CRTV and The Blaze Announce Merger Creating Blaze Media
“Tens of millions of Americans have had it with the biased, ideologically-driven mainstream media outlets that sanctimoniously advance their own agendas under the guise of ‘news’ and ‘journalism,’” — Mark Levin, in a statement to The Hill
Sunday, right-leaning media sites Conservative Review and The Blaze announced a merger.
The Hollywood Reporter was the first to break the story.
Glenn Beck and Mark Levin are teaming up by merging TheBlaze and CRTV to create a conservative-media entity dubbed Blaze Media, which they say will reach 165 million people via television, digital platforms and social media.
Beck and Levin are set to officially announce what they are calling a merger of equals Monday, but Beck tells The Hollywood Reporter that the move could be just a next step in building a powerhouse, independent media company.
“This is the beginning of scale,” he says. “Anyone who loves the Bill of Rights and pursues honesty, I want them all in. We’re an open book. Let’s talk,” he says.
Beck founded TheBlaze in 2011 after leaving Fox News, where his show drew a large audience though was constantly attacked by progressive groups that discouraged advertisers. TheBlaze grew quickly, but in recent years has scaled back in order to preserve money.
TheBlaze is seen on Dish Network, Verizon Fios, Roku, SlingTV and several regional cable outlets, and it is heard on Sirius XM Radio, iHeartRadio and elsewhere. Next year, it will launch a live tour with the working title, Blaze Live.
Levin, a former attorney in Ronald Reagan’s presidential administration, is a nationally syndicated radio host, and he hosts Life, Liberty & Levin on Fox News. He founded LevinTV and the digital outlet morphed into CRTV, the “CR” standing for “Conservative Review.”
Beyond Levin, some of the talent at CRTV includes Michelle Malkin, Steven Crowder, Matt Kibbe, Deneen Borelli, Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty fame and Gavin McInnes, the co-founder of Vice Media who hosts the show Get Off My Lawn at CRTV.
Levin objected to THR’s version of the story, which made it appear as though Levin and Beck had merged.
CRTV issued the following correction to the Hollywood Reporter story:
Mark Levin and Glenn Beck did not merge. CRTV and TheBlaze merged. Mr. Levin does not hold management authority in CRTV…— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) December 3, 2018
… The decision for the merger was made by the principals of CRTV and TheBlaze. Also, the headquarters will not be in Dallas, TX
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) December 3, 2018
Levin and Beck appear to be excited about the recent creation of Blaze Media. From The Hill:
“Tens of millions of Americans have had it with the biased, ideologically-driven mainstream media outlets that sanctimoniously advance their own agendas under the guise of ‘news’ and ‘journalism,’” said Levin, founder of LevinTV, the flagship program of CRTV, in a statement provided to The Hill.
“Conservatives actually believe in a free press and the rest of the Constitution. This is why I started LevinTV, which grew into the CRTV digital network. In order to further expand and offer the public an alternative to liberal media group-think, I’m very excited about the merger of TheBlaze and CRTV. The timing is perfect.”
“The combination of the exceptional roster of TheBlaze and CRTV talent means Blaze Media will now be as broad and ideologically diverse as the audiences we serve,” said Beck. “Conservatives, libertarians, constitutionalists, and more have a home at Blaze Media. Our hosts will have differences, but we share a common belief in free expression, honest discourse and a society founded in the principles of the Bill of Rights. I’m beyond thrilled about this merger.”
As The Hill notes, The Blaze was in talks with Ben Shapiro about a potential partnership or acquisition earlier this year. No word yet on how Blaze Media affects the potential there or if there is potential there, but Shapiro applauded the merger:
Shapiro, 34, had been in acquisition talks with Beck that first surfaced publicly in February. Beck told The Hollywood Reporter he’d still like to pursue talks with Shapiro, whose podcast is downloaded more than 10 million times per month.
Shapiro congratulated the companies on the merger on Twitter late Sunday night.
