How have advertisers and revenue sources shifted for Tucker Carlson since 2023?
Executive summary
Since early 2023 Tucker Carlson’s revenue mix shifted from a lucrative, mainstream-anchored Fox primetime franchise to a patchwork of lower-cost, ideologically aligned advertisers and platform deals after his exit from Fox — a transition driven by advertiser boycotts, changing audience patterns, and platform constraints that reduced his ability to replicate prior ad dollars [1] [2] [3].
1. The pre-2023 baseline: big-dollar primetime despite fleeing mainstream brands
At Fox, Carlson’s 8 p.m. hour generated tens of millions annually — Variety and other trackers put 2022 ad spending for “Tucker Carlson Tonight” around $77.5 million, and the show was a material contributor to Fox’s ad revenues [1] [3]. Yet traditional blue-chip advertisers increasingly shunned the hour over multiple years, leaving Carlson dependent on so-called direct-response and political-leaning sponsors; watchdog tallies and press reporting documented dozens of advertisers leaving since 2018 even as Fox argued national ad dollars simply shifted to other network programs [2] [4] [5].
2. The advertiser exodus and who filled the gaps
By 2023 the advertiser roster looked markedly different from classic primetime lineups: many consumer brands, auto makers and luxury advertisers that dominated other cable-news hours were absent from Carlson’s show, replaced by niche, lower-rate advertisers and a handful of outspoken sponsors such as MyPillow that spent disproportionately on his hour [6] [7] [4]. MediaRadar/MediaPost data showed hundreds of companies still bought time at some point, but total spending and the quality mix had changed — 215 companies’ ad spend on the show was estimated at $37 million in a sampled period, with major outliers like MyPillow accounting for large shares [8].
3. Exit from Fox catalyzed a short-term advertiser rebound for the timeslot — and a different fate for Carlson himself
When Fox parted ways with Carlson in April 2023, the 8 p.m. slot immediately became more attractive again to mainstream advertisers, with networks and trade press reporting early returns of blue-chip brands to the hour [1]. That return was a network-level revenue story rather than a vindication for Carlson; analysts cautioned that advertisers’ priorities remain avoidance of controversy and audience reach, and that cable-news ad pools are shrinking overall [9].
4. Carlson’s post-Fox revenue strategy: platform deals, conservative-friendly advertisers, and smaller scale
After leaving Fox, Carlson pivoted to independent distribution, launching a show on Twitter/X and courting conservative-friendly sponsors; one early commercial agreement was a seven-figure deal with the anti-ESG shopping app PublicSq., signaling a move toward ideologically aligned advertisers willing to pay to reach his audience [3]. But platform dynamics worked against him: his initial Twitter launch drew big view counts that rapidly fell, and analysts observed declines in Twitter’s ad ecosystem and in Carlson’s viewership off linear TV, constraining ad revenue upside [10] [3].
5. Conflicting narratives and the role of corporate and advocacy agendas
Reporting on Carlson’s ad revenues is contested: Fox has maintained that national ad dollars displaced from his program remained inside the network, while critics like Media Matters highlighted near-zero advertiser presence and organized boycotts; both positions reflect institutional incentives — Fox to minimize damage to network ad sales, and watchdogs to amplify advertiser desertions [5] [11]. Trade outlets emphasize measured data on spend and timeslot recovery, underscoring that the timeslot’s advertiser dynamics are not synonymous with Carlson’s personal earning power [1] [8].
6. Bottom line and reporting limits
The concrete shift since 2023: the 8 p.m. monetization at Fox moved back toward mainstream brands after Carlson’s exit even as Carlson personally shifted toward platform deals and a narrower set of conservative-friendly or direct-response advertisers; available data show a meaningful gap between the revenue-generating power of Fox’s timeslot and the smaller, more precarious revenue sources Carlson has been able to assemble independently [1] [3] [8]. Reporting does not provide a complete, audited picture of Carlson’s total post-Fox income or every advertiser agreement, so assessments rely on industry trackers, public ad-spend samples and trade reporting noted above [8] [10].