Fox News experienced a significant ratings drop in the 8 p.m. hour last week after firing prime-time host Tucker Carlson — while one of its much smaller conservative cable rivals appears to have benefited, at least temporarily, from the viewer migration.
Carlson averaged more than 3 million total viewers per night from April 17-21, what turned out to be his final week in that time slot. But in his absence, the network averaged only 1.65 million viewers per night last week.
“Fox & Friends” co-host Brian Kilmeade temporarily filled the time slot last week; this week, Fox News personality Lawrence Jones will host.
The disparity was most stark on Wednesday, when Kilmeade’s 8 p.m. hour received an average of 1.3 million total viewers, compared with the 3 million Carlson received a week earlier — a decline of 56 percent. Overall, the network experienced a 45 percent viewership decline last week without Carlson in the host’s chair.
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When Fox announced Carlson’s forced departure April 24, the network said that “rotating Fox News personalities” will fill in until a permanent 8 p.m. host is selected. The network did something similar with the 7 p.m. hour, after it was vacated by anchor Martha MacCallum, and ultimately settled on Jesse Watters as the permanent host. “Jesse Watters Primetime” has been a major success for Fox News, and Watters, who also co-hosts “The Five,” is considered a possible candidate for Carlson’s old slot.
Although Fox’s critics and Carlson’s fans have gawked at the ratings drop — former Fox host Megyn Kelly characterized the 8 p.m. audience decline as “a bloodbath” after just two days of data — Fox has publicly remained calm.
“For more than 21 years, Fox News Channel has been cable news’ most-watched network in all categories with more Democrats, Independents and Republicans now tuning in than either CNN or MSNBC,” the company said in a statement. “Attracting more than 50 percent of the cable news viewing audience with the top 12 programs in cable news, Fox News’ powerhouse team of journalists, analysts and opinion hosts are trusted more by viewers than any other news source.”
For the Murdochs, Tucker Carlson became more trouble than he was worth
Fox still holds a commanding lead over the competition on MSNBC and CNN. And the network has weathered similar short-term declines in the past, including a minor dip after Bill O’Reilly was pushed out of the network in 2017. He was replaced by Carlson, who had the most-watched show in all of cable news in 2021 — eclipsing Sean Hannity, who earned that title between 2017 and 2020. The 5 p.m. panel show “The Five” was the network’s most-watched show in 2022, and it’s tracking that way again in 2023.
Meanwhile, another right-leaning cable news network experienced a ratings boost last week: Newsmax, which also saw a brief surge in viewers after Fox alienated some conservatives by calling the state of Arizona for Joe Biden early on election night in 2020. On the day Carlson was fired, Newsmax’s 8 p.m. offering, hosted by former Fox News host Eric Bolling, drew a competitive 531,000 total viewers, only about 200,000 behind CNN’s 8 p.m. hour.
Bolling’s show got up to 562,000 on Tuesday night, five times as many viewers as the same night a week earlier, then dropped to 456,000 by Thursday. Newsmax’s viewership surge also plateaued in the weeks after the 2020 election before ultimately declining, after frustration with Fox News among Donald Trump’s base seemed to mellow.
Newsmax has looked to capitalize on the post-Carlson surge, issuing statements touting the ideological purity of the network’s programming and its growing reach, just as it did in the wake of the 2020 election.
“For a while, Fox News has been moving to become establishment media, and Tucker Carlson’s removal is a big milestone in that effort,” Newsmax chief executive Christopher Ruddy said April 24. “Millions of viewers who liked the old Fox News have made the switch to Newsmax, and this will only fuel that trend.” Newsmax also claimed last week that its streaming platforms are seeing a boost as well.
Although Fox News has not commented on Newsmax’s boasting, internal emails made public as part of the now-settled Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit made clear that Fox executives and hosts were concerned about its rival’s potential for growth in 2020. One of the hosts was Carlson, who said in a text message to a producer that “with Trump behind it, an alternative like Newsmax could be devastating to us.”
