• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Microsoft AI chief gives it 18 months—for all white-collar work to be automated by AI

2

Former top Russian official admits the country is over Putin and can 'imagine a future without him' — even elites bail as Kremlin seizes their assets 

3

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises

1

Microsoft AI chief gives it 18 months—for all white-collar work to be automated by AI

2

Former top Russian official admits the country is over Putin and can 'imagine a future without him' — even elites bail as Kremlin seizes their assets 

3

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises

Trump TV Gets Closer to Reality With Nightly News Show on Facebook

By
Mathew Ingram
Mathew Ingram
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Mathew Ingram
Mathew Ingram
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 25, 2016, 11:29 AM ET
Final Presidential Debate Between Hillary Clinton And Donald Trump Held In Las Vegas
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump listens to Democratic presidential nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speak during the third U.S. presidential debate at the Thomas & Mack Center on October 19, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Win McNamee—Getty Images

Although Donald Trump’s campaign continues to deny that it is launching any kind of “Trump TV” media venture after the election, it’s getting harder and harder to believe those claims—especially now that the campaign has launched a nightly TV-style news show on Facebook.

The live-streaming broadcast that premiered on the campaign’s Facebook (FB) page on Monday night had all the trappings of a conventional television news show: two hosts sitting behind a desk, a “chyron” (or headline crawl) running along the bottom of the stream, and so on.

The first show was rough with poor lighting and a boom microphone that dropped into the shot at one point, and it went live while the anchors were still adjusting their microphones, clearly unprepared. But it was definitely an attempt to broadcast a cable-TV style program.

Boris Epshteyn, one of the hosts, told Wired that the show has nothing to do with the launch of anything like a Trump TV media entity.

“We all know how strong the left wing media bias is. This is us delivering our message to voters,” said Epshteyn. “It has nothing to do with Trump TV. It’s about using 21st century technology and communication in a way that’s effective.”

Despite these protests, it seems fairly obvious that Trump is testing the waters to see what kind of audience he might be able to put together after the election—assuming he loses. The first iteration appeared on the night of the last debate, and it got more than nine million views.

It should be noted that Facebook considers anything longer than three seconds to be a view, so it’s difficult to meaningfully compare Trump’s stream to a conventional TV broadcast.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

The Monday night broadcast had between 40,000 and 60,000 concurrent viewers in the first half hour it was live, according to CNN’s Brian Stelter. Many of the traditional nightly news broadcasts have several million average viewers at any given time.

Just as he used social media platforms like Twitter (TWTR) to generate huge amounts of media coverage without having to spend a dime, Trump seems to be trying to do an end-run around conventional television by launching his venture solely via Facebook Live.

It's not news. But it has all the visual cues of broadcast news, and it's turning up in peoples' FB feeds. Will people know the difference? https://t.co/cULzp8gn8z

— Ben Mullin (@BenMullin) October 24, 2016

While building a traditional cable channel or network like Oprah’s OWN or Al Gore’s Current TV would cost hundreds of millions of dollars and likely fail, there is a chance that Trump could turn his right-wing following into the base for a digital-only service similar to what Glenn Beck has built with Blaze Media.

Beck, who started as a right-wing radio show host, launched his subscription service in 2010 and reportedly has about 400,000 subscribers paying $9.95 per month.

Donald Trump responds to sexual assault allegations. Watch:

It wouldn’t exactly dethrone Fox News, which Trump advisor Roger Ailes helped create two decades ago and generates an estimated $1 billion or so in profit every year for parent 21st Century Fox (FOX). But it might be enough for Trump to claim success as a media mogul.

There’s no guarantee of success even if he does go the digital-only route, however. Former right-wing media star and vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin started her own online service charging users $9.95 a month in 2014, but eventually had to shut it down.

The big question is whether any of the audience that Trump has been able to generate by running for president will stick around after the election is over.

There is an existing right-wing nexus of independent media that Trump could quite easily plug into, including The Drudge Report (still a driver of major traffic to news sites), radio and TV personality Alex Jones, Breitbart News (whose co-founder Steve Bannon is Trump’s campaign manager), and more. But would that be enough for Trump?

About the Author
By Mathew Ingram
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in

Four crew members ejected safely after two Navy jets collide and crash during air show in Idaho
North AmericaMilitary
Four crew members ejected safely after two Navy jets collide and crash during air show in Idaho
By The Associated PressMay 17, 2026
5 minutes ago
Gundlach says it’s ‘just not possible’ for the Fed to cut rates
EconomyFederal Reserve
Gundlach says it’s ‘just not possible’ for the Fed to cut rates
By Jordan Fitzgerald, Sam Kim and BloombergMay 17, 2026
42 minutes ago
Supply shocks weren’t random. They were strategic—and should be seen as ‘supply coercion’ instead, former Fed official says 
Economysupply chains
Supply shocks weren’t random. They were strategic—and should be seen as ‘supply coercion’ instead, former Fed official says 
By Jason MaMay 17, 2026
1 hour ago
U.S. says China to buy $17 billion of agricultural goods annually
EconomyChina
U.S. says China to buy $17 billion of agricultural goods annually
By Yash Roy and BloombergMay 17, 2026
3 hours ago
Taiwan’s president says the U.S. arms sales that Trump called a bargaining chip with China are ‘the most important deterrent’ of regional conflict
AsiaChina
Taiwan’s president says the U.S. arms sales that Trump called a bargaining chip with China are ‘the most important deterrent’ of regional conflict
By The Associated PressMay 17, 2026
3 hours ago
WHO declares latest Ebola outbreak a global health emergency. A rare variant of the disease with no approved treatments is to blame
HealthHealth
WHO declares latest Ebola outbreak a global health emergency. A rare variant of the disease with no approved treatments is to blame
By Chinedu Asadu and The Associated PressMay 17, 2026
3 hours ago

Most Popular

Microsoft AI chief gives it 18 months—for all white-collar work to be automated by AI
AI
Microsoft AI chief gives it 18 months—for all white-collar work to be automated by AI
By Jake AngeloMay 16, 2026
1 day ago
Former top Russian official admits the country is over Putin and can 'imagine a future without him' — even elites bail as Kremlin seizes their assets 
Politics
Former top Russian official admits the country is over Putin and can 'imagine a future without him' — even elites bail as Kremlin seizes their assets 
By Jason MaMay 16, 2026
23 hours ago
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Politics
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
By Jake AngeloMay 12, 2026
5 days ago
SpaceX heads into a record-shattering IPO with the 'deepest moat that exists today' as investors vow to 'never bet against Elon'
Innovation
SpaceX heads into a record-shattering IPO with the 'deepest moat that exists today' as investors vow to 'never bet against Elon'
By Jason MaMay 16, 2026
1 day ago
Oil markets could be a month away from the moment of truth. Brace for a 'non-linear' price spike and panic buying, analysts warn
Energy
Oil markets could be a month away from the moment of truth. Brace for a 'non-linear' price spike and panic buying, analysts warn
By Jason MaMay 16, 2026
1 day ago
Meet the 20-year-old CEO who launched a company in high school to solve Gen Z's entry-level job crisis
Future of Work
Meet the 20-year-old CEO who launched a company in high school to solve Gen Z's entry-level job crisis
By Jake AngeloMay 16, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.