After successfully morphing into the communications arm of the Republican National Committee and big wins at the ballot box this past fall, News Corp. is seeking a bump in its subscriber fees for Fox News Channel.

Broadcasting & Cables' Jon Lafayette reports:

News Corp. is looking to increase subscriber fees for Fox News Channel in a new round of negotiations with distributors.

Chase Carey, COO of News Corp., speaking at the 38th Annual UBS Global Media and Communications Conference Wednesday, said Fox News gets only a small fraction of what ESPN gets.

“That channel in the cable world is right there with ESPN, as important a channel as exists out there,” he said. “Clearly a lot of customers [would] move if it weren't there.”

ESPN is the highest priced national cable channel at about $4 per subscriber per month. After its launch deals began expiring in 2006, Fox News, which has grown into the top-rated cable news channel, was able to increase its rate to about $1. Now some of those deals are expiring, opening the door to a new round of negotiations.

I guess it could be argued that Fox News has really ramped up its efforts to smear the President, Democrats in Congress, progressives in general, LGBT people, immigrants, Muslims, Jews, women, Media Matters, etc. over the past two years so perhaps the cable network is in need of more mullah to keep its perpetual right-wing campaign going. Such redoubled efforts can't be cheap, right?

Of course you can always call your local cable company and tell them what you think about Fox News wanting more money for the lies and venom they broadcast each day.