The conservative media sphere has changed so much in the 7, almost 8 years I’ve been part of it. Back in the day, our world consisted of a bevy of independent blogs, some bigger than others, most friendly with one another, making for a lovely digital community of people.
Those days are long gone. Media conglomerates have gobbled up some independent sites and most of the blogs I used to frequent have long since ceased to publish.
A Levin/Beck coupling seems a bit odd, but it may end up being complimentary. I suppose we’ll find out soon enough.
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I used to listen to Beck…..then he started this thing on his program where they would mock folks who didn’t understand what he wanted. You know….back when he was rollin’ in that Maybach….Beck ain’t right, and Levin is unequally “yoked”. Oh well…..this won’t amount to anything…..y’all remember Beck taking soccer balls to the illegals at the border? Beck is for Beck….a limp reed,for those who read the Bible.
Maybe what you’re saying is true, but this effort is worth pursuing since nothing else is being done along this line. You can bitch and complain about Facebook et alia doing this, and CNN et alia doing that. All as a negative.
This Beck-Levin is at least a positive. You know, the old “better to light a candle than to curse the darkness” sort of thing.
Beck is a zealous clown, swinging his ‘discernment’ like a drunk cane chopper swings his machete….a few stalks of sugar cane here, and a foot or a hand there. Whoever gives beck the loudest praise is the direction he’ll go.
I liked Levin, but he must be desperate to join himself to Beck.
So after all of that invective all I get is “LoneStarWhacko is not in the group of 145 million target by this venture.” But your spleen is clean and vented now….
Gave you an thumbs-up by accident.
Say what you want about him, but even Beck is about 10000000000000000000% more reliable than the likes of the NY Times, CNN, etc.
Btw, what’s wrong with owning an expensive car? (You think Pelosi gets driven around in a Chevy?)
Meh.
I was never a fan of Beck, but I appreciate his contributions to the right side of the dial, so to speak. I listen to Levin radio almost nightly.
My first impression is I like this merger for the platform aspect alone. Since many of us hate the MFM and social media fascism, Blaze Media is another alternative.
Hopefully, it won’t self castrate like FOX appears to have done, as of late.
Beck was good before he declared himself a Prophet of Freedom and Democracy. Obama broke him, and he stoked much of the “oppose progressives by any means neccessary” sentiment, until those means included Donald Trump. Then he had a massive “What in God’s name have I done?!?” moment and has blown in the wind ever since. His failing empire has more to do with that than anything.
Glenn Beck is the Elmer Gantry of talk radio.
I use to listen to Glenn Beck quite regularly on the radio and I thought he was at his best when he did his version of David Horowitz’s, Discover the Networks, on his Fox Channel show. However, since his expulsion from Fox for ‘discovering and reporting on the wrong networks’, he has descended into incoherence. And now, reading about this merger disappoints me greatly in the leadership and management of CRTV — But I do wish them good luck.
This had to have been lucrative financially for Levin. Beck has been going bankrupt for years. Levin and his slate of A-listers will save the Blaze and give it to gravitas, and Beck will give them prime time exposure. I bet you Mark ends up with 50% or more of ownership, and he gets to take charge of finances and big decisions. Back will have to listen to Levin. Seriously, sounds like a match made in heaven.
This might the phasing out of Beck. Not completely, but from daily control. Most of the programming that will be valued by their target audience sounds like it is coming from CRTV, for example.
Perhaps Beck moves into the role of movie development, which is something I thought was always his aspiration anyway.
I started to listen to beck in 2003 and 2004 while he was broadcasting out of Florida(?) and first started doing his Christmas shows for military families. I have YET seen Beck accept direction or correction from anyone with grace – it’s always an argument. Men and employees that supported him for years were tossed out of his organization when things got tough: he is without loyalty.
Levin might try to direct Beck with a little common sense, but it will be like pulling teeth to get Beck to respond and comply. Beck is always right = a major pain in the azz!
