Fox execs fear a shake-up as Rupert Murdoch returns to the US thanks to vaccine courtesy of NHS

Fox executives are said to be fearful a shake-up is on the cards as Rupert Murdoch is heading back to the US thanks to him getting the COVID-19 vaccine courtesy of the UK’s NHS

The media mogul, who will turn 90 in March, got the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine in recent days, sources told The Daily Beast.  

Murdoch is a US citizen and was born in Australia but has spent much of the pandemic holing up with his fourth wife Jerry Hall at his home in Oxfordshire, England.

He received the first dose at a local clinic in Henley on December 16 where he sang the praises of NHS staff and scientists and said he ‘strongly encouraged’ others to get the shot.   

In the UK, people over 80 are currently eligible for the vaccine, along with frontline health and social care workers, care home residents and their carers.    

Sources said he was waiting for the second dose before heading back across the pond, where rumors are circling that positions of some top executives are on the line after ratings have slumped in recent months. 

Fox executives are said to be fearful a shake-up is on the cards as Rupert Murdoch is heading back to the US thanks to him getting the COVID-19 vaccine courtesy of the UK’s NHS

The media mogul, who will turn 90 in March, got the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine in recent days, sources told The Daily Beast

He received the first dose at a local clinic in Henley on December 16 where he 'strongly encouraged' others to get the shot

The media mogul, who will turn 90 in March, got the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine in recent days, sources told The Daily Beast. He received the first dose at a local clinic in Henley on December 16 where he ‘strongly encouraged’ others to get the shot

The News Corp. boss has reportedly taken a more hands-on role at the right-wing network in recent days alongside his son Lachlan.

Top of the priority list is to tackle the decline in ratings seen since Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election in November, insiders said. 

Multiple insiders told The Daily Beast Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott and President Jay Wallace are both fighting to keep their jobs after taking the lion’s share of the blame for the figures.  

Fox has denied there is any truth to the rumors, issuing a statement that reads: ‘Your premise is wrong. It is wishful thinking by our competitors.’  

Sources said Murdoch and Lachlan are ‘disenchanted’ with the pair. 

‘Fox News has been absent a leader with the exception of [Fox Corporation’s Chief Legal and Policy Officer] Viet Dinh running the operation between the network and the White House,’ one insider said. 

‘Rupert re-taking the reins is a sign of the gross mismanagement to date.’ 

Murdoch has already made his return known with the announcement of a significant revamp of Fox’s daytime scheduling Monday.

Multiple insiders told The Daily Beast Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott (above) and President Jay Wallace are fighting to keep their jobs

President Jay Wallace. The pair have taken the lion's share of the blame for the ratings

Multiple insiders told The Daily Beast Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott (left) and President Jay Wallace (right) are both fighting to keep their jobs after taking the lion’s share of the blame for the ratings 

Changes include Bill Hemmer returning to co-anchoring the network’s first two hours of news programming at 9 a.m. and Martha MacCallum moving to the 3 p.m. slot.

A new opinion program at 7 p.m. will also replace the news-focused show ‘The Story.’ 

‘I mean Rupert got involved with the shuffling of the lineup so that’s never a good sign for someone in charge,’ a current Fox staffer told The Daily Beast. 

‘What is the point of having a manager running your business if you have to run the business yourself?’

Two sources told the outlet former Fox News vice president David Rhodes has been tipped by Lachlan to take Scott’s job with another source saying the Murdochs ”like Rhodes a lot’. 

Sources said Wallace’s job is also rumored to be on the line after the network was first to call Arizona for Joe Biden on election night. 

Latest figures from Nielsen show that, since December 28, Fox News' total viewership is down 15 percent compared to the same time last year

Latest figures from Nielsen show that, since December 28, Fox News’ total viewership is down 15 percent compared to the same time last year

The state was won by the Democrat but the call was deemed premature by many and sparked outrage from Trump who allegedly personally called Murdoch in a fit of rage. 

Sources said the move damaged ratings with Trump supporters switching to the right-wing, pro-Trump Newsmax.  

A spokesperson directed DailyMail.com to a press release from December reporting that, in 2020, Fox News Channel made history by becoming the first network to surpass 3.5 million viewers in primetime for an entire year.

But latest figures from Nielsen show that, since December 28, Fox News’ total viewership is down 15 percent compared to the same time last year. 

By contrast, CNN viewership is up 150 percent and MSNBC 89 percent.