An interesting report was posted to social media saying Ex-Fox News star Tucker Carlson had an ace card up his sleeve he played to checkmate Rupert Murdoch during exit negotiations.
When Carlson made the shock announcement that he would relaunch his show on Twitter, everyone assumed Elon Musk had made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
However, Musk said that was not the case, revealing that Carlson would be a free agent, at least in regards to Twitter.
He said:
“On this platform, unlike the one-way street of broadcast, people are able to interact, critique and refute whatever is said.
“And, of course, anything misleading will get @CommunityNotes.
“I also want to be clear that we have not signed a deal of any kind whatsoever.
“Tucker is subject to the same rules & rewards of all content creators.
“Rewards means subscriptions and advertising revenue share (coming soon), which is a function of how many people subscribe and the advertising views associated with the content.
“I hope that many others, particularly from the left, also choose to be content creators on this platform.”
So why was Carlson taking this huge risk, launching his show with no guaranteed money, when he had multiple offers of over $100 million?
According to the report, it is because Carlson’s non-compete agreement with Fox News does not prohibit him from posting content on Twitter.
Because Fox boss Rupert Murdoch never envisioned Twitter as a competitor.
RUMOR: @TuckerCarlson‘s noncompete with FOX lists the various networks he can’t work for but specifically allows him to post to his Twitter account. Since Fox didn’t see Twitter as a competitor he is free to post content without violating his agreement.
h/t @barnes_law… pic.twitter.com/Nxg546YV9R— @amuse (@amuse) May 16, 2023
FWIW: I have no personal knowledge of Tucker’s contract so I cannot corroborate this rumor. This is a rumor from someone who has seen similar contracts and carve-outs for Twitter and has contacts who know Tucker and/or his legal team. pic.twitter.com/0z1a7XKloT
— @amuse (@amuse) May 16, 2023
The report said:
“@TuckerCarlson‘s noncompete with FOX lists the various networks he can’t work for but specifically allows him to post to his Twitter account.
“Since Fox didn’t see Twitter as a competitor he is free to post content without violating his agreement. h/t @barnes_law…”
“FWIW: I have no personal knowledge of Tucker’s contract so I cannot corroborate this rumor.
“This is a rumor from someone who has seen similar contracts and carve-outs for Twitter and has contacts who know Tucker and/or his legal team.”
If this is correct Carlson may get his cake and eat it too because Fox has to pay him his $20 million a year and he can launch his show on Twitter.
He also stands to make considerably more if Musk delivers on his monetization promises.
