Ratings for Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Replacement Show Continue to Drop

Tucker Carlson speaks during the 2022 Fox Nation Patriot Awards at Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood on Nov. 17, 2022, in Hollywood, Fla. (Jason Koerner/Getty Images)

Fox News’ ratings continued to tumble last Friday, with the Tucker Carlson replacement show drawing fewer than half the viewers than the previous week.

Ratings posted by Nielsen Research show that “Fox News Tonight,” the replacement for Carlson’s 8 p.m. ET show, drew 1.15 million viewers on April 28. Carlson’s finale show on April 21 drew 2.65 million viewers, while he averaged about 3 million viewers for the entirety of last week.

“Fox News Tonight,” which Fox described as a temporary replacement show, posted viewerships of 2.59 million on Monday, 1.7 million on Tuesday, and 1.33 million on Wednesday, and 1.46 million on Thursday, respectively, according to Nielsen. In last week’s statement announcing Carlson’s departure, Fox News said that it would use a rotating cast of hosts for a temporary show.

A spokesperson for Fox News last week told The Epoch Times that “Fox News led cable news on Monday and Tuesday across total day and prime time with viewers and [age] 25 to 54,” referring to the demographic coveted by advertisers and networks alike.

“For more than 21 years, Fox News Channel has been cable news’ most-watched network in all categories with more Democrats, Independents, and Republicans now tuning in than either CNN or MSNBC,” Fox News said Monday in a statement to the Washington Post about its ratings. “Attracting more than 50 percent of the cable news-viewing audience with the top 12 programs in cable news, Fox News’ powerhouse team of journalists, analysts, and opinion hosts are trusted more by viewers than any other news source.” It comes as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) called on Fox News to “do the right thing” after the network parted ways with popular host Tucker Carlson last week.

“There has been a huge backlash against Fox News. Pretty much everyone I know has canceled their Fox News app,” Greene told The Hill in a recent interview. “They’ve taken it off their phone. They’ve canceled their Fox Nation subscription, and they’ve said they’re walking away from Fox News.”

Greene, a frequent guest on Carlson’s nightly program, said that Carlson covered topics that weren’t covered elsewhere, eschewing narratives brought by other mainstream news outlets.

“And I don’t blame those Americans one single bit. Tucker Carlson, on his show, ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight,’ and on his show on Fox Nation, has been covering the news stories that Americans desperately want to hear because we don’t hear them largely from the left-biased mainstream media in this country,” Greene added.

Greene also appeared to refer to unconfirmed reports claiming that Fox News is keeping Carlson tied up in a contract and won’t allow him to leave the network. Last week, podcaster Megyn Kelly claimed that Fox News executives told Carlson that “Tucker Carlson hasn’t actually been fired” and is “still an employee” at the network, claiming he won’t be allowed to continue his show in the meantime.

“Tucker Carlson is someone that will come back around,“ Greene said. ”But Fox News needs to do the right thing and work with Tucker Carlson and not keep his mouth shut with duct tape. They need to let him go and let him out of his contract so that he can do his show and go on to bigger and better things. And we look forward to seeing him come back.”

When reached for comment, a Fox News spokesperson redirected The Epoch Times back to Fox News’ initial announcement that it would be parting ways with Carlson. Since his departure, Fox has made no further comment about the host, including the reasons why he left or if he was fired.

Meanwhile, Carlson has not publicly responded to claims that he hasn’t been fired or is locked into a Fox News contract.

Two hosts, Brian Kilmeade and Howard Kurtz, offered brief comments about Carlson’s exit, with Kilmeade praising the former host’s talent during a podcast interview last week. Kurtz referred to Carlson’s and CNN host Don Lemon’s respective exits last week, claiming the two situations may lead to a “worthwhile outcome.”