Tucker Carlson Out..How Fox Announced It On-Air

FOX News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways. Fox News released a brief statement late Monday morning:

"We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor. Carlson’s last program was Friday April 21st. Fox News Tonight will air live at 8 PM/ET starting this evening as an interim show helmed by rotating FOX News personalities until a new host is named."

In February 2021, Carlson announced a multiyear deal with Fox News to host a new weekly podcast and series of monthly specials dubbed Tucker Carlson Originals on sister streaming service Fox Nation, which released on March 29. In spring of 2021 he began hosting a show on Fox Nation called Tucker Carlson Today.

In the aftermatch of the recent financial settlement of the defamation lawsuit between Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News Network, Fox News announced it was parting ways with Carlson and that a rotation of guest hosts would fill the slot until a permanent replacement was found.   Dominion’s lawsuit had accused Fox News of airing false election claims and conspiracy theories in the wake of the 2020 presidential election.

There will be no sendoff for Carlson, as his last program aired on Friday. Carlson had signed off on Friday stating he would be back on Monday. The company wouldn’t comment beyond the release, and whether Carlson was being taken off air in response to the Dominion defamation case.

Carlson’s sudden exit represents a massive change for the dominant network in cable news. For the week ending April 16, Tucker Carlson Tonight was the most-watched show for the week, with a total audience of 3.389 million viewers, and 419,000 viewers in the key demo of adults 25-54. The next highest-rated show was Fox News Channel’s The Five, which had 3.015 million viewers. The Five airs outside prime time, with FNC’s next highest-rated prime time hour after Carlson’s being Hannity, which delivered a total audience of 2.607 million viewers.

WATCH: “We want to thank Tucker Carlson for his service to the network.”

Fox News’ @HarrisFaulkner announces on air that Fox News and @TuckerCarlson have parted ways, effective immediately. pic.twitter.com/tQUAzSiiqp

— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) April 24, 2023

The separation comes just days after the media outlet announced it was parting ways with host Dan Bongino. Bongino, who hosted “Unfiltered with Dan Bongino” on Saturday nights and “Canceled in the USA” on Fox Nation, departed the outlet after failing to come to an agreement to extend his contract. Bongino said on his podcast the decision was “tough” but “we couldn’t come to terms on an extension.”