Tucker Carlson Takes Over For Megyn Kelly On Fox News
Tucker Carlson is inheriting the coveted 9 p.m. Eastern time slot on Fox News being vacated by Megyn Kelly and The Kelly File.
As announced on Tuesday, Megyn Kelly is moving to NBC News, and her last show on FNC is on Friday night, even though her contract officially runs through July. Kelly will host a daytime show that supposedly will replace the third hour of Today along with a Sunday evening 60 Minutes-type program, as well as handle anchor duties on big news events.
Carlson’s 7 p.m. show, Tucker Carlson Tonight, has been soaring in the ratings, which apparently proved very influential in the surprisingly quick decision by Fox News CEO Rupert Murdoch and his executive team. Fox also tapped longtime anchor Martha MacCallum for the 7 p.m. time slot to replace Tucker, at least for the first 100 days of the President Donald Trump administration. The changes go into effect January 9. MacCallum will also be anchoring the Trump inauguration day festivities on January 20 for the Fox News Channel after starting on Monday of that week, January 16.
Carlson originally ascended to the 7 p.m. program for Greta Van Susteren placeholder Brit Hume, who came out of retirement just for the election season after Greta exited.
“Carlson has been a surprise hit at 7, where he replaced Greta Van Susteren. His program would often rate as well as the channel’s primetime shows, which likely helped his chances of securing Kelly’s timeslot,” Politico explained about the program that created a lot of online buzz.
New York magazine claimed earlier this week that a pro-Trump female correspondent would get the 9 p.m. gig.
In general, Carlson, previously a Fox & Friends weekend co-host, could be reasonably considered a Trump-friendly libertarian.
“In recent weeks, the Carlson show hit #1 audience and demo with a mix of explosive interviews and hard-hitting topics. Timing isn’t everything in the business, it’s the only thing, and Carlson arrives just as the Trump presidency begins,” the Drudge Report declared in a story it broke about what appears to be a media industry bombshell.
During his career in the media, the former bowtie-wearing journalist worked for MSNBC, PBS, and CNN, and he is the founder of The Daily Caller website as well as being a former Dancing With the Stars contestant.
Carlson’s ratings have doubled competing programs on CNN and MSNBC combined, The Wrap noted. The 7 p.m. show averages approximately 3.3 million viewers with Carlson in the anchor chair.
“Mr. Carlson’s selection is a swift conclusion to an anchor sweepstakes that only emerged on Tuesday, when Ms. Kelly, the No. 2 anchor in cable news ratings, behind her colleague Bill O’Reilly, announced that she would be leaving Fox for NBC News,” the New York Times explained.
In a statement about the decision that seems to have confounded most expectations, Murdoch praised Carlson, The Wrap detailed.
“In less than two months, Tucker has taken cable news by storm with his spirited interviews and consistently strong performance. Viewers have overwhelmingly responded to the show and we look forward to him being a part of Fox News’ powerful primetime line-up.”
In other lineup news, Jesse Watters, the dude who makes the snarky “Watters World” man/woman on the street segments for The O’Reilly Factor, is getting his own weekly show on Saturdays at 8 p.m., Fox News also announced, according to Business Insider.
There is already been some pushback, perhaps predictably so, from the social justice cohort on social media that FNC’s 8 to 11 p.m., Monday through Friday, prime-time lineup is now anchored by white males.
“In his short time at 7 p.m., Carlson has shown a knack for selecting topics of interest to conservative viewers; hosting fiery debates with liberals; and criticizing Fox’s rivals in the mainstream media. Many of his segments and fights have gone viral,” CNN detailed about the promotion of Tucker Carlson to the former Kelly File territory.
O’Reilly’s contract is also coming up renewal, and at age 67, it’s unclear how long he wants to continue hosting the network’s most popular show.
In a tweet, Megyn Kelly praised the Fox News move, describing it as a great decision and adding that she will be cheering Tucker Carlson on.
[Featured Image by Charles Dharapak/AP Images]
