FOX Fox Corporation

By Nat Ives 

As advocates press advertisers to drop " Tucker Carlson Tonight" over the host's comments about immigrants, another Fox News show is still working its way back from an ad pullout last spring.

"The Ingraham Angle" became a target for activists on March 28, when host Laura Ingraham criticized a survivor of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida. "David Hogg Rejected By Four colleges To Which He Applied and whines about it," Ms. Ingraham wrote on Twitter. "(Dinged by UCLA with a 4.1 GPA...totally predictable given acceptance rates.)"

Mr. Hogg, who became a prominent antigun activist after the Parkland shooting, kicked off the backlash by asking his own Twitter followers to contact the show's advertisers. Liberal advocacy group Media Matters added to the pressure. While most of the show's advertisers stayed put, more than 20 had said they would exit or had no plans to advertise there further.

Bayer said it had "stopped advertising on Laura Ingraham" and had "no plans to resume any time in the future." Jenny Craig said it had discontinued advertising on the show.

One boycotter, Ace Hardware, reversed course within two weeks, saying its decision to drop out was based on "incomplete information." But paid ad time in new prime-time episodes of "The Ingraham Angle" plunged 38.7% in the second quarter compared with the first quarter, according to ad-research firm iSpot.tv.

Today, the pullout is showing some cracks. Bayer and Jenny Craig resumed advertising in "The Ingraham Angle" by the summer, running commercials there dozens of times each, according to iSpot.tv. And prime time paid ad time began increasing again in the fourth quarter, iSpot said.

Ratings, meanwhile, remain strong: "The Ingraham Angle" was the No. 4 cable news show among 25-to-54-year-olds this year through Dec. 7, averaging 515,000 viewers in that demographic, according to Nielsen Media Research figures cited by Fox News.

Bayer and Jenny Craig are the only clear, big advertiser returnees, however, according to iSpot.tv. Others such as Blue Apron, Nestlé, TripAdvisor, International Business Machines Corp., Red Lobster and Sleep Number said this week that they have not advertised in "The Ingraham Angle" since spring. And nearly nine months after the pullout began, ad time still hasn't regained its first-quarter levels, according to iSpot.tv data.

Several advertisers who had pulled out of "The Ingraham Angle" have returned in some capacity, a person familiar with Fox News ad sales said, and a significant number of new advertisers have entered the show since April. A Fox News executive told Politico in October that the network was deliberately keeping the show's ad load light to help ratings.

The Wall Street Journal parent News Corp and Fox News parent 21st Century Fox Inc. share common ownership.

The effect of advertiser retreats depends on the circumstances, said Lyle Schwartz, managing partner at media-buying powerhouse GroupM. "If demand starts declining, it could have an impact in that case," Mr. Schwartz said. "If it becomes political then it's a different story, because then you're creating a scenario where are the networks going to censor their programming?"

A Bayer spokesman declined to address its return to Ms. Ingraham's show.

"Our continuous advertising campaigns, whether they appear on CNN, MSNBC, FOX or any other media outlet, are designed to engage and educate all Americans on the important role Bayer plays in their everyday lives," he said in a statement.

An outside representative for Jenny Craig said no one was available to comment.

Write to Nat Ives at Nat.Ives@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 21, 2018 16:12 ET (21:12 GMT)

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