Google made a big bet on Fox News host Laura Ingraham in April, with the company running more than 20 ads on her show for itself and its YouTube subsidiary, according to a review of content by the liberal watchdog group Media Matters for America.
According to MMFA, Google or YouTube ads have appeared during “The Ingraham Angle” at least 23 times this month, beginning on April 2, with three ads running on the April 16 broadcast alone. “They were not there in 2018,” a rep for the group noted.
Reps for Google and Fox News did not respond to multiple requests for comment from TheWrap over the matter.
Ingraham has been facing an advertiser boycott since March 2018 after she publicly mocked Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg over his college prospects — and he shot back calling for a boycott of her top advertisers.
Dozens of sponsors abandoned the show, including marquee names like Bayer, Liberty Mutual, Wayfair and Johnson & Johnson. Even after a year, most have stayed away from the show.
Ingraham, who had approximately 15 minutes of commercial time per show before the boycott, averaged just 10 and a half minutes of ads for the first quarter of this year, according to data from Kantar Media. The company also found that the show drew 40 percent fewer advertisers last month than it did in February 2018, with a marked shift this year toward direct-response advertising like the 1-800-number-laden spots for smaller brands like MyPillow.
Fox News has consistently said they would stand behind Ingraham and other hosts facing boycotts and in the past have vowed to never bow to pressure campaigns.
“‘The Ingraham Angle’ has seen a steady increase in advertisers and as predicted, we are nearing a full commercial load,” Fox Corporation president of ad sales Marianne Gambelli told TheWrap in March. “The program’s loyal audience and stellar ratings speak for themselves and we continue to welcome more advertisers to the show.”