The first episode of “Fox News Tonight,” the replacement program for “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” dropped in ratings within the key 25- to 54-year-old age demographic after premiering Monday evening, Show Buzz Daily data shows.
Fox News abruptly parted ways with Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson, the network’s top primetime host, Monday morning. “Tucker Carlson Tonight” aired weeknights at 8 p.m. The replacement show, hosted by anchor Brian Kilmeade, garnered fewer ratings in the key age demo on its first night compared to Carlson’s average a week prior on Monday, April 17, according to ratings website Show Buzz Daily.
The program had rating of 0.24 in the 25-54 age demographic, while Carlson’s show saw a 0.37 rating in the same demographic April 17, the data shows. The show averaged nearly 2.6 million viewers in total, below Carlson’s show Monday, which averaged roughly 3.7 million viewers.
Cable News Rankings Mon Apr 24
1⃣@TheFive @DanaPerino @GregGutfeld @JudgeJeanine @HaroldFordJr @JasonInTheHouse*
2⃣@Maddow
3⃣@Kilmeade*
4⃣@SeanHannity
5⃣@JessePrimetime @WillCain*
6⃣@BretBaier
7⃣@IngrahamAngle
8⃣@NicolleDWallace
9⃣@AriMelber
🔟@GutfeldFox! pic.twitter.com/XI7MP5SXSz— RoadMN 📈 (@RoadMN) April 25, 2023
Carlson’s final episode reeled in 2.65 million total viewers when it aired Friday, April 21, outpacing CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” and MSNBC’s “All In With Chris Hayes.” In 2022, “Tucker Carlson Tonight” ranked second place in total cable news viewership with 3.3 million total viewers, according to Adweek. The program’s ratings only trailed behind Fox News’ non-primetime program, “The Five.” (RELATED: ‘I’m Shocked’: Trump Reacts To Tucker Carlson’s Departure From Fox)
Fox News has consistently dominated cable news in ratings in recent years, prevailing over its main competitors CNN and MSNBC. Carlson’s show repeatedly topped the network’s shows by exceeding multi-million total viewership.
Carlson had the second-highest ratings after Sean Hannity’s 9 p.m. show from 2017 to 2020, The New York Times (NYT) reported. “Tucker Carlson Tonight” garnered over 4 million viewers in 2020, one of the highest ratings in the history of cable news, according to the outlet.
His was the top-rated show for the key 25- to 54-year-old age demographic, the NYT reported.
Fox News has not provided a reason for parting ways with Carlson. The network thanked him for his time serving as a contributor and host in a statement Monday.
Conservatives and fans of Carlson condemned Fox News after the announcement, with some warning the network will suffer consequences since Carlson was the most popular and most “important” host on the network. Several canceled their Fox Nation accounts and vowed to give up Fox News over Carlson’s departure.