Fox News announced on Monday that host Jesse Watters would take over the 8 p.m. timeslot that was vacated after host Tucker Carlson was ousted from the company in late April.
The new primetime schedule will feature Laura Ingraham at 7 p.m., Sean Hannity at 9 p.m., Greg Gutfeld at 10 p.m. and Trace Gallagher hosting the news hour at 11 p.m.
Just in: Fox News overhauls primetime
Laura Ingraham at 7p
Jesse Watters takes over Tucker timeslot at 8
Hannity at 9
Greg Gutfeld moves to 10
Trace Gallagher does news hour at 11p
— Brian Steinberg (@bristei) June 26, 2023
“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,” Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott stated. “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 Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways,” Fox News said in a statement announcing Carlson’s exit on April 24. “We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor. Mr. Carlson’s last program was Friday April 21st. Fox News Tonight will air live at 8 PM/ET starting this evening as an interim show helmed by rotating FOX News personalities until a new host is named.”
A source informed The Daily Wire that Carlson’s staff was unaware that he would be ousted and only were apprised of the news when Carlson sent an email. Carlson’s ouster followed Fox News settling a lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems for almost $800 million; Carlson was expected to testify if the lawsuit had gone forward.
In the immediate aftermath of Carlson’s departure, the stock of Fox Corporation, the parent company of Fox News Channel, plummeted $1 billion.
In the first quarter of 2023, “Tucker Carlson Tonight” ranked as the highest-rated program in cable news in the younger 25-54 demo, averaging 3.2 million viewers, 443,000 in the demo and 299,000 in the 18-49 category. In that same period, Fox News “The Five” averaged 3,058,000 viewers, “Jesse Watters Primetime” averaged 2,670,000 viewers, “Hannity” drew 2,505,000, and “Special Report with Bret Baier” drew 2,200,000.
Watters joined Fox News in 2002, where he worked as a correspondent for “The O’Reilly Factor” doing man-on-the-street interviews. In 2017, he became the host of “Watters’ World” on Saturday nights and was also chosen as co-host of “The Five.” “The Five” is now Fox News’ highest-rated program.
Brandon Drey contributed to this article.