NewsNation’s Audience of One

Last week, Donald Trump logged on to his social media platform to publicly support regulatory approval of broadcast giant Nexstar’s proposed acquisition of Tegna, framing the deal as a blow against “THE ENEMY, the Fake News National TV Networks,” and calling on officials to “GET THAT DEAL DONE!”

Nexstar, already the nation’s largest local television station owner, is seeking to absorb Tegna in a $6.2 billion acquisition, a merger that would reach 80% of TV households across U.S. key markets, according to the companies. But in order to close the deal, Nexstar needs the approval from the Federal Communications Commission, as well as special permission to exceed the cap on local station ownership by a single entity.

That regulatory squeeze is now being felt acutely inside Nexstar’s cable news upstart NewsNation, Status has learned. Current and former employees say the network, long marketed as an “unbiased” alternative to traditional cable news, has pivoted rightward in what some view as a transparent effort to curry favor with Trump’s FCC–at the expense of the channel’s overall performance—and smooth the path for a merger that otherwise faces steep hurdles.

“A lot of people within the network believe that the network has gone hard right to appeal to Trump and Brendan Carr,” one former employee told Status. A NewsNation spokesperson did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story.

The most glaring example of the network’s MAGA-friendly pivot was the recent hiring of former Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich as part of NewsNation’s primetime schedule overhaul. In December, the network announced Pavlich would take over the weekday 10 p.m. slot, with Nexstar Networks president Sean Compton—an old Sean Hannity ally from their Clear Channel days—referring to her as a “seasoned journalist and commentator.”

But to some internally, Pavlich’s hire was an unmistakable sign that the network’s centrist posture has given way to something more closely resembling a Fox News knockoff, particularly as Nexstar seeks regulatory approval for its Tegna deal. Indeed, shortly after Pavlich’s show was announced, FCC chair Carr publicly congratulated her on social media, which merely reinforced internal suspicions that the network’s ideological shift is designed to signal friendliness toward Trump’s administration.

Since joining the network, Pavlich—who kicked off her show with a Trump interview—has largely delivered exactly the kind of programming her critics anticipated: reliably Trump-friendly and conservative commentary-heavy. The ratings, however, have remained weak. The Trump sit-down attracted just 75,000 total viewers and 10,000 in the 25-54 demo.

And Pavlich’s new primetime program has drawn scrutiny for echoing the administration’s talking points. Less than a month ago, the NewsNation anchor claimed that five-year-old Liam Ramos had not been detained by ICE, blindly repeating an administration narrative that turned out to be inaccurate. One current staffer, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, described it as “predictable” from Pavlich, with her tendency to promote “pro-Trump garbage.”

But Pavlich is hardly an outlier. In recent years, NewsNation has increasingly leaned on a roster of hosts with conservative bonafides, including Leland Vittert, a former Fox News anchor whose primetime show “On Balance” has become one of the network’s flagship hours. The network has repeatedly hired former Fox News talent, with Connell McShane, Laura Ingle, and Chris Stirewalt all now on the payroll.

But even if NewsNation was partially paying lip service to occupying the center, the recent changes have been notable. Elsewhere, Ashleigh Banfield—who Pavlich replaced as she transitioned into leading the network’s true crime vertical and her podcast “Dead Serious”—drew widespread criticism for controversial reporting last week that claimed Nancy Guthrie’s son-in-law was a “prime suspect” in her disappearance, with the sheriff in the case calling her reporting “reckless.”

But even as NewsNation has increasingly embraced a conservative point of view, the ratings suggest the strategy has failed to deliver meaningful gains. The network did see growth in 2025, posting double-digit increases in overall viewership as it continued to build out its lineup. Yet Nielsen data reviewed by Status shows that in early 2026, NewsNation’s total-day audience remains essentially flat, averaging 68,000 total viewers, while the network has suffered a decline among the advertiser-coveted adults 25–54 demo, down 18 percent year over year to just 9,000 viewers.

The results are particularly bleak for Pavlich, who was positioned as a marquee primetime hire. From January 19 through February 11, “Katie Pavlich Tonight” averaged 107,000 total viewers and 17,000 viewers in the 25–54 demo, performing roughly 24% below NewsNation’s overall primetime average of 140,000 viewers. More broadly, NewsNation continues to lag behind its cable rivals. During the same period, Fox News averaged 2.6 million viewers, while Newsmax delivered 183,000 viewers, underscoring the competitive limits of NewsNation’s attempt to carve out a conservative foothold in a market already dominated by Fox News and other right-wing commentary.

