https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/05/trump-is-really-aiming-to-take-down-fox
According to sources, an investor group aligned with his son Don Jr. and the Dallas-based Hicks family has acquired a major stake in One America News Network, the fledgling conservative cable-news channel that features hosts like Jack Posobiec, a chief promoter of the Pizzagate conspiracy. “[RNC co-chair] Tommy Hicks and Don Jr. have been looking to buy a station for Trump TV,” said one source briefed on the talks. “This is all about building a Fox competitor. Trump is really aiming to take down Fox,” the person briefed on the deal told me. (A person close to Hicks said he resigned his position from the family business when he joined the RNC and isn’t involved in the OANN deal).
During impeachment, OANN distinguished itself by its brazen airing of pro-Trump propaganda. OANN ran a three-part series hosted by Rudy Giuliani promoting Trump’s conspiracy that it was Ukraine, not Russia, that meddled in the 2016 election. Former Trump campaign aide Michael Caputo—the current spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services—hosted a prime-time special titled: The Ukraine Hoax: Impeachment, Biden Cash, Mass Murder.
Sources said the deal has been dragging on for months, and hasn't yet closed. In January the Wall Street Journal reported that Hicks Equity Partners was in talks to invest $250 million to acquire OANN from parent company Herring Networks Inc. Sources told me OANN president Charles Herring was asking $300 million for the channel, a price the Trump group felt was too high (one source said the final price was around $200 million). It’s unclear whether Don Jr. invested Trump family funds in the deal or was given equity. The infusion of cash will allow OANN to improve production values and expand its modest distribution of 35 million homes (Fox News is available in more than 90 million homes).
“While Don has long enjoyed a close friendship with Tommy Hicks and his family, he is not part of any investment group looking to acquire OANN,” a spokesperson for Donald Trump Jr. said in a statement. “Should the Hicks family acquire the network, Don has no doubt that they will make OANN an even bigger success.”
For Trump, the network serves as both a tactical weapon in the 2020 campaign and a strategic hedge in case he needs a new platform after November. One source told me that if Trump loses, he could use OANN as his post-presidential television platform to host shows. Controlling a network has been something Trump has been mulling since the 2016 election. Thinking he would lose, per the source, Trump dispatched his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to raise money to launch Trump TV. According to the source, Trump considered buying the Weather Channel, then owned by Blackstone, and converting it into a Trump TV network. The deal didn’t go forward because Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman wanted $450 million, far more than the $300 million Trump was willing to pay. (A person close to Kushner denies this. A Blackstone spokesperson also denies the account.)
“Trump’s big thing was always to own a network and be a multibillionaire,” the source said. “If Trump loses, he can be on OANN all the time. And before he leaves office, he has months to pump it up.”
This is why people like Bill Maher are fighting the wrong battle. They think that Trump won't leave office willingly when instead he'll be glad to leave when the economy turns sour.
All he has to do is spit fire on Sleepy Joe from his Mar A Lago resort. He'll channel all the anger from his supporters to Trump TV. Plus he'll have access to guests the other channels can only hope for.
Trump TV with an exclusive interview with Kim Jong Un about the ongoing tensions between the United States and North Korea.
After 4 years they'll be back in the ring with Ivanka or Don Jr. to take the country back. In fact, I can even see them completely take-over or split the GOP by forming their own 'Trump Party'.
Trump was also caught discussing a new reality TV show with Mark Burnett who will be a big part in working on the programming for this Trump TV Network.
They don't necessarily have to win the election for the brand a one time loss might even be better
