Well, that escalated quickly. It didn’t take long for the Fox News Channel to decide who would replace the ratings powerhouse. Less than two months into his new role as host of his own show at the network, FNC has announced that Tucker Carlson will move into Megyn Kelly’s time slot:
Fox News made two big announcements on Thursday regarding its top-rated prime-time lineup.
Tucker Carlson is assuming the 9pm time slot being vacated by outgoing host Megyn Kelly, and Martha MacCallum will be taking Carlson’s place at 7pm with a program covering President Trump’s first 100 days in office, the Executive Chairman of 21st Century Fox Rupert Murdoch announced Thursday.
“In less than two months, Tucker has taken cable news by storm with his spirited interviews and consistently strong performance,” Murdoch said in a statement. “Viewers have overwhelmingly responded to the show and we look forward to him being a part of Fox News’ powerful primetime line-up.”
After a record-breaking launch in the 7pm hour last November, “Tucker Carlson Tonight” has become one of the most buzzed about cable news programs on television. Featuring analysis and debates with guests from across the political and cultural spectrum, the show finished December as the number two cable news program in the Adults 25-54 demographic behind only “The O’Reilly Factor.”
PJ Media readers know that we have grown quite fond of Carlson’s almost nightly smack-downs of a seemingly endless supply of unwitting guests. He softens them up with his “aw shucks” demeanor, often complimenting them on accomplishments that he then uses to dismantle whatever point it is they are trying to make. Carlson’s style is far more lighthearted than anything else in the FNC primetime lineup at the moment. His immediate ratings success in his current time slot might actually end up paling in comparison to the kind of ratings he can achieve with O’Reilly as his lead-in.
The Fox News juggernaut continues to roll on without peer in Cable Land. It’s chuckle-worthy to remember that much of the latter part of 2016 was spent pondering whether the network’s future was in peril.
While everyone else pondered, FNC just kept winning.
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