Tucker Carlson to launch paid streaming service after Fox News exit

Conservative US media personality Tucker Carlson has announced he will launch his own subscription streaming service.

Fox News abruptly announced his departure in April.

The move represents a new chapter for the controversial host, who has spent the past several months posting content and interviews to his nearly 11m followers on X, formerly Twitter.

"We're launching a brand new thing very soon," he said in a video.

Mr Carlson's streaming service arrives at a moment when conservative voices are seeking to create their own channels and personal brands after becoming dissatisfied with - or ousted from - mainstream media and social networks.

"We have been working in secret and producing an awful lot of material for months now," Mr Carlson said in an announcement video posted on X.

Mr Carlson directed potential subscribers to his website, which is promoting a series of interviews with politicians like Mr Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is accused of overseeing democratic backsliding in his home country. Interviews with right-wing media personalities like Andrew and Tristan Tate, who have been charged with rape and human trafficking by Romanian authorities, are also featured.

The two brothers maintain their innocence.

The new service, dubbed TCN, will feature a mixture of interviews, monologues, and other content for viewers who pay $72 (£57) annually, Mr Carlson said on Monday.

Former Trump administration official Neil Patel will serve as TCN's chief executive, the Wall Street Journal reported, while Mr Carlson's former Fox News producer Justin Wells will serve as president and lead the service's programming.

Mr Carlson was the biggest star on Fox News for many years. His show Tucker Carlson Tonight frequently led broadcast news ratings, and he spent several years cultivating a massive audience by fiercely supporting former President Donald Trump and riding a wave of populist outrage.

His popularity gave him significant sway within the Republican party, but critics accused him of peddling misinformation and racist ideology during his segments.

He remained at the peak of his ratings and political power when Fox News announced his departure on 24 April. The network did not provide an explanation for Mr Carlson's exit, simply stating that they had "agreed to part ways".

Days before his departure, Fox News paid a $787m (£627m) settlement to Dominion Voting Systems to end their defamation lawsuit over claims the network had promoted falsehoods about the integrity of that company's voting machines during the 2020 election.

Mr Carlson has claimed his firing was a condition of the settlement, but both Fox News and Dominion have publicly denied this assertion.

The streaming announcement also comes a week after the Washington Post reported that a former Fox News employee filed a sexual assault lawsuit against Mr Wells, stemming from an alleged 2008 incident at the conservative news network.

A spokesperson for Mr Wells declined to comment on the record to the BBC. Attorney Harmeet Dhillon, who previously represented Mr Wells, told the Post that the suit was "meritless" and the television producer "denies the allegations unequivocally".