Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott announced Monday that Jesse Watters will succeed Tucker Carlson in the 8 p.m. hour in an effort to stabilize its primetime schedule and boost ratings.
Watters was previously anchor of the 7 p.m. hour. His program Jesse Watters Primetime has drawn about 2.6 million viewers since the beginning of the year. Watters is also a co-host of The Five, one of Fox News’s most popular offerings airing earlier in the afternoon.
Fox News abruptly cut ties with Carlson in April. Though still officially unconfirmed, multiple reports cited Carlson’s January 6 coverage, a lawsuit from an ex-Carlson producer, and disparaging comments Carlson made about management as connected to his departure. The ex-Fox host has now launched a show on Twitter, garnering millions of views. Carlson, who is still under contract at Fox, is also locked in a dispute with his former network on whether he’s in breach of that contract.
Ratings dipped after Carlson’s departure, with former Fox News host Megyn Kelly calling the decline a "bloodbath."
As part of the shake-up, Laura Ingraham will move to 7 p.m. and Greg Gutfeld’s comedy show will air at 10 p.m. Sean Hannity will continue as anchor of the 9 p.m. hour.
"FOX News Channel has been America's destination for news and analysis for more than 21 years and we are thrilled to debut a new lineup. The unique perspectives of Laura Ingraham, Jesse Watters, Sean Hannity, and Greg Gutfeld will ensure our viewers have access to unrivaled coverage from our best-in-class team for years to come,” explained Scott in a statement.
Carlson’s hour has been helmed by a rotating cadre of anchors since his April departure. They have only managed to garner about half of Carlson’s ratings.
Watters joined Fox News in 2002 and worked as a correspondent at The O'Reilly Factor early in his tenure. In 2017, Watters was named host of a Saturday-night show entitled Watters' World and also joined The Five that same year.
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