Shari Redstone rep denies the media mogul is exploring launching a Fox New competitor for ViacomCBS

• The Hollywood Reporter reported on Tuesday that National Amusements president Shari Redstone, who controls Viacom and CBS, is exploring options for a conservative-leaning news network that would compete with Fox News.
• Representatives for National Amusements and Viacom denied such a plan to Business Insider. A Redstone spokesperson denied the report to THR.
• Redstone has met with current and former Fox News employees about the venture, according to THR.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Shari Redstone, the president of National Amusements, who controls both Viacom and CBS, has explored options for launching a conservative-leaning news network that would go head-to-head with Fox News, The Hollywood Reporter's Kim Masters and Paul Bond reported on Tuesday.

But both National Amusements and Viacom denied such a plan to Business Insider.

A Viacom representative told Business Insider that "Viacom has no intention of launching a TV news channel, conservative or otherwise." A National Amusements representative said "the report is not true," when asked to comment about THR's reporting.

THR said the media mogul - who recently spearheaded a deal to combine Viacom and CBS into ViacomCBS, run by Bob Bakish - has met with former and current Fox News personalities about the venture, including Megyn Kelly. (The Viacom-CBS deal is slated to close by the end of the year.)

Redstone "could rebrand one of the existing Viacom channels" for the conservative network, according to THR.

THR also reported that streaming platform Pluto TV, which Viacom acquired in March, is planning to launch a conservative news and opinion channel. A Pluto representative did not immediately return Business Insider's request for comment.