“Fox News Tonight” — the program temporarily filling the slot long occupied by Carlson — pulled in 1.7 million viewers with “Fox & Friends” host Brian Kilmeade, according to Nielsen data.
The L-A Times reports the number is 47% below what “Tucker Carlson Tonight” delivered in the 8 p.m. Eastern hour a week earlier on April 16. Carlson averaged 3.2 million viewers in the first quarter of 2023.
Carlson was fired on Monday, a stunning move that sent shockwaves through the TV news industry and made global headlines. Rupert Murdoch’s conservative network gave no reason for the departure, but it’s believed to be related to the mounting legal problems facing the organization.
Fox News now is faced with replacing a top-rated prime-time star, a situation it has dealt with successfully in the past. But in the short term, the network may be in for a rocky ride from a ratings standpoint
CNN’s Anderson Cooper won the hour in the demo with 163,000 viewers, with MSNBC’s “All in With Chris Hayes” close behind at 162,000. Kilmeade scored 149,000 in the category. The ratings indicate Kilmeade won’t be giving up the morning shift anytime soon.
Without the tentpole that Carlson’s program provided, the ratings for other Fox News shows were down as well. “Hannity” averaged 2 million viewers, a decline of 20% from the previous week. “The Ingraham Angle” scored 1.56 million, down 12%.
Newsmax appeared to be the beneficiary of Carlson fans looking for an alternative. “Eric Bolling The Balance” pulled in 562,000 viewers in the 8 p.m. Eastern hour, a fivefold increase over last Tuesday when Carlson was his competition (with guest Elon Musk). Bolling is a former Fox News host.
A representative for Newsmax said the network also is seeing a boost in viewing on its streaming platforms. The channel is available as a free streaming app.
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