Fox News is facing a steep decline in viewership following the exit of popular host Tucker Carlson this week. The network lost roughly half of its overall audience in the slot that was formerly “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
Fox replaced Carlson with anchor Brian Kilmeade from “The Five.” Kilmeade held onto 1.33 million viewers Wednesday, fewer than Carlson’s 3.03 million average in 2022.
Fox News suffered a catastrophic drop in viewers after ousting Tucker Carlson.
In the 8pm slot alone yesterday, Fox lost nearly 50% of total viewers and nearly 70% of viewers in demo compared to last Tuesday.
Demo ratings were down across the board, impacting all shows:
The… https://t.co/1ZbAhET359 pic.twitter.com/HYH4BrGnOW
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) April 27, 2023
In the interim, Carlson posted a video statement to social media, in which he took aim at traditional media.
He said that most debates on television news are “unbelievably stupid.” He also stated that a number of other important topics are often not debated, including “war, civil liberties, emerging science, demographic change, corporate power [and] natural resources.”
Carlson said that such debates are “not permitted in American media. Both political parties and their donors have reached a consensus on what benefits them and they actively collude to shut down any conversation about it.”
“Suddenly, the United States looks very much like a one-party state,” he said.
The former Fox News host said that the power of the Democratic and Republican parties would be reduced.
“That’s why they’re hysterical and aggressive,” he said.
The former host said that the powers-that-be have “given up persuasion. They’re resorting to force, but it won’t work.”
Carlson’s video has more than 22 million views as of this writing, and garnered more than 15 million in the first 14 hours after posting.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) wrote on Twitter that the former Fox host’s “star is only going to shine brighter and stronger than ever.”
Carlson has not announced his future plans, though in his video message he asked where “you still find Americans saying true things.”
He said that there are not many such places left “but there are some and that’s enough.”
Some anchors have gained since the end of Carlson’s tenure. Eric Bolling, a Fox News alumn, more than quadrupled his ratings in his 8 p.m. Eastern show on Newsmax.
