One doesn't need to be a TV ratings guru to understand that a network losing one of its golden calves is going to result in some changes in ratings stats. Whether it's a broadcast network canceling a fan-favorite drama, a streaming service pulling the plug too soon, or a cable news giant axing its most noteworthy anchor, the numbers tend to droop a bit in the immediate aftermath. Such is the case over at Fox News, which delivered one of the biggest bombshells of the week with its announcement that Tucker Carlson is no longer with the network, with his April 21 telecast serving as the final installment of his ratings winner Tucker Carlson Tonight. And already, there’s been a noticeable change in the stats.
When revealing Tucker Carlson was on the outs, Fox News announced that his former time slot would be filled by the newly dubbed program Fox News Tonight, with plans for a revolving lineup of hosts to fill in for the foreseeable future. Brian Kilmeade of Fox & Friends was the first to fill the seat on Monday, April 24, and Tuesday, April 25. And it’s perhaps not the biggest surprise to learn that Fox News audiences were not quick to boost the replacement’s numbers higher than Carlson’s.
According to Mediaite, Fox News lost around 600,000 viewers on average week-to-week without Carlson in primetime. The TCT telecast airing on Monday, April 17, brought in around 3.2 million viewers, while the April 24 airing roped in only 2.6 million viewers. That kind of a discrepancy may not be the biggest dip for a scripted show like Yellowstone or a reality hit like Survivor, but that’s roughly 20% of the entire viewing audience for that period.
Perhaps more noteworthy, at least in the short term, is that MSNBC managed to get a leg up on Fox News on Monday night by way of the key cable news demographic of 25-54-year-old viewers. Though Fox took the crown as far as total viewership went, MSNBC’s average demo managed to win out by a small margin during the 8-11 p.m. slot, with 247,000 to FNN’s 245,000. Not a smashing victory, but a victory all the same.
It’s not as large of a dip in totals as it might have been if Tucker Carlson’s exit had been highly publicized ahead of time, instead of suddenly making the rounds on the same day that Kilmeade was handed the temporary position. It stands to reason that quite a few people tuning in that evening had completely missed the news earlier that day, and were surprised to see someone other than T.C. on the screen. (Totally into Top Cat getting his own cable news show now.)
Tucker Carlson’s ousting was quite the shock throughout all of entertainment and pop culture, and not just the TV news industry, where past colleagues such as Sean Hannity and Meghan Kelly weighed in. Tucker Carlson Tonight famously took over Kelly’s former time slot, which she approved of at the time, after she vacated the network for her short-lived run at NBC News that ended with a huge payout.
Could Carlson’s exit affect Fox News’ ability to remain on top of other cable news networks at the end of the year? The channel has been known for taking that top slot year in and year out more times than not in the modern era, so execs are likely putting all that into consideration behind the scenes when trying to figure out what the permanent fix should be.
Fox wasn’t the only news network making shocking headlines this week, as CNN reportedly fired its problem-courting anchor Don Lemon after his Monday duties on CNN This Morning. Given his A.M. numbers are apples to primetime’s oranges, it’s harder to know how his absence will affect CNN’s numbers in the longterm.
