Jesse Watters Takes Tucker Carlson’s Spot In Revamped Fox News Lineup

Fox News Channel unveiled its new prime time lineup Monday, with Jesse Watters taking the 8 p.m. ET hour left vacant after the firing of Tucker Carlson back in April. Laura Ingraham moves into Watters’ previous timeslot at 7 p.m. ET, and Greg Gutfeld moves from late night into the 10 p.m. ET hour vacated by Ingraham. Sean Hannity remains at 9 p.m. ET.

“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 Suzanne Scott, CEO of Fox News Media, in a statement released by the network. “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.” The new lineup takes effect July 17.

The move to 8 p.m. represents a stunning rise for Watters, whose Jesse Watters Primetime quickly became the fastest-growing show in cable news, drawing an audience of 2.6 million viewers in the year to date, and 270,000 viewers in the key demo of adults 25-54. The show has dominated the 7 p.m. timeslot for each of the 18 months it’s been on the air. It also earned the title of highest-rated 7 p.m. hour in cable news history.

Fox will be looking to Watters to bring that ratings momentum to 8 p.m. after seeing declines in the aftermath of Carlson’s sudden exit. Ratings dropped by 50% in the days after Tucker Carlson Tonight, the network’s highest-rated prime time hour ended. Ratings have rebounded since, but not quite to the levels Carlson regularly commanded.

At the other end of the new lineup, Greg Gutfeld moves to 10 p.m. after proving that Fox News could do comedy, with Gutfeld! finishing at number one for 27 straight months, and posting double digit gains in all categories with an average of 1.8 million viewers, and 273,000 in the key demo so far this year.

The network announced that its late night newscast Fox News @ Night will shift an hour earlier to 11 p.m. ET, anchored by Trace Gallagher.