Fox News was “sucker punched” by Newsmax after the network offered Tucker Carlson a job. The move is reportedly creating another headache for Fox News as it deals with backlash after the popular host was ousted. The ratings for the network have started a descent after enjoying around three million viewers per day tuning into Tucker Carlson Tonight.
Tucker was garnering more viewers than any other show on cable news, according to American Pigeon. He consistently pulled in more viewers in the key 25-54 age demographic, but that trend has not followed hosts who have tried to fill in his spot. After Brian Kilmeade temporarily took over, the show, which was renamed “Fox News Tonight,” saw a loss of around 600,000 viewers. Kilmeade’s performance resulted in the network bringing in 245,000 viewers in the key demographic compared with MSNBC’s 247,000.
Since the ousting, viewers have tuned into Newsmax. The outlet has seen a doubling in viewership and, at times, a tripling of viewership. Newsmax reportedly jumped on the opportunity to declare itself a home for conservatives as Fox News is being accused of having “leftist executives” and “RINO leadership.”
Newsmax took the bold move of offering Tucker more than just his own show, but control of network programming. While the former Fox News host has been mostly silent since the news broke, he has only issued a video talking about the state of media, in which he accused them of not talking about topics that matter.
But even if the offer is appealing to him, he still needs to negotiate his release from his contract. Meanwhile, Newsmax is attempting to fill in the gaps that are missing at Fox News and is also deliberating a five-person panel similar to that on “The Five.”
The news of the separation between Tucker and Fox News comes as the network settled a $787.5 million defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems.
