'Not Even Bud Lite...Lost This Much': Ratings Showcase the New Normal for Fox News Without Tucker
The ratings of Fox News following the firing of its primetime host Tucker Carlson are in, and the network appears to have cratered its own audience through the decision.
An audience of roughly 1.48 million viewers tuned in to Fox’s 8 p.m. content on Tuesday, according to Mediaite — the first broadcast of that day of the week since Carlson’s firing.
By comparison, Fox averaged 3 million viewers for “Tucker Carlson Tonight” — more than twice as many viewers.
Even former progressive media host Brian Stelter noticed the gaping hole in Fox’s audience metrics.
Tuesday’s ratings showcase the new normal for Fox without Tucker:
5pm: 2.72 million viewers
6pm: 1.89 mil
7pm: 2.04 mil
8pm: 1.48 mil
9pm: 1.91 mil
10pm: 1.67 milTucker averaged 3 mil at 8pm. So that hour has been cut in half. And the later hours have lost at least a quarter.
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) May 3, 2023
Megyn Kelly — herself a former Fox News host — compared the network’s firing of Carlson to Bud Light’s decision to market beer with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
“Bloodbath. Not even Bud Lite… lost this much of its customer base,” Kelly said of Fox’s business decision.
Bloodbath.
Not even Bud Lite (which is currently giving away its beer in an effort to get ppl to pls pls drink it) lost this much of its customer base. https://t.co/yvzPV2IZkL— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) May 3, 2023
Fox even took a significant ratings hit in the very first primetime broadcast without Carlson.
The newly-titled “Fox News Tonight” had an audience of 2.6 million last Monday — itself airing in the hours firing the announcement of Carlson’s firing.
“Tucker Carlson Tonight” had an audience of 3.2 million on the previous Monday.
It’s likely some Fox viewers even tuned in while unaware that Carlson had been hastily separated from the network, in a personnel move the company framed as a mutual decision.
“Fox News Media and Tucker Carlson have mutually agreed to part ways. Tucker’s last show was this past Friday.” https://t.co/DZlKVyZE5C pic.twitter.com/4eCCEfZO6l
— Axios (@axios) April 24, 2023
Hosting Fox’s primetime broadcast since 2017, Carlson routinely dominated his cable news competition in television ratings — with some broadcasts drawing audiences of as many as 3.7 million, according to Mediaite.
Carlson’s ratings success has left many viewers wondering exactly why the popular host was fired to begin with.
Some reports suggest that he had ruffled feathers with provocative off-screen rhetoric that roused the ire of Fox’s corporate management.
Fox News hasn’t revealed its plans for a permanent replacement for “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
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