Fox Ponies Up as Ad Picture Clouds

With the election season winding down and the economy slumping, Fox News could have trouble paying the heavy hitters it's signed and re-signed to multimillion-dollar contracts, the New York Times reports. Experts agree that advertising, a big chunk of Fox’s budget, will fall off after the amazing expenditures during viewer-magnet election coverage. Whether the outcome of the vote will matter is another question entirely.

“The electorate has been electrified by this campaign,” one analyst said. “Interest is going to carry over into the subsequent governance.” And a Democratic win, throwing conservative Fox into a minority position, could be a boon. “The Fox style of aggressive commentary works best in opposition,” another expert said. Fox has also renegotiated fees with cable providers, almost quadrupling them in some cases, which could mean good news for Papa Bear. (More advertising stories.)