Fox News shook up its prime-time lineup on Monday in the first major restructuring of its most popular programming since the start of the Trump administration. These moves include permanently filling the 8 p.m. slot, which has been vacant since the network canceled Tucker Carlson’s show in April.
These changes would result in the network promoting two rising stars – Jesse Watters, whose show would move from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Greg Gutfeld, hosting the comedy and current affairs program at 11 p.m. Receives high ratings from Compared to late night rivals like Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel. Mr. Gutfeld’s show now at 10 p.m.
Laura Ingraham, who has been hosting the 10 p.m. program since 2017, will move to 7 p.m. and take over the timeslot that Mr. Waters is hosting. Sean Hannity, a mainstay of Fox News since its early days, will remain in the 9 p.m. slot.
Although the names and timeslots of some of Fox’s most important shows are changing, the overall tone of the coverage isn’t likely to feel much different to viewers.
Mr. Waters is a credibly pro-Trump conservative voice who first became widely known to Fox viewers for his cameo on Bill O’Reilly’s program before the network canceled that show in 2017. His remarks have come under criticism several times, including when he made them. A 2016 segment in Manhattan’s Chinatown in which he asked Asians offensive questions, including whether they knew karate or bowed when saying hello.
Fox’s prime-time ratings have consistently been among the highest among cable news, but have dropped by about one-third since the network took Mr. Carlson off the air. His departure was followed by a series of public relations headaches and legal problems stemming from his offensive comments both on and off air and a lawsuit from a former producer who claimed he enabled a toxic workplace. did.
In April, shortly before the cancellation of Mr. Carlson’s show, Fox News and its parent company settled a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million. Some of Mr. Carlson’s private text messages became public during the case, some in which he attacked network colleagues, including former President Donald J. Trump and said he does not believe the results of the 2020 election were influenced by voter fraud.
One particularly damaging text, which caused consternation at the top of Fox Corporation, expressed inflammatory views about violence and race.
