Thread: Carlson takes departing Kelly’s Fox News timeslot

Carlson takes departing Kelly’s Fox News timeslot

01/05/17 10:28 AM EST



Tucker Carlson will take over Fox News’s 9 p.m. slot vacated by the departing Megyn Kelly, the network announced Thursday morning.

Carlson's popular "Tucker Carlson Tonight" is moving to 9 p.m, with Martha MacCallum taking over Carlson’s current 7 p.m. spot for a new show focused on the beginning of President-elect Donald Trump’s administration called “The First 100 Days.”

Kelly’s move from Fox to NBC was announced Tuesday. The former “Kelly File” host will have a daytime "news and discussion" show and a Sunday night news magazine program on NBC.

Carlson has been on a ratings tear since taking over the 7 p.m. spot just two months following the sudden departure from Fox by Greta Van Susteren, whose contract renegotiation talks with the network broke down quickly in early September.

“Tucker Carlson Tonight” frequently rates in the top three among all cable news programs, often even beating “Kelly File” despite that show’s better time slot, according to Nielsen Research.

“In less than two months, Tucker has taken cable news by storm with his spirited interviews and consistently strong performance. Viewers have overwhelmingly responded to the show and we look forward to him being a part of Fox News’ powerful primetime line-up,” Fox News executive chairman Rupert Murdoch said in a statement.

McCallum currently co-anchors Fox's “America's Newsroom” — a mid-morning news program — with Bill Hemmer.

She joined the network about the same time as Megyn Kelly in 2004, coming from CNBC and NBC News.

McCallum has filled in for Kelly on “Kelly File” in the past.

“Martha is a versatile and skilled anchor who has proven to be an essential component of our news programming. For the last 12 years, our viewers have trusted her reporting and we are pleased she will be part of our primetime line-up for the first 100 days of the new presidency,” Murdoch added of MacCallum.

For November overall, Carlson's ratings were 40 percent higher than Van Susteren's in the same time period one year prior in 2015.

Carlson, a 47-year-old California native, had hosted programs on CNN ("Crossfire") and MSNBC ("Tucker") before coming to Fox News in 2009 as a contributor.

Carlson had been co-hosting "Fox & Friends Weekend" before being tapped to be permanent host of the 7 p.m. slot following Van Susteren's departure.

http://thehill.com/media/312805-carlson-takes-departing-kellys-fox-news-timeslot

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I think Carlson is a bad choice.

The only 2 viable personalities that rival Megan Kelly's strong personality and beat her in the ratings is....

1. judge jeanine pirro
2. Kimberly Guilfoyle

Fox made a mistake with Carlson.