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<\/a>For the final year of her current deal with Fox News, Ms. Kelly is set to receive about $15 million. PHOTO: WIN MCNAMEE\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p><\/div>\n
by Joe Flint
\nThe Wall Street Journal<\/p>\n
Fox News star Megyn Kelly has changed agents and publicity teams since last year. Now the question is if she will change TV networks.<\/p>\n
Host of \u201cThe Kelly File,\u201d one of the cable-news channel\u2019s most popular shows, Ms. Kelly is in active talks over her contract, which expires next July. Her profile has been rising during the presidential election cycle, in part thanks to a dust-up with Republican candidate<\/a> Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n Keeping Ms. Kelly is a priority for senior management, including Rupert Murdoch<\/a>, chief executive of Fox News and co-executive chairman of its parent company, 21st Century Fox<\/a>.<\/p>\n Asked if Ms. Kelly would stay at the channel, Mr. Murdoch said in an interview that she is important to the network and he hopes to get a contract signed \u201cvery soon,\u201d but noted, \u201cit\u2019s up to her.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Murdoch said he is kept abreast of the talks \u201cevery minute of the day.\u201d While he doesn\u2019t want to lose her, he said, \u201cwe have a deep bench of talent, many of whom would give their right arm for her spot.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Murdoch and his family are major stakeholders in both 21st Century Fox and Wall Street Journal owner News Corp<\/a>.<\/p>\n For the final year of her current deal, Ms. Kelly is set to receive about $15 million, people familiar with the matter said. The people said she is seeking an average annual salary north of $20 million for her next contract\u2014which would put her on par with Fox host Bill O\u2019Reilly.<\/p>\n Mr. Murdoch said money isn’t an issue in the talks.<\/p>\n Ms. Kelly declined to comment.<\/p>\n The networks seen as most likely to make an aggressive play for Ms. Kelly are CNN, where she could go up against Fox News in prime-time, and ABC, where TV executives say she might fit well on \u201cGood Morning America\u201d or in an evening newsmagazine. CNN and ABC declined to comment.<\/p>\n Ms. Kelly\u2019s show has averaged 2.7 million viewers this year, according to Nielsen, second among Fox News shows to Mr. O\u2019Reilly\u2019s \u201cThe O\u2019Reilly Factor,\u201d which is averaging 3.2 million viewers this year.<\/p>\n As with other cable-news networks, Fox News has gotten an audience boost from interest in the presidential election. The network still easily beats rivals CNN and MSNBC in viewers and key demographics and often tops popular entertainment and sports channels. It also has long been a profit engine for 21st Century Fox, generating roughly 20% of its operating income.<\/p>\n Fox News is known for opinion programming that tilts right politically. But Ms. Kelly, a former lawyer who cross-examines guests, has built a reputation for being more nuanced and less of an ideologue than colleagues like Mr. O\u2019Reilly and Sean Hannity. Earlier this week, she took on former House Speaker Newt Gingrich<\/a> about how Mr. Trump was faring in the polls and accusations that the candidate is a sexual predator, resulting in a bruising on-air back-and-forth that went viral.<\/p>\n Ms. Kelly was thrust into the national spotlight last year after she questioned Mr. Trump during a Republican primary debate about his attitude toward women. That issue has taken center stage in the presidential race. To some in the TV industry, her approach took courage, given that Mr. Trump was close with Ms. Kelly\u2019s then-boss Roger Ailes<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be able to stand up and ask tough questions to your boss\u2019s choice of president shows a certain steeliness,\u201d said former CNN President Jon Klein.<\/p>\n