Since Fox News parted ways with its most popular host, Tucker Carlson, things have been trending downward for the news network. The conservative news network, which used to be the unquestionable leader of the cable news market, now faces intense competition from MSNBC.
Over the summer, MSNBC has seen a spike in ratings primarily due to coverage of events such as the Trump indictment. Subsequently, the network beat Fox News in primetime ratings on August 14 and 15. This would have been unheard of in the Tucker Carlson era.
MSNBC also brought in record viewership during an interview with Hillary Clinton. Host Rachel Maddow sat down with the former Democratic presidential candidate, which drew in a massive audience of 3.9 million.
For much of 2022, the American Tribune consistently reported on the success of Fox News, where the network left woke channels like CNN and MSNBC in the dust, fighting for a distant second place. However, the tide could be turning on Fox for ousting perhaps the most popular figure in conservative media.
Fox News used to average 3.25 million viewers in its primetime 8 p.m. slot with Tucker. When he was replaced, viewership dropped to 2.59 million viewers on the premiere of the replacement show and declined again to 1.7 million the day after. It was clear viewers were turned off by the absence of Carlson.
MSNBC has been nipping at Fox’s heels ever since. For example, in June, MSNBC outpaced Fox News for a whole week, ending a 120-week streak where Fox had been on top. That week, MSNBC averaged 1.37 million primetime viewers, whereas Fox News fell behind, averaging only 1.31 million.
Earlier this summer, Carlson broke his silence on his controversial parting of ways with his former network. Carlson indicated that while he wasn’t expecting to be ousted from Fox News, there is always and expectation within the media industry that you can be fired due to its inherent volatility.
“The media and you know, you say what you think there’s an expectation that you could get fired. So, I’ve always had that. And I’ve always tried to take the long view not just on media but on life on graves, go and visit it. In the end. I always think that,” Tucker said.
Tucker also maintained that he wasn’t angry with Fox News, citing their right to choose who works at their network as a private company.
“And I wasn’t mad. It’s not my company. And when you work for someone else that person reserves the right and in fact, has inherently the right to decide whether you work there or not. And I don’t know why I was fired. I really don’t. I’m not angry about it. You can believe me or not, but I think you can feel that I’m not,” Carlson said.
Besides, some have even argued that Tucker Carlson is more powerful and popular on his show “Tucker on Twitter” than he was on Fox News. Tucker’s new shows on X have garnered hundreds of millions of views since he started uploading them. Furthermore, they even have the potential to upend the Republican presidential primary debates.
"*" indicates required fields