Fox News experienced a notable decline in its ratings after prime-time host Tucker Carlson left the network. Conversely, Newsmax, its rival network, witnessed an increase in viewership on Monday night after the departure. According to reports, MSNBC was able to narrowly surpass Fox News in viewer numbers within the 25-54 demographic during prime time.
Fox News suffered a catastrophic drop in viewers after ousting Tucker Carlson.
In the 8pm slot alone yesterday, Fox lost nearly 50% of total viewers and nearly 70% of viewers in demo compared to last Tuesday.
Demo ratings were down across the board, impacting all shows:
The… https://t.co/1ZbAhET359 pic.twitter.com/HYH4BrGnOW
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) April 27, 2023
On Monday, a surprising announcement revealed that Tucker Carlson and Fox News had reached an agreement to part ways, leaving conservatives in shock and triggering speculation about his replacement in the coveted 8 p.m. time slot. Additionally, there is curiosity surrounding Carlson’s future career endeavors.
Fox News has announced that Tucker Carlson Tonight will be swiftly replaced by a rotating lineup of personalities on Fox News Tonight. The inaugural host of this new format will be Brian Kilmeade, a Fox News contributor.
In his first show, Kilmeade addressed the recent news by stating, “As you probably have heard, Fox News and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways. I wish Tucker the best. I’m great friends with Tucker and always will be. But right now, it’s time for Fox News Tonight, so let’s get started.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Kilmeade’s debut in the role garnered an audience of 2.6 million viewers on Monday. This figure is in comparison to the average of 3.3 million viewers Tucker Carlson had accumulated over the previous eight Mondays.
Despite experiencing a 21% decline in viewership, Fox News maintained its position as the network with the highest overall viewership. An MSNBC special titled Joe Scarborough Presents attracted 1.51 million viewers, while CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 was watched by 728,000 individuals.
Meanwhile, Newsmax observed a boost in prime-time audience numbers, with Eric Bolling hosting The Balance, attracting 531,000 viewers.
Greg Kelly Reports experienced a significant surge, reaching 540,000 viewers. Both Eric Bolling’s show, The Balance, and Greg Kelly’s show witnessed a threefold increase in average viewership compared to the first quarter of the year, with Bolling’s show averaging 145,000 viewers and Kelly’s show averaging 141,000 viewers.
Kilmeade made an effort to appeal to Carlson’s fans and encouraged them to tune in to his new role on the show. However, he encountered a barrage of negative responses from social media users who expressed their disinterest in watching if Carlson was not involved.
