Fox Corporation said on Monday that it had acquired Red Seat Ventures, a growing digital media company that has become an Old-Media stars associate such as Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson and Piers Morgan as they create their own independent electronic planning .
Red Seat and its founding partners, the Chris and Kevin Balfe brothers, will continue to operate independently at Fox’s Tubi Media Group, a Rupert Murdoch media empire, focusing on digital and streaming Ventures. A purchase price was not disclosed.
The acquisition moves Fox Corporation to the heart of the online “creation economy”, where the media celebrities once based on corporate distributors of old school-such as, say, the fox-owned cable networks have hit themselves to themselves to be hit by themselves. They build podcasts and the flow shows that rack up to millions of subscribers on platforms such as YouTube and Siriusxm.
Red Seat’s long list of customers includes Dr. Phil, Nancy Grace, Bill O’Reilly, the former host “to catch a predator” Chris Hansen and the “Daily President” podcast. Last month, the New York Post, also owned by Mr Murdoch, maintained the red seat to develop a new Daily Podcast and Audio Division for the newspaper.
The deal means that Mr Carlson and Mr O’Reilly – former Fox News stars who lost their broadcasts – will again be connected to the Murdoch universe, though in a removal. (The same applies to Mrs Kelly, who went up to Fox News before leaving for NBC in 2017.) Because the red seat is only a service provider, none of the three will be paid by Fox or report to its executives. In addition, the media tubi and Fox News are housed in separate sections of Fox Corporation.
The red seat, founded a decade ago, has about 80 full -time employees and is based on a loft area in the Manhattan Nomad area, a popular neighborhood in technological newly formed. Among the most popular podcasts are those of Mr Carlson and Mrs Kelly, who are usually close to the top of Apple’s Podcast charts.
The company offers a series of services – including studios and production groups, advertising sales, marketing, branded and creative inputs – and plans to expand to sports and entertainment. Red Seat also holds and operates Crimecon, an annual contract for lovers of true crimes, and its marine cousin, Crimecuise.
Chris Balfe, 46, the chief executive, started working with Glenn Beck, Right Radio and the TV host. He led Mr Beck’s independent production company and helped start Theblaze, an early media business directly by the consumer. Mr Balfe said in a statement that Fox would allow his company to “expand the services we provide to our creators, while continuing to maintain the independence and integrity of their trademarks”.
The deal raises the prospect that the programming linked to the red seat, which is distributed to YouTube, Apple Podcasts and other third -party platforms, could also be transferred to Fox digital services. Existing Fox personalities could also use Red Seat resources to develop their own electronic brands. Fox Corporation refused to process specific plans.
“We are seeing enormous opportunities to promote additional scale to species such as sports, news and entertainment, and we look forward to supporting the ongoing development of this business,” said Paul Cheesbrough, Managing Director of Tubi Media.
