Glenn Beck ‘transitioning off’ Fox

Controversial Fox News star Glenn Beck‘s days as a nightly feature at the network are numbered, according to a joint statement from Beck’s flack and the conservative news network.

Beck is known for his opinionated, highly emotional stance on air, and was a major target of satire from Comedy Central stars Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert at their Rally to Restore Fear and/or Sanity on the National Mall last fall. (The rally’s crowd far outstripped the earlier crowd drawn by Beck during a similar event.) The Washington Post floated plummeting ratings as a reason for Beck’s departure from the network at which he was once a key property:

“Since last August, when he summoned more than 100,000 followers to the Washington mall for the “Restoring Honor” rally, Mr. Beck has lost over a third of his audience on Fox — a greater percentage drop than other hosts at Fox,” David Carr wrote in early March. “True, he fell from the great heights of the health care debate in January 2010, but there has been worrisome erosion — more than one million viewers — especially in the younger demographic.”

It is not known when Beck will leave the channel officially.