Is it cause and effect? Barack Obama goes on Fox News, holds his own in a lively interview with Bret Baier, and five days later, major opponents--Bart Stupak and his fellow pro-life Democrats--flip, and he gets his bill through the House of Representatives. That is, a bill written off as dead two months ago, is now almost certain to become law. So again, cause and effect?
TCG figures that Obama has probably not become a Fox Fan, but also figures that Obama will be back on Fox air whenever he really needs something.
But in the meantime, Fox is expanding its reach, too, in the world of business and advertising. Advertising Age's Andrew Hampp wrote this today, illustrating how Fox was doing better among blue-chip advertisers. Here's the most interesting stuff:
Paul Rittenberg, exec VP-ad sales for Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network and Fox News Digital, said Fox's big push to advertisers this year will be to pit its upscale audience against the more mass-reach networks like TNT and USA. "For the last six months, we've been trying to position ourselves as more than just direct competition with CNN; that's over for us in a way," he said. . . .
Part of Fox's upfront pitch will include a slide that shows its share of 25- to 54-year-old viewers with household incomes of $100,000 or more. Among its broader competitive cable set, Fox has 26% share of cable's gross rating points among that audience, more than History (12%), Discovery (11%) and CNN (9%). CNN, of course, was its biggest competitor in a cable-news horse race that used to be fairly neck-and-neck among viewers 25-to-54 until Fox finally pulled ahead for good in 2009. CNN now often ranks fourth or fifth in a five-network prime-time cable news race that also includes sibling network Headline News, CNBC and MSNBC. . . .
Politically, Fox has also broadened its audience since the 2008 election as the divide between conservative and liberal-minded viewers has been bridged. A recent custom study with MRI, based on Nielsen data, found that 47% of Fox's viewers had middle-of-the-road or undecided political views, more than CNN or MSNBC (46% each), and a 14% ratio of liberal-minded viewers (compared to CNN's 19% and MSNBC's 22%). Even the Democratic Party and the Obama administration is starting to work with the network more as it finds more members of its base watching. President Obama gave a key, rare interview on health-care reform to Fox's Bret Baier, although he accused his interviewer of interrupting him on repeated occasions. . . .
"Having Obama do the interview with us underscores the point that our audience is extremely valuable and engaged -- it's not something you can afford to ignore," Mr. Rittenberg said. "If it's true for the president, it's probably true for most advertisers as well."
Fox is, indeed, The Most Powerful Name In News.
