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Megyn Kelly’s Interview With Alex Jones Doesn’t Translate to Ratings
June 19, 2017 4:14 pm
Last Updated: June 20, 2017 10:34 am
News anchor Megyn Kelly speaks onstage during Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit - Day 2 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel on October 13, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Fortune/Time Inc)
Megyn Kelly’s gambit to interview InfoWars host Alex Jones turned out to be a ratings flop.
Leading up to the Sunday night interview on Kelly’s “Sunday Night” show, controversy erupted as she drew criticism from the families of the Sandy Hook school shooting that left 26 people dead. Jones has questioned the official narrative around the incident as JPMorgan Chase and other sponsors pulled advertising from “Sunday Night.”
And after all the controversy, it didn’t turn into ratings, according to Nielsen Media Research. In fact, quite the opposite.
“Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly” brought in 3.5 million viewers, making it the least-watched episode since it started airing June 4, The Hill reported.
Kelly’s show trailed a repeat of “60 Minutes” on CBS, which had 5.3 million viewers. US Open golf coverage on Fox drew more viewers.
ABC’s “America’s Funniest Home Videos” bested Kelly’s “Sunday Night” in the 18-to-49-year-old demographic that advertisers look for.
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Her NBC show has been declining in ratings since it started. Her interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin drew 6.2 million viewers on average—the best she’s drawn.
At least one station, WVIT in Hartford, Conn., didn’t air the episode.
Kelly, 46, left Fox News for NBC after spending over 12 years at Fox.
Al Tompkins, the Poynter Institute’s senior faculty for broadcasting and online, told Forbes that she’ll have boost her ratings to ensure her reported seven-figure salary, Fox reported.