CEO Who Made Tucker Best Job Offer Yet Explains What It Could Look Like: 'No Handcuffs and Muzzles'
If and when Tucker Carlson gets out of his contract at Fox News, he’s not hurting for offers.
In terms of cable news, Newsmax and One America News have both expressed interest, with the latter saying it would offer Tucker up to $25 million and the former basically offering to turn the network over to him.
In terms of digital media, the founders of both The Daily Wire and TheBlaze have expressed interest.
Perhaps the most tantalizing and curious offer, however, comes from Valuetainment and that digital media company’s CEO, Patrick Bet-David.
In a Tuesday open letter, the digital media company offered Carlson $100 million over five years in a deal that would make him president of Valuetainment.
Dear @TuckerCarlson, our offer from @ValuetainmentTV 👇🏽 pic.twitter.com/RXDRSDchMi
— Patrick Bet-David (@patrickbetdavid) May 2, 2023
That’s certainly the biggest number being bandied about — and it’s arguably from the least likely source.
However, in a Wednesday interview with conservative podcaster Benny Johnson, Bet-David argued his model for Carlson would be the best fit, saying the host would have “no handcuffs and muzzles” at Valuetainment.
The CEO said that “you don’t push a guy like that in any direction — you ask what he wants to do and you give your proposals and your ideas, and then we try to collaborate and see what makes sense.”
Bet-David argued that a premium subscription model with a minimum reliance on advertisers would have a distinct advantage over current cable networks or platforms where advertising is king, noting that Elon Musk’s long-term vision for Twitter — where blue-checkmark subscriptions are expected to supplant advertising revenue in the long run — was something he liked.
On cable news now, Bet-David noted, “you’re still held hostage to the advertisers. You’re still held hostage on what you can talk about and what you cannot talk about.”
“So imagine if you want to call out the pharmaceutical companies, and then all of a sudden, after your break, a pharmaceutical commercial comes out — you just called them out,” he said. “And then the CEO of that company calls and says, ‘Hey, you gotta tell Tucker he can’t say that again.'”
Not in digital media — which, of course, has trade-offs, namely in recouping money.
“If there [are] people that would like Tucker to be free to talk about whatever he has to talk about, maybe we have to pay premium for it,” Bet-David said.
He added that the premium model may be necessary “to get the real Tucker with no handcuffs and muzzles and all this other stuff that mainstream media was doing.”
WARNING: The following video contains graphic language that some viewers will find offensive.
🚨@PatrickBetDavid explains his $100M offer to buy out Tucker Carlson from Fox News and platform a new show for him:
“If there is people that would like Tucker to be free to talk about whatever he has to talk about, maybe we have to pay premium for it…to get the real Tucker… pic.twitter.com/XrKZ1bUcxv
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) May 3, 2023
So, does $100 million over five years with Valuetainment make sense for Carlson? It’s certainly not the biggest company vying for his services, but Bet-David has said it’s the best fit.
“If you want to team up with somebody that’s got the vision in place, the cause in place, and it’s a true believer on how great of a country America is that is worth fighting for — and the fight is a real fight because the enemy is real — we feel we’re the right fit to partner with somebody like Tucker Carlson,” he told Megyn Kelly on Tuesday.
That said, Carlson will likely have time for due diligence in that department: Fox News reportedly still has him under contract until 2024, and while he’s negotiating an exit via his attorney, that’s unlikely to be something that leaves him free next week, say.
However, given that the muzzle would be very much on him at his next stop were it to be a cable network — and even with most other conservative digital media outlets — the premium model Bet-David is proposing could make a whole lot of sense.
At the very least, Valuetainment certainly would get a look from the millions of followers annoyed at the host’s summary dismissal from Fox News, particularly with the promise of an unmuzzled Carlson.
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