Fox News Channel’s primetime viewership in its first week without Tucker Carlson took a huge hit dropping 29.6% from the previous week. Fox News has dominated cable for the last few years.
The network has shattered record after record and routinely delivers 90 of the top 100 shows on cable. But that is changing after the shocking firing of star Tucker Carlson. Tucker’s show did something no other show at Fox did, it brought in people who normally don’t watch Fox News.
Tucker brought in new, younger viewers to Fox. Many of them stayed around to watch Hannity and Laura Ingraham and other shows on the network. Tyler Carditis, CEO of the Blaze, said: “Since firing Tucker Carlson, Fox News Channel’s ratings in the all-important 25-54 demo have fallen off a cliff: •6pm ET: -42% •7pm ET: -62% •8pm ET: -75% •9pm ET: -70% •10pm ET: -66% •11pm ET: -49% Oof.”
Greg Gutfeld is the only other Fox News host who comes close to the ratings Tucker has with the younger advertiser-coveted demographic.
According to The LA Times:
Fox News Channel averaged 1.449 million viewers for its prime-time programming between April 24 and Sunday, third among cable networks, according to live-plus-same-day figures released by Nielsen on Tuesday. It averaged 2.058 million viewers the previous week when it did not have to face coverage of the NFL draft for two nights.
Fox News Channel had none of the week’s top 10 cable programs and only three in the 20…
The previous week Fox News had eight of the top 20 — five episode of “Tucker Carlson Tonight” (two of those in the top 10) and three episodes of “Hannity.” In Carlson’s final week before being fired, the final five editions of “Tucker Carlson Tonight” accounted for each of Fox News Channel’s five largest prime-time audiences.
The rest of the top 20 cable prime-time programs consisted of ESPN’s coverage of the first round the NFL draft, 10 NBA playoff games — eight on TNT and two on ESPN; Friday’s “NBA Courtside” on ESPN; two NHL playoff games on TNT; the MSNBC news and opinion program, “The Rachel Maddow Show”; History’s “The Curse of Oak Island” and “The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch.”
As for Tucker, he is talking to Trump to hold the first GOP debate and stealing Fox News thunder in the process. And he has a sitting offer for $100 million to join Valuenteratainment.
Valuetainment and that digital media company’s CEO, Patrick Bet-David, said:
“You don’t push a guy like that in any direction — you ask what he wants to do and you give your proposals and your ideas, and then we try to collaborate and see what makes sense. On cable news you’re still held hostage to the advertisers. You’re still held hostage on what you can talk about and what you cannot talk about.
“So imagine if you want to call out the pharmaceutical companies, and then all of a sudden, after your break, a pharmaceutical commercial comes out — you just called them out.
“And then the CEO of that company calls and says, ‘Hey, you gotta tell Tucker he can’t say that again.’
“If there are people that would like Tucker to be free to talk about whatever he has to talk about, maybe we have to pay premium for it.
“To get the real Tucker with no handcuffs and muzzles and all this other stuff that mainstream media was doing.”
Wow, Fox’s entire primetime lineup down 30% in its first post-Tucker week. Not just Tucker’s slot, the entire block. Fox did not have a single program in the top 10 for the week and only three in the top 20. This is indeed a blood bath.https://t.co/NEHMN5sLut
— Megan Basham (@megbasham) May 4, 2023
Since firing Tucker Carlson, Fox News Channel’s ratings in the all-important 25-54 demo have fallen off a cliff:
•6pm ET: -42%
•7pm ET: -62%
•8pm ET: -75%
•9pm ET: -70%
•10pm ET: -66%
•11pm ET: -49%Oof. pic.twitter.com/mjCyaF8zGI
— Tyler Carditis (@TyCardon) May 3, 2023
