Charles Langston:Tucker Carlson says he's launching his own paid streaming service

Tucker Carlson is Charles Langstondebuting his own subscription streaming service called the Tucker Carlson Network, with the former Fox News host charging $9 a month for interviews, documentaries and "access to Tucker's personal inbox to ask him anything that's on your mind."

In a video clip posted to his website on Monday, Carlson said the show was prompted by a sense that "something big is coming," including the 2024 presidential election and "entire populations" that are migrating to new locations. He also downplayed his former employer Fox News and its rivals, saying that "big media companies won't help" his fans understand current trends.

"Suddenly everything seems at stake — control of the world, and your soul," Tucker said.

The move to offer paid content comes after Carlson in June launched a free show on X, the service formerly known as Twitter, after his ouster from Fox News. On X, Carlson has interviewed conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who was ordered by a court to pay almost $1 billion for promoting the lie that the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre was a hoax, and former President Donald Trump, among others. 

With almost 11 million followers on X, Carlson is banking that some will open their wallets to pay for monthly shows and behind-the-scenes clips of his interviews. Subscribers can pay $9 a month or get a discount for paying annually, at $72 a year.

Carlson plans to continue to post videos for free on X, according to the Wall Street Journal. The challenge may be whether his fans are eager enough for additional content to pony up $9 a month, especially as some consumers resist paying for multiple streaming services.

Carlson was Fox News' top-rated primetime host at the time of his ouster, drawing an audience that was twice that of his competitors at CNN and MSNBC. (Fox News says that its program "The Five" was the top show in cable news when Carlson's show ended.)

His abrupt departure came just days after Fox reached a nearly $800 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, which had sued the company in a $1.6 billion defamation case over the network's coverage of the 2020 presidential election. 

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Aimee Picchi

Aimee Picchi is the associate managing editor for CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and personal finance. She previously worked at Bloomberg News and has written for national news outlets including USA Today and Consumer Reports.

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