But then again, how much do ratings matter to Nexstar executives who many suspect are playing to an audience of one? The network’s rightward drift has felt calculated, according to those who spoke to Status, arguing that executives have a vested interest in avoiding antagonizing Trump as his administration holds leverage over its expansion ambitions.

From that perspective, Nexstar’s strategy may be working precisely as intended, even if the ratings suggest otherwise. As the former NewsNation employee said, “Trump obviously needs the media to express fealty and help him tell his narrative, or get behind it, and they seem willing to do that.”

• Warner Bros Discovery is considering reopening deal talks with David Ellison’s Paramount, as the never-ending battle with Netflix continues, Lucas Shaw and Michelle Davis reported. [Bloomberg]
• Paramount followed Disney, accusing ByteDance of “blatant infringement” of its IP, with its Seedance and Seedream platforms. [Variety]
• Where is Nancy? The FBI said DNA was recovered from a glove found near Nancy Guthrie’s home that appears to match those worn by the suspect. [AP]
• Don Lemon has seen a subscriber surge since his arrest by federal agents. Subscriptions to his Substack jumped 73%, he added roughly 300,000 followers on Instagram and 140,000 subscribers on YouTube, Drew Harwell reported. [WaPo]
• Donald Trump lashed out at “jerk” Bill Maher in a lengthy Truth Social post, calling their White House dinner last April “a total waste of time.” [HuffPo]
  • Maher revealed to CNN’s Elex Michaelson that Trump texts him and “yells” at him for being part of the “lunatic left.” [YouTube]
• Lydia Polgreen wrote that she “trusted” Jeff Bezos after dining with him in 2017, when he vowed not to shrink The Washington Post. “The joke was on me, and on journalism,” she said after last week’s mass layoffs. [NYT]
  • Former Post reporter Rachel Weiner wrote that the Post lost 18 local reporters and seven local editors in the layoffs, which also eliminated nearly all local courts journalists. [Court Watch]
  • Post writers traveled to the Milan Olympics despite the sports section being shuttered, telling Andrew Dampf, “They can take away our section, but in a way, they can’t take away our spirit.” [AP]
• Former NPR host David Greene sued Google for allegedly replicating his voice with an A.I. tool. “I was, like, completely freaked out,” after hearing it, he told Will Oremus. [WaPo]
• Casey Wasserman put his music talent agency up for sale amid Epstein Files fallout and client departures. [WSJ]
• Ars Technica retracted an article after it became clear the story contained A.I.-hallucinated quotes. “That is a serious failure of our standards,” Editor-in-Chief Ken Fisher wrote in an editor’s note with an apology. [Ars]
• David Remnick discussed the limited state of access journalism with celebrities and athletes during an appearance on “Pablo Torre Finds Out.” [YouTube]
• The Berlin Film Festival defended its jury over much-criticized statements about artists not speaking out about politics. [Variety]
• As “The Silence of the Lambs” turns 35, some associated with the Oscar-winning film told Ryan Gajewski they regret its transphobic aspects. [THR]
• Gabriel Sherman’s new book “Bonfire of the Murdochs,” sold 1,118 copies in the first week, according to sales data. [Mediaite]

• “Wuthering Heights” wooed enough patrons to amass an estimated $35 million for the weekend and projected $40 million including Presidents’ Day, finishing below expectations despite the No. 1 finish.
• “GOAT,” the Sony animated film featuring and produced by NBA star Stephen Curry, placed second with a relatively modest $26 million three-day take, although like most kid-oriented titles, it might enjoy some legs.
• Speaking of legs (or the lack thereof), “Melania” slipped another 60-plus percent, to $886,000 for the weekend and $15.4 million total.
• “Avatar: Fire and Ash” is gradually petering out as the film nears $400 million domestic and $1.45 billion worldwide—boffo numbers for any ordinary movie, but far short of the $2.3 billion earned by the previous sequel.

• With the Winter Olympics as a slight drag, the box office lagged behind the corresponding frame last year led by “Captain America: Brave New World.”

   

  [Data via Box Office Mojo]

The latest episode of our podcast Power Lines is out.

In this week’s episode: We discuss how key MAGA Media figures are calling for Pam Bondi’s ouster over her handling of the Epstein Files, while Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News runs cover for her. Plus, we break down our reporting on the massive layoffs being planned by Bari Weiss at CBS News, the FTC’s threat to Tim Cook over Apple News, and how the Nancy Guthrie abduction is spurring discussion about security inside television news networks.

You can watch on YouTube—or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoy the program, subscribe so you never miss an episode!