Fox News has a huge problem. In fact, the network’s ratings have experienced a sharp decline, like falling off a cliff, following the departure of popular anchor Tucker Carlson.
The network’s ratings during the 8 p.m. hour have dropped from an average of three million viewers with Carlson to 1.65 million with Brian Kilmeade, a Fox & Friends co-host, who temporarily filled the time slot. The show is slated to be taken over by Fox News personality Lawrence Jones.
The Washington Post highlighted the stark contrast from Wednesday prior when Kilmeade’s show garnered only 1.3 million total viewers, marking a 56 percent decline from the three million viewers Carlson had just a week prior.
Overall, the network faced a 45 percent decline in viewership last week without Carlson as the host.
After announcing Carlson’s forced departure on April 24, Fox News stated that “rotating Fox News personalities” would fill the 8 p.m. slot until a permanent host was chosen.
A similar approach was taken for the 7 p.m. hour, previously held by Martha MacCallum, before Jesse Watters became the permanent host. Watters, also a co-host of “The Five,” has seen great success with “Jesse Watters Primetime” and is considered a potential candidate for Carlson’s previous time slot.
In addition to the 8 p.m. slot, Fox News has experienced a sharp decline in the 25-54 demographic for the 6 p.m., 7 p.m., and 9 p.m. time slots. Despite these declines, the network remains a ratings powerhouse, leading competitors MSNBC and CNN by wide margins.
In a recent statement, Fox News affirmed its commitment to delivering the cable news coverage that has made it so successful over the past 21 years.
The company boasted that more Democrats, Independents, and Republicans tune in to Fox News than either CNN or MSNBC, and that the network’s “powerhouse team of journalists, analysts, and opinion hosts” are trusted more by viewers than any other news source.
While Fox News has weathered departures of top-level talents like Bill O’Reilly and the sexual harassment scandal involving Roger Ailes, other networks, such as Newsmax, have benefited from the recent shake-up.
The Washington Post noted that on the day of Carlson’s firing, Newsmax’s 8 p.m. show, hosted by former Fox News host Eric Bolling, drew a competitive 531,000 total viewers, trailing CNN’s 8 p.m. hour by only about 200,000 viewers.
Newsweek reported that if Tucker Carlson were to launch an independent internet show, he could potentially take as much as a third of Fox News’ audience with him.
According to a Redfield & Wilton Strategies survey conducted for Newsweek, 16 percent of Americans would be “significantly likely” to watch an online show hosted by Carlson.
Carlson himself hinted at the possibility of creating an independent news site shortly after his exit from Fox News.
In a statement, he said, “True things prevail. Where can you still find Americans saying true things? There aren’t many places left, but there are some, and that’s enough. As long as you can hear the words, there is hope. See you soon.”