Then again, I doubt very much that Levin really cares whether this is lucrative or not. After all, at this point, he probably has more money than he could EVER spend, so it’s probably immaterial to him if Beck proves to be the iceberg that sinks another Titanic.
Outlets like Breitbart have been taking shots at Fox News as the big audience I assume they were trying to leverage – away from Fox and towards Breitbart. Interesting that Beck and CRTV were quicker to the mark.
But at least there are a growing number of “new media” outlets from those web based like Breitbart, Daily Wire, Daily Caller, Townhall, Federalist, etc., to some of the other mixed media like Salem and now Blaze Media. I guess Newsmax is in there, too. Growth is good.
I’m waiting to see what Fox will look like in another year or so. Their subscription service may be the Murdoch son’s way of keeping the more conservative audience while moving the broadcast closer to CNN/MSNBC so he can be invited to Manhattan soirees.
Yes, well, given that the guy who used to run Fox was foolish enough to let Lachlan and the other Brothers Dim run things does not give me a rosy outlook for Fox’s future.
Mixed feelings. I’m rooting for CRTV and with Fox swooning, the timing should be right for some easy pickins. I just wish Beck would go away already. I really, really, really don’t want to hear his mawkish personal story anymore. Weepy men with microphones give me the creeps.
So, how does this affect the legal dispute between CRTV founder Cary Katz and Mark Steyn?
I was a big fan of Levin and Malkin, especially Malkin, before the CRTV misadventure that ended up harming my absolute favorite Steyn. It’s a shame, but hard to know if any of the Katz craziness was evident in the beginning. I follow Steyn as much as I follow LI (and $upport both), but Malkin & Levin have faded into the background and become rather irrelevant to me, though I do appreciate her efforts at helping the wrongly convicted (Holsclaw, etc.).
As long as Katz is involved (assuming he is – Levin was referring to someone calling the shots) I doubt it will avoid another implosion in the not too distant future.
#MeToo … There are perhaps a bunch of us here who also follow the great Mark Steyn. Who was apparently dumped, and then trashed, by CRTV after only a couple of months of participation late in 2016.
After extended contract litigation Mr. Steyn was awarded a $4-million-something judgment by a court in New York earlier this year. And the award apparently confirmed by a second judge on appeal. The CRTV creeps behind the scenes are still refusing to pay, however. The Cary Katz character is (was?) apparently the principal owner and has been attempting backwards lawsuits – unsuccessfully – and dodgy financial manipulations trying to protect any liquid resources of his own.
Mr. Steyn has described much of these dreadful legal adventures at his blog. The legal terminology and procedures are beyond my expertise but I know there are a lot of smart lawyers active at this site and perhaps can comment.
I listen to Mark Levin on occasion but haven’t heard anything from him regarding either this litigation or substance the new merger … yet. I’d think he would be on the side of following the orders of the two judges, but I guess we may have to wait and see about that.
I suggest, regardless, that all interested viewers, listeners, and participants should approach anything to do with CRTV with skepticism regarding the uncertain integrity of the organization and its non-talent management.
Malkin does not want to be part of this and informed them today
Can one really blame her, really? She’s nobody’s fool, and as I have noted elsewhere, she probably has foreseen Glen Dreck being pure arsenic and an iceberg that will sink the CRTV Titanic in due time.
Strong, redeeming move on her part.
“This is the beginning of scale…”
That’s the big takeaway. Very encouraging.
They may be complimentary, but will they be complementary?
They may be complimentary, but will they be complementary?
I’m beyond curious as to the why this blog and commenters never mention OANN – One America News Network? This has been a very viable news network for a few years now, reporting the accurate news. I first saw Diamond and Silk on that network.
No, they are not on Comcast, but they are on Verizon Fios, Frontier, and other providers.
Again, why the silence about oann.com? They seem like a very relevant factor when talking about conservative media and yet there is a cone of silence here amidst much talk about how “such a conservative media is needed” and “nothing is being done,” etc.