Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson is looking to set up his own media company potentially using Twitter as its main platform, it has been reported.
Carlson, 54, is planning the venture with Neil Patel, a former policy adviser to Dick Cheney, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.
The pair, who met as roommates at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, want to adopt longer versions of the free videos the social media platform offers.
Carlson’s team met with Twitter representatives in recent weeks to discuss their plans, the Journal reported.
Conservative commentators, including other former Fox News hosts Megyn Kelly and Bill O’Reilly, have increasingly sought subscriber-funded long-form video as a lucrative business opportunity.
Carlson and Patel’s move could serve as a test case for Twitter’s video ambitions and desire to attract content creators to the platform under Elon Musk.
Carlson has been posting videos on Twitter since his departure from Fox News in April, though he remains under a multi-year contract with the channel.
In the weeks after his popular show was cancelled Carlson announced he would bring a version of his segment to Twitter.
In June the presenter was sent a cease-and-desist letter from Fox but Carlson’s lawyer hit back saying he would ‘not be silenced by anyone.’
Now Carlson and Patel are looking to raise hundreds of millions of dollars to fund their planned new project, sources told The Journal.
Viewers would be able to access free shorter clips the company produced, but would need a subscription to view see the full content.
Carlson and Patel have worked together before, founding the conservative Daily Caller news site in 2010.
They have already lined up potential financiers as well as lawyers and media strategists to work on the company, according to the Journal.
