Fox Boycott Push Faces Tough Reality: Ad Revenue Isn’t Essential

  • News channel gets most of its money from cable subscriber fees
  • Fox News says it won’t cave to ‘agenda-driven intimidation’
Photographer: Drew Angerer/Getty Images North America
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Activists seeking an advertising boycott at Fox News face a conundrum: The network’s main source of revenue comes from cable subscribers, making it harder to inflict damage by putting the squeeze on sponsors.

Groups such as Media Matters, the liberal-leaning media watchdog, have started circulating lists of the network’s advertisers, including big-name companies like General Motors Co. and Procter & Gamble Co. But so-called affiliate fees from pay-TV providers are far more vital to its operations.