Carlson averaged more than 3 million total viewers per night from April 17-21, what turned out to be his final week in that time slot. But in his absence, the network averaged only 1.65 million viewers per night last week.
“Fox & Friends” co-host Brian Kilmeade temporarily filled the time slot last week; this week, Fox News personality Lawrence Jones will host.
The disparity was most stark on Wednesday, when Kilmeade’s 8 p.m. hour received an average of 1.3 million total viewers, compared with the 3 million Carlson received a week earlier — a decline of 56 percent. Overall, the network experienced a 45 percent viewership decline last week without Carlson in the host’s chair.
Press Enter to skip to end of carousel
When Fox announced Carlson’s forced departure April 24, the network said that “rotating Fox News personalities” will fill in until a permanent 8 p.m. host is selected. The network did something similar with the 7 p.m. hour, after it was vacated by anchor Martha MacCallum, and ultimately settled on Jesse Watters as the permanent host. “Jesse Watters Primetime” has been a major success for Fox News, and Watters, who also co-hosts “The Five,” is considered a possible candidate for Carlson’s old slot.
Although Fox’s critics and Carlson’s fans have gawked at the ratings drop — former Fox host Megyn Kelly characterized the 8 p.m. audience decline as “a bloodbath” after just two days of data — Fox has publicly remained calm.
“For more than 21 years, Fox News Channel has been cable news’ most-watched network in all categories with more Democrats, Independents and Republicans now tuning in than either CNN or MSNBC,” the company said in a statement. “Attracting more than 50 percent of the cable news viewing audience with the top 12 programs in cable news, Fox News’ powerhouse team of journalists, analysts and opinion hosts are trusted more by viewers than any other news source.”
For the Murdochs, Tucker Carlson became more trouble than he was worth
Fox still holds a commanding lead over the competition on MSNBC and CNN. And the network has weathered similar short-term declines in the past, including a minor dip after Bill O’Reilly was pushed out of the network in 2017. He was replaced by Carlson, who had the most-watched show in all of cable news in 2021 — eclipsing Sean Hannity, who earned that title between 2017 and 2020. The 5 p.m. panel show “The Five” was the network’s most-watched show in 2022, and it’s tracking that way again in 2023.
Meanwhile, another right-leaning cable news network experienced a ratings boost last week: Newsmax, which also saw a brief surge in viewers after Fox alienated some conservatives by calling the state of Arizona for Joe Biden early on election night in 2020. On the day Carlson was fired, Newsmax’s 8 p.m. offering, hosted by former Fox News host Eric Bolling, drew a competitive 531,000 total viewers, only about 200,000 behind CNN’s 8 p.m. hour.
Bolling’s show got up to 562,000 on Tuesday night, five times as many viewers as the same night a week earlier, then dropped to 456,000 by Thursday. Newsmax’s viewership surge also plateaued in the weeks after the 2020 election before ultimately declining, after frustration with Fox News among Donald Trump’s base seemed to mellow.
Newsmax has looked to capitalize on the post-Carlson surge, issuing statements touting the ideological purity of the network’s programming and its growing reach, just as it did in the wake of the 2020 election.
“For a while, Fox News has been moving to become establishment media, and Tucker Carlson’s removal is a big milestone in that effort,” Newsmax chief executive Christopher Ruddy said April 24. “Millions of viewers who liked the old Fox News have made the switch to Newsmax, and this will only fuel that trend.” Newsmax also claimed last week that its streaming platforms are seeing a boost as well.
Although Fox News has not commented on Newsmax’s boasting, internal emails made public as part of the now-settled Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit made clear that Fox executives and hosts were concerned about its rival’s potential for growth in 2020. One of the hosts was Carlson, who said in a text message to a producer that “with Trump behind it, an alternative like Newsmax could be devastating to us.”
