Ailes inks new Fox News deal
nydailynews.com
By PHYLLIS FURMAN
DAILY NEWS BUSINESS WRITER
Fox News Channel boss Roger Ailes, who started the network from scratch and turned it into the country's No. 1 news channel, has agreed to stay on the job, sources said.
Ailes' current deal expires in January. He inked a new contract with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. early in the fall and is believed to have signed up for another three years.
Ailes is expected to get a bump on his reported $8.6 million pay last year.
Calls to News Corp. were not returned.
"He's done such a remarkable job building a news network out of thin air that I'm surprised Rupert hasn't adopted him," said Porter Bibb, managing director of Mediatech Capital Partners.
With its brash style and a roster of top-rated anchors including Bill O'Reilly, Fox News Channel surpassed CNN in the ratings two years ago and has remained in front ever since.
"He recognized there was not an outlet on television for an audience that liked to listen to talk radio in their cars," said news analyst Andrew Tyndall.
Ailes' ratings strides have led to big leaps on the ad sales front. While Fox News used to get a cold shoulder from advertisers, the network is narrowing the price gap with Time Warner-owned CNN. Profits surged more than 30% in the most recent quarter.
Ailes, 63, a veteran TV producer and former Republican political consultant, has long heard charges that the network leans to the right.
"We're not programing to conservatives," Ailes told the Daily News in an interview earlier this year. "We're just not eliminating their point of view." |
