Fox Nation launches in hopes of attracting viewers who want more opinion

Fox on Tuesday launched its new on-demand, subscription-based service, Fox Nation, with the goal of attracting loyal Fox News viewers that want more opinion-based programming.

The network will feature regular Fox News voices such as Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and Tucker Carlson, as well as newcomers like former ESPN reporter Britt McHenry and conservative firebrand Tomi Lahren.

{mosads}McHenry will appear alongside former professional wrestler Tyrus, whose real name is George Murdoch, for the premier of “UN-PC” on Tuesday, a show McHenry says resembles ESPN’s popular debate program, “Pardon the Interruption.”
 
Fox Nation, which is being offered for $5.99 per month, comes as online streaming content continues to explode, particularly among young adults, who increasingly prefer watching content on mobile devices and laptops instead of paying for traditional television cable packages. 

The Fox Nation slogan, “Opinion Done Right,” was introduced in September.

McHenry, who was laid off by ESPN in 2017 — which she says was partially due to her conservative beliefs — says Fox Nation will provide a platform that will appeal to younger viewer habits in terms of the ability to view content anywhere at anytime.

“There are some, like Tomi [Lahren], who are a new wave, another generation of younger conservatives that are coming up,” says McHenry in a phone interview with The Hill.

“And to have a full 24/7 platform to showcase that off while getting all of your favorites from Fox News … Why wouldn’t you get Fox Nation when you live in an app-driven life like I do on my phone? I think people are going to be really pleasantly surprised by how much access they get on it.”

In addition to McHenry, Tyrus and Lahren, Lynnette Hardaway and Rochelle Richardson, the two sisters known as Diamond & Silk who have become public figures through their viral videos in support of President Trump, have also been given their own weekly program on Fox Nation.

McHenry says while it would be impossible to avoid stories involving Trump, who usually dominates daily coverage on all the cable news networks, her program is looking to avoid being “Trump-centric.”

“One thing we wanted to try and explore, Tyrus and I, was tackling political issues, but not necessarily making them so Trump-centric because there are lots of places you can go to for that, mainly [Fox News],” she explains. “So, maybe getting political stories that are in the watercooler conversation, but not so Trump-focused.

“But we will have Trump stories. We want to include a little bit more that maybe might not have been covered extensively elsewhere. And we want our guests to be well-rounded,” McHenry concludes. “If we can talk about all that stuff and make you laugh at the same time, then we’ve done our job.”

The streaming service will offer 30 hours of new programming per week, as well as archived content from Fox News Talk radio programs.