When Tucker Carlson took over the coveted 9 p.m. time slot from former Queen of Fox News Megyn Kelly, network execs probably endured many a sleepless night wondering if they had made the right decision. Now that the latest ratings are in, it appears Rupert Murdoch & Co. won't be reaching for the Ambien any time soon. According to the latest numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research, not only is Tucker Carlson holding his own as a network prime-time pundit -- he's absolutely trouncing the recently-departed host of "The Kelly File."
Carlson's ratings up 95 percent
Carlson is nearly doubling Kelly's overall ratings when compared to the same time period last year, and is running away with the highly-coveted 25 to 54-year-old demographic.
"Tucker Carlson Tonight" is up 95 percent among that key demographic, which will undoubtedly please network executives and advertisers alike.
In this key demographic group Carlson has averaged 775,000 viewers per night, compared to the 398,000 viewers who tuned in to watch Megyn Kelly during the January 11-22 ratings period. Fox News tapped Carlson to fill the 9 p.m. slot after Megyn Kelly announced that she had accepted an offer with NBC. Fox had reputedly offered Kelly a four year deal worth $100 million to stay with the network.
Megyn Kelly's decline at Fox
The end of Kelly's reign as Queen of Fox News began last year, when the host of "The Kelly File" embarked on a lengthy book tour to promote her autobiography, "Settle for More," in which she wrote extensively about the sexual harassment she claimed to have endured at the hands of ex-CEO Roger Ailes.
This tumultuous period resulted in bitter feuds between Megyn Kelly and colleagues Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly -- who reportedly "hated" her, according to Gabriel Sherman of New York Magazine. During this time Kelly also clashed with guests; in late October of last year she drew the ire of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich during an interview in which Kelly referred to Donald Trump as a "sexual predator." After Gingrich vociferously retaliated, Kelly cut Gingrich's microphone and urged him to seek help for his anger issues.
