So far no other networks have offered to top Fox’s figure, according to network news executives and agents familiar with the talks and who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. A spokesperson for Creative Artists Agency, which represents Kelly, declined to comment on her contract negotiations…
Fox News is willing to give Kelly a raise over the $15 million a year she is currently earning because she consistently attracts more than 3 million viewers a night for her prime-time program “The Kelly File.” But there is no guarantee that the loyalty of the Fox News audience is transferable to another channel, where Bill O’Reilly, the most popular personality on cable news, would not be her lead-in.
One agent who handles TV news talent noted how executives have been wary of taking a star out of a successful format since Katie Couric moved from NBC’s “Today” in 2006. After leaving the top-rated morning show, Couric was unable to move “CBS Evening News” out of third place in the ratings. She then failed in a bid with a daytime syndicated talk show…
Zucker “thinks Megyn Kelly is great, but we’re not going to pay her enough,” said one executive not authorized to comment publicly. “I think it’s more likely that she convinces the Murdochs [the family that controls Fox News parent 21st Century Fox] to pay her what she wants.”
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