OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Co-hosts of Fox News Channel’s popular “The Five” program are likely to savor another milestone as the network topped the cable news leaderboards in the month of May.
Despite the fallout from ousting former top host Tucker Carlson in April, Fox News remained the most-watched network in all of cable news in May. “The Five” was the highest-rated show on cable news with 2.6 million average total viewers and 267,000 average demo viewers.
“Fox News, in the first full month since firing Tucker Carlson, brought in 1.42 million viewers in primetime – a 37% drop year over year. CNN’s total prime-time viewership sank to 494,000 viewers, a 25% year-over-year decrease. MSNBC, on the other hand, averaged 1.16 million prime-time viewers for a 14% percent gain compared to last year. For comparison, Fox averaged 2.09 million total prime-time viewers in the first quarter of the year, while CNN averaged 568,000 viewers and MSNBC had 1.11 million average viewers,” Mediaite reported.
“Fox News still swept the competition, marking its 27th straight month beating both MSNBC and CNN in total day and prime-time viewers. Fox’s The Five remained the highest-rated show on cable news with 2.6 million average total viewers and 267,000 average demo viewers. Jesse Watters landed second on cable news and cracked the two million viewer mark, while Sean Hannity was the third most watched host on cable,” the outlet added.
Popular Fox host Greg Gutfeld has also had a monster year.
Gutfeld announced a brand new book and both shows that he is part of — “The Five” and “Gutfeld!” — are dominating in the cable news ratings.
Gutfeld is also reportedly heading to primetime amid a shake-up at the network.
The popular host also just announced a new book, titled, “The King of Late Night,” which will be released July 25, and details how Gutfeld “destroyed the mainstream late-night landscape of heavyweights and became the host of the #1 late night show in all of television.”
As of now, Gutfeld appears to be the undisputed top host at Fox News in terms of viewership.
Insiders also recently revealed some interesting details about Carlson’s ousting from Fox News in late April.
Rumors and speculation are rife following reports that Fox News is about to make its “boldest and most fearless line-up ever.”
The Drudge Report broke major news on Wednesday that Sean Hannity will take over Tucker Carlson’s old 8 PM ET timeslot. Jesse Watters, host of “Jesse Watters Primetime” will move from 7 PM ET to 9 PM ET. Greg Gutfeld’s “The Greg Gutfeld Show” will be moved from 11 PM to 10 PM.
“If that new plan were to take place, that means Laura Ingraham’s “The Ingraham Angle” would lose its 10 PM time slot to Gutfeld. So where does she go? 11 PM ET? Maybe 7 PM ET?
Fox News released a statement that ran counter to the reports spreading online, saying, “No decision has been made on a new primetime line-up and there are multiple scenarios under consideration.”
Interestingly enough, Fox News issued another statement on the rumors of Ingraham, adding, “Reports based on various tweets by left-wing activists are wildly inaccurate — Laura Ingraham, the top-rated woman in cable news, is now and will continue to be a prominent host and integral part of the Fox News lineup.”
The statement from Fox News only denies the rumors that Ingraham will be leaving the network. It did not actually address whether or not she will keep her 10 PM timeslot.
The rumors about Ingraham began after news aggregator Matt Drudge shared a scoop detailing how Fox News will make a big shake-up following Tucker Carlson’s departure from the network.
“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 every hour of primetime will change!” Drudge reported. “TOP SOURCE TELLS DRUDGE: ‘IT’S OUR BOLDEST AND MOST FEARLESS LINE-UP EVER’…”