The market value of Fox Corporation took a big hit this week after it was announced that longtime host Tucker Carlson would be parting ways with the company.
Fox shared the unexpected news in a statement on Monday (24 April), saying simply that Fox News Media and Carlson had 'agreed to part ways'.
There was no explanation as to what led to his departure, but the network added: "We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor.”
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Carlson's last show was on Friday (21 April), and the network is now set to replace his political talk show, Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News, with Fox News Tonight as an interim show.
A rotating cast of Fox News hosts will take charge in front of the camera until a new permanent host is announced, but the news of Carlson's departure shook the value of the Fox Corporation as stock fell as much as five percent on Monday in the wake of the news.
The plunge erased $962 million in market value, though Class A shares of the media company did manage to recover slightly towards the end of the day.
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By the time the markets closed at 4pm on Monday, shares were at $32.60.
Carlson hasn't commented publicly on his departure at the time of writing (25 April), and it seems that he himself wasn't aware of his imminent exit until after his final show aired.
On Friday, the host ended his show by telling viewers it would 'be back'.
"What a great way to end the week, truly that was a great segment," Carlson said.
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"That's it from us for the week, we'll be back. By the way, the entire episode of Let Them Eat Bugs, not quite as good as pizza, streaming now on Fox Nation News.
"We'll be back on Monday. In the meantime, have the best weekend with the ones that you love."
The New York Times claims Fox News dismissed Carlson on Monday, the same day it announced the news of his exit. However, a person briefed on the move told the publication the decision to let him go was made on Friday night by Lachlan Murdoch, the chief executive of Fox Corporation, and Suzanne Scott, chief executive of Fox News Media.
Carlson joined Fox as a contributor in 2009 before going on to become a co-host of the Fox and Friends Weekend show between 2012 and 2016.
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In 2016, he earned a place on the prime time lineup when he began hosting the Tucker Carlson Show.
Topics: Film and TV, US News, Tucker Carlson
Emily Brown