Jesse Watters, the wisecracking conservative who got his start with man-on-the-street interview segments for Fox News opinion host Bill O’Reilly’s 8 p.m. program, is about to enjoy a homecoming of sorts.
Watters will take over Fox News’ 8 p.m. hour, assuming a role previously assigned to Tucker Carlson. The move is part of a broad overhaul of Fox News’ primetime schedule that takes place in the wake of Carlson’s sudden ouster and a subsequent decline in viewership at the Fox Corp.-backed outlet. Watters had previously led Fox News’ 7 p.m. show.
Fox News will also move Greg Gutfeld into the primetime block, giving him the 10 p.m. hour, while the current occupant, the conservative firebrand Laura Ingraham, takes up the reins at 7 p.m. hour. Sean Hannity will keep his perch at 9 p.m., a slot he has held since 2017 and for long periods of time in the past. Trace Gallagher’s late-night news program, “Fox News @ Night,” will follow Gutfeld at 11 p.m., an hour earlier than its previous midnight slot.
“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,” said Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott, in a statement. “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.”
Fox News’ primetime schedule generates a significant chunk of the network’s ad revenue and helps bolster negotiations with cable and satellite distributors, who know the outlet’s fervent base may lash out if carriage is dropped. Moves aren’t made lightly. Viewership at Fox News is still larger than that of both its main rivals, CNN and MSNBC, though MSNBC did nab bigger crowds for a full week earlier this month.
But executives at Fox News were grappling with a downturn in ratings since the forced exit of Carlson, whose controversial comments and behind-the-scenes demeanor made him something of a hot potato as Fox Corp. earlier this year came under intense scrutiny due to a defamation lawsuit levied by Dominion Voting Systems. Fox elected to settle after Dominion challenged claims made during coverage of the 2020 presidential election. Fox was ordered to pay of $787.5 million.
The lineup, which goes into effect on July 17, gives rise to a new generation of primetime hosts as Fox News, like its rivals, navigates an era in which younger viewers are increasingly giving up cable mainstays in favor of streaming programs on demand. The audience for 8 p.m. has fallen well below the 3 million Tucker Carlson regularly snared.
Watters may give Fox News hope of snaring those totals once again. His 7 p.m. program, “Jesse Watters Primetime” — the name itself a reference to the network’s belief the show was strong enough for the main stage — typically wins more than 2 million viewers an evening, and often more than Fox News’ “Hannity” at 9. Like Carlson, Watters is fond of delivering sharp elbows to the left. Unlike his predecessor however, Watters has not alienated Madison Avenue. Many large advertisers refused to put commercials alongside Carlson after remarks he made about different races and groups sparked calls for boycotts. Since Carlson’s exit, some mainstream advertisers have returned to Fox News’ 8 p.m. hour.
Sponsors have in the past also wary of Ingraham’s show at 10. Her move to 7 p.m. ensures Fox News’ evenings will kick off with a hard right voice, but may give Fox some new room for economic traction at 10. Gutfeld, arguably Fox News’ biggest personality because of his double duty on his late night show and the popular roundtable program, “The Five,” will not take up the single-host opinion format that has become a staple of that hour.
Gutfeld has also been a bright spot for Fox News. His eponymously-titled program ostensibly jousts for viewers with the nation’s big late-night shows, but it also serves to keep Fox News faithful on board once their regular primetime hosts have signed off for the evening. Gutfeld, who is as at home talking about obscure classic-rock albums as he is making fun of former CNN media correspondent Brian Stelter, has been growing audience at Fox News since he joined to launch an off-kilter wee-hours program called “Red Eye” in 2007.
The lineup changes also spotlight the growing power of the late-afternoon program, “The Five,” which now has two of its co-hosts leading primetime hours as well. “The Five” is Fox News’ most-watched show and executives have used it to build followings for its personalities, which also include Dana Perino, Jeannine Pirro, Jessica Tarlov and Harold Ford Jr. But even that program is testing new waters. Geraldo Rivera, who sometimes fills in as one of the show’s liberal personalities, announced that he will no longer appear, and his ultimate future with Fox News is at the moment unclear.
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