• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, May 24, 2024

A new political talk show that some might interpret as being allied with the Republican-leaning conservatism of Fox News Channel is coming to all of Fox TV’s owned-and-operated stations next month, just in time for the run-up to next fall’s crucial elections.

However, the show, titled “Battleground,” does not come from Fox News, according to a press release on Tuesday.

Instead, the show is attributed to Fox First Run, the first-run syndication arm of Fox Television whose shows include lighthearted fare such as “Pictionary” and “You Bet Your Life” with Jay Leno (canceled last summer).

“Battleground” was positioned in a press release on Tuesday as a “political digital initiative” that will focus primarily on the politics and “power” of seven swing states representing 93 electoral votes in the November clash of President Joe Biden and ex-President Donald Trump.

Plans call for the half-hour show to air weekly on Mondays for nine weeks starting June 10, and then expand to five days a week on August 12. A companion newsletter began on Tuesday.

In the press release, the creation of “Battleground” is positioned primarily as a business decision aimed at expanding local availabilities for political advertising in this year’s election season, which is predicted to be one of the most divisive and hard-fought elections in years.

That means even more riches for local TV, not only because of the battle for the White House, but all other races too, such as the House and Senate, governors and state houses. 

“In what is shaping up to be a record political advertising year in local media, this initiative positions us to reap the benefits of exuberant spending on all sides,” said Stephen Brown, Executive Vice President of Programming and Development for Fox Television Stations and Fox First Run.

“Our offering is unique in that local media, the newspapers, television and radio stations, are ingrained in these communities and thus can provide a deeper, more nuanced understanding of how voters will decide this election in each of those states,” he said.

The application of the word “nuanced” might be the company’s way of saying the show will consider all sides of the power struggle -- a pledge to be fair and balanced, one might say.

“Battleground” will have host S.E. Cupp (pictured above) interacting with political correspondents from at least four of the battleground states, according to Fox.

Cupp, 45, is considered to be a conservative, but a Google search aimed at pinning down her politics has nuances of its own.

In some sources, she identifies as a “mainstream conservative” or “practical conservative.” The labels imply that she is politically conservative on issues such as limited government, lower taxes and the like.

But she disagrees with conservative positions on some social issues such as, for example, gay marriage, which she has supported.

She has parlayed her politics over the years into a career as a commentator on outlets representing the full range of political media -- from MSNBC to GlennBeck.com.

Still, it is her conservatism that might lead some to wonder if “Battleground” will lean more right than left and in the process, seek to sway undecideds toward Republican candidates in the swing states. 

Although the show comes from a Fox Corp division not associated with Fox News Channel, many who might not know the difference between Fox First Run and FNC might associate the show with the Fox News brand. 

At present, the seven states where polling indicates they could go either way in November are Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

At the outset, “Battleground” will be seen in six of those states (plus all the other Fox-owned TV stations in states all over the country). 

Fox owns major-market stations in five of the swing states -- Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

In North Carolina, “Battleground” will air on a non-Fox-owned station, WCCB-TV, a CW affiliate in Charlotte owned by Bahakel.

That leaves the swing state of Nevada without the show, although that could change before the show’s premiere date June 10.

There was no word on the show’s format, where it will originate from, or whether Cupp will have in-studio guests.

Political correspondents at Fox-owned stations in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Phoenix and Milwaukee “will be reporting and contributing from their local markets,” Fox said.

“All politics is local,” Cupp said in a prepared statement. "These seven swing states have crucial stories to tell, and our fantastic team of reporters and producers will bring these local conversations to a national audience in a unique and rigorous manner, from right where it’s happening -- on the ground.”