Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, the highest rated in history, has officially signed his first advertising deal with conservative-friendly shopping app PublicSquare.
The deal, first teased in July, is for at least $1 million according to the app's CEO, Michael Siefert. Carlson's company is named Last Country.
PublicSq. is the first of likely several other advertisers moving to partner with Carlson at a pivotal time in national politics, as the 2024 presidential election is just over a year away. The PublicSq. ads are set to air on Carlson’s show, which runs on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, starting in November and through the final months of next year’s campaign, according to Seifert. -CNBC
"People are going to be paying attention," said Siefert, who added that advertising will also appear on Carlson's other platforms.
"Tucker is going to speak very candidly of the importance of patriotic small businesses and if viewers want to support it, go to Public Square."
PublicSq and its owners have pushed back against ESG and other woke policies, which are a perfect fit for Carlson's show, Siefert said.
Since parting ways with Fox, Carlson has continued his efforts on "X", where his segments including Donald Trump, Victor Orbán, Ice Cube, RFK Jr., Javier Milei and others have received millions of views - far exceeding average primetime viewership on his former network. Carlson's interview with Trump, who skipped the GOP debate in late August, garnered an impressive 266.5 million views.
Carlson's interview with Trump, who skipped the GOP debate in late August, garnered an impressive 266.5 million views.
PublicSq., meanwhile, is packed with conservative board members, including former Mike Pence Chief of Staff, Nick Ayers, and former US Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA).
According to longtime Carlson business partner Neil Patel, who has an executive role at Carlson's company, he sees the PublicSq app acting as a counterweight to the US Chamber of Commerce, as well as e-commerce behemoth Amazon.
"PublicSq. is a key company in the parallel economy, specifically countering the Chamber of Commerce and Amazon," said Patel. "There is a wave of disruption coming to the media and economic establishment, and our companies will help accelerate this overdue shift."
Earlier this month, the company previewed its third-quarter financial results, saying revenue rose 300% from the second quarter. PublicSq. said its EveryLife business, which it describes as a “direct-to-consumer pro-life baby care brand,” led the growth. The company aims to unveil its “e-commerce shopping experience” Nov. 1, with the expectation that the app will have 400,000 products to shop. PublicSq. is scheduled to report earnings Nov. 14.
The company’s stock is trading around at over $5 after reaching as high as $35.57 immediately after its debut in July. The deal that allowed PublicSq. to go public was through a merger with Colombier Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company. -CNBC
Carlson has an eight-figure investor, Omeed Malik, who is CEO of Colombier Acquisition, a member of PublicSq's board of directors, and the founder of 1789 Capital, which aims to capitalize on opportunities thanks to the "wokeness" of more traditional sources of capital.
Last Monday, Patel's first fund led a $15 million seed round with other private investors into Carlson and Patel's new media company.
