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The Drudge Report shared a “siren-blaring scoop” on Wednesday and announced that Fox News is poised to announce a big shake-up following Tucker Carlson’s departure from the network.
According to Matt Drudge, the network will move longtime host Sean Hannity to take over the 8 p.m. time slot.
“WORLD EXCLUSIVE: FOXNEWS SETS NEW SCHEDULE” read the headline from Drudge, who noted Hannity’s new time slot as well as reports that both Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfeld would be heading to prime time.
“Watters currently hosts one of Fox’s top-rated shows at 7 p.m. while Gutfeld hosts a highly-rated late-night show at 11 p.m. — both co-host Fox’s top-rated program The Five at 5 p.m. Hannity, meanwhile, broke the record for longest-running cable news prime time host in April of 2022, eclipsing Larry King at 25 years, six months, and 15 days,” Mediaite reported.
“FOXNEWS is preparing to announce an ambitious new schedule, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned, a schedule where ever hour of primetime will change!” Drudge reported. “TOP SOURCE TELLS DRUDGE: ‘IT’S OUR BOLDEST AND MOST FEARLESS LINE-UP EVER’…”
A Fox News spokesperson told Mediaite, “No decision has been made on a new primetime line-up and there are multiple scenarios under consideration.”
DRUDGE: Fox News to move Sean Hannity to 8pm ET to replace Tucker, then will be followed by Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfeld. pic.twitter.com/aC69c9agY4
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) May 17, 2023
Rumors have swirled for weeks around who the network might choose to take over Carlson’s time slot.
Mediaite previously published a report titled, “Who Will Replace Tucker Carlson at Fox News? Here Are Mediaite’s Top Picks,” where staff members compiled a list of potential hosts who could take over Carlson’s coveted 8 PM time slot.
Mediaite suggested in its report that Fox News could simply move around Watters, Ingraham, or Hannity to give them the 8 PM time slot and test a new host in a later time slot. That way, a more seasoned host would simply take over Carlson’s time slot on the network.
In the event that Fox News keeps the primetime hosts in their current time slots, here are the top 6 names that Mediaite suggested could take over Carlson’s show:
Greg Gutfeld — who hosts “The Five” and his late-night comedy show “Gutfeld!”
Tulsi Gabbard — a former Democratic lawmaker and 2020 presidential candidate
Kayleigh McEnany — former press secretary in the Trump administration
Brian Kilmeade — a longtime host and figure at Fox News
Pete Hegseth — a co-host and contributor at Fox News
Jesse Watters — who hosts “The Five” and his own primetime show
Time will tell what Fox News decides to do, but news of Carlson’s firing ignited a firestorm on social media this week.
Carlson was reportedly “blindsided” when he received a phone call from CEO Suzanne Scott informing him that he had been fired.
The firing came as Carlson had been negotiating a new contract that would have reportedly kept him at the network through 2029, according to an Independent report.
Now, a former top Fox News host thinks he knows the reason why Carlson was let go.
During an interview with Chris Cuomo of News Nation, Bill O’Reilly — the former Fox News host who previously occupied the coveted primetime 8 PM time slot — argued that he believes Carlson was fired because the network is facing a slew of lawsuits related to the 2020 election.
Fox News just settled a lawsuit with Dominion and agreed to pay out a whopping $787 million. The network also has an ongoing lawsuit filed by former Fox News booker Abby Grossberg.
“Because the pending litigation was harpooned this morning. Carlson didn’t know. It just happened. And that’s the nature of television news, the most wicked industry in the United States of America,” O’Reilly said.
“Tucker Carlson took over from me. For the first three years, his ratings were soft. He lost about a million, maybe a little bit more of my audience, and then in 2020 he took a hard right turn,” O’Reilly said. “Carlson basically programmed for a very hard right audience and his numbers came up.”
