• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, October 16, 2018

Think Donald Trump chucked the idea of owning a TV network or media company? Maybe not. Think long-term.

Months before the 2016 presidential election, there was much speculation -- as well as from TV Watch -- that a somewhat expected loss by then-Republican candidate Donald Trump would give him some advantages.

All that massive earned media blitz could prop up Trump’s media and marketing value for other businesses -- including running his own branded media company, digital and/or traditional media.

But after his unexpected victory, the speculation ended.

Still, some veteran media executives believe there could be more to it now -- either when Trump’s presidency ends, by natural means, or an unexpected near-term departure, as his detractors would prefer.

There is some wild speculation that Trump's long-term future could still be a media one -- via an acquisition of a major company or TV network group.

Which brings us to Rupert Murdoch.

Blue-sky thinking is that the 87-year-old mogul might consider selling what remains of his Fox empire -- all or part -- to Trump sometime down the road. That includes the Fox News Channel.

Sure, maybe it’s a bit far-fetched. But a positive point for Trump would be to further a Republican agenda, and, more importantly, keep Trump in the spotlight for years to come.

All this needs to be considered in light of Murdoch's efforts to operate a pared-down Fox -- after selling half of Fox's businesses to Disney.

Decades ago, it seemed that the ever-expanding 21st Century Fox and News Corp. empires -- first with newspapers, then TV and movie businesses -- were on a nonstop growth pace. But with fractionalization of consumer media via growing digital media companies, things change.

Perhaps that $71 billion from those Disney deals means Murdoch and his family head elsewhere. Fox News Channel -- not in the near term, but a few years from now -- might need to head in a different direction as well.