Amid Ailes Drama, Fox News Programming Stirs Crazy Mix of Viewer Emotion

Rumors are swirling around Fox News this week, hinting that CEO Roger Ailes may be stepping down. While details are still conflicting about exactly what's happening, allegations of Ailes sexual misconduct have emerged, including reports that Megyn Kelly, one of the most prominent Fox News hosts, told a law firm Ailes harassed her 10 years ago. As a result, the 21th Century Fox network has been placed squarely in the spotlight at a critical moment: In the middle of the Republican National Convention.

Canvs, the language analytics company, took a look at viewer sentiment surrounding Fox News so far this year to see how emotions are playing out. Since Jan. 1, 2016, there have been 2.5 million Emotional Reactions (ERs) to programming. Socially active viewers expressed love and support good 30% of the time. Other top emotions include hate (8%), dislike (7%), crazy (5.3%), idiot (3.7%) and upset (2.4%). Outside of the debate programming, which drove 37% of all emotional reactions, Hannity was responsible for 15% of emotional reactions.

Related: Fox News Sues Charter Over Carriage Spat

Most recently (July 13-July 19), there were 62,797 total ERs to Fox News programming. The top emotions included love (17.4%), good (12.1%), hate (7.5%) and dislike (7.1%). The opposing qualities of these sentiments can somewhat be expected, since Fox News is known for evoking passionate debate and strong feelings among viewers.

The most emotionally reacted-to broadcast during the last week was Americas Election HQ on July 18, the first day of the RNC. There were 3,729 total ERs during a one hour period, with top emotions expressed by viewers included: love (26.4%), dislike (19.8%), hate (15.6%), good (11.6%) and idiot (10.3%). The top term associated with the dislike ER was megyn kelly, with some viewers negatively commenting on the host:

Related: 21st Century Fox Says Ailes Still At Work

OMG. @megynkelly is unwatchable. #FoxNews

- Mark Folsom (@MarkFolsom1) July 19, 2016

@megynkelly @RNCConvention youre hitting an all time low.. Thank you for reminding me why I dont watch you anymore

- Cyn (@aautomo884) July 19, 2016

Other viewers were unpleased not with Megyn herself, but with guest speakers including Malik Shabazz.

@megynkelly #KellyFile That was the most ignorant person Ive ever seen on TV.

- Josh Howell (@JoshTHowell) July 19, 2016

Many of the idiot ERs were associated with tweets that included black, racist, Malik, and megyn kelly, as can be seen in this word cloud:

Brands backing Fox News

According to iSpot.tv, the real-time TV ad tracker, 1,201 brands have spent an estimated $566.7 million in advertising on Fox News so far in 2016. These ads have generated a total of 80 billion impressions, with an average view rate of 86.56% and the majority (98.7%) of the impressions coming in live or within the same day of airing.

Between Jan. 1 and July 15, the top spending brands included My Pillow, Nutrisystem and Liberty Mutual, while the top spending industries were auto makers, investment services and insurance.

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Top Spending Brands on Fox News (1/1/16 - 7/15/16)

1. My Pillow - 1,463 airings - 2.34%

2. Nutrisystem - 2,126 airings - 1.91%

3. Liberty Mutual - 1,513 airings - 1.40%

4. Toujeo - 303 airings - 1.24%

5. Prevagen - 1,747 airings - 1.17%

6. Rosland Capital - 855 airings - 1.15%

7. Allstate - 1,285 airings - 1.13%

8. Ram Trucks - 999 airings - 1.12%

9. Lear Capital - 900 airings - 0.90%

10. Audi - 783 airings - 0.89%

Top Spending Industries on Fox News (1/1/16 - 7/15/16)

1. Auto Makers - 10,032 airings - 11.16%

2. Investment Services - 6,803 airings - 5.82%

3. Auto & General Insurance - 6,241 airings - 4.91%

4. Diabetes & Blood Disorders - 1,452 airings - 3.49%

5. OTC Pain Relief - 4,538 airings - 3.25%

6. Vitamins & Supplements - 4,592 airings - 2.80%

7. Furniture & Bedding - 1,739 airings - 2.64%

8. Oral Care - 2,337 airings - 2.41%

9. Weight Loss - 2,831 airings - 2.32%

10. Business Supplies & Services - 3,694 airings - 1.99%

Over the past week, the lists shift a bit: Nutrisystem takes first place for big spenders, followed by the NRA and Toujeo, a diabetes medication. Top industries include auto makers, insurance and pharmaceutical companies focused on diabetes and blood disorders.

LINK:	http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/currency/amid-ailes-drama-fox-ne...
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