’s desperate plan to delegitimize the results of the election.
Kushner reportedly called Fox CEO Rupert Murdoch and demanded the network retract its call. (The network has not done so, nor has JimHeath.TV which stands by our projection.)
That followed months of Trump using increasingly hostile language toward the network, which had long tried to ingratiate itself with the White House with fawning coverage.
But apparently even that was not obsequious enough.
In April, he tweeted that viewers were growing angry with Fox News and wanted an “alternative.”
A month later, he argued Fox “is no longer the same” and then said he was “looking for a new outlet.”
While Newsmax is still relatively small, it has been growing.
Months ago, the channel was averaging about 25,000 viewers at any given time — a tiny number by any TV news standard.
As the election was approaching, Newsmax was averaging just 65,000 viewers at any given time.
Then came the election. Newsmax averaged 182,000 viewers during the election week that ended on Sunday.
And it is growing even more this week.
On Monday the channel averaged 347,000 viewers.
On Tuesday, 437,000 viewers.
Evening shows like “Spicer & Co” and “Greg Kelly Reports” are reaching 700,000 and 800,000 viewers.
And Trump has spent the day steering his supporters there, with an obvious eye on January 20 when he’s no longer president.
Trump could be entering a media landscape that is not friendly to new ventures.
Legacy media networks are struggling amid a downturn in viewers and advertising revenue.
Examples of new networks finding success in this environment are few and far between.
Even the Oprah Winfrey Network, which might be the closest parallel to an eventual Trump-branded network, had a lot of trouble initially attracting an audience.
Trump likely wouldn’t have the patience to wait several years for a network to find its footing—but he might not have to.
His audience is large, rabid, and loyal.
It wouldn’t require a business genius to capitalize financially on the millions of Trump voters who will be wondering where they can see the soon-to-be former president speak next.
If he does find the money and the opportunity to make a “Trump TV,” one other obstacle remains.
He’d likely still have to apply for a license from the US Federal Communications Commission, which as of Jan. 20, 2021, will answer to president Joe Biden.