In response to Fox News Channel’s decision to sever ties with top-rated on-air personality Tucker Carlson, another former host has been outspoken about the debacle.
Megyn Kelly, who left the network in 2017 and went on to host a short-lived NBC daytime program, initially urged Carlson to take Fox News to court and forgo the remainder of his contract in order to regain control of his own media brand.
She has since weighed in with additional thoughts about her former employer’s decision, citing the impact it had on the network’s ratings — particularly within key advertising demographics.
“They lost almost two-thirds of the audience that helped pay their bills,” she said during a recent episode of her podcast. “They’re left with about a third of their audience. I mean, that’s stunning.”
Kelly noted that a ripple effect has led to significantly lower ratings for all of the prime-time programs that follow Carlson’s old time slot.
“They’re all down,” she said. “I just did a quick calculation: The 9 p.m. demo, which of course is [Sean] Hannity, he follows Tucker, is down almost 40%, down 39%. The 10 p.m., down 24% in the demo, down almost 20% in the total.”
Whereas Fox News has long been the undisputed ratings leader among the top three cable news networks, she noted that “they have repeatedly lost to MSNBC” since Carlson’s cancellation.
In response to the seemingly self-inflicted damage to the channel’s brand, Kelly tweeted that her audience has started comparing the situation to the massive dip in demand for Bud Light after that company partnered with controversial transgender social media star Dylan Mulvaney.
“MY audience is calling them #Foxweiser,” she wrote.
Glenn Beck, another former Fox News personality, echoed that comparison, calling the decline in viewers following Carlson’s ouster a “Budweiser moment” for the media company.
.@glennbeck calls the ratings slump following the firing of Tucker Carlson at Fox News "a Budweiser moment"
Do you agree? pic.twitter.com/QpXt9KtfCQ
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) May 5, 2023
In response to another clip in which Kelly asserted that Fox News is “counting” on its once-loyal audience to return as the 2024 presidential race heats up, retired NFL star Brett Favre confirmed his intentions of boycotting the network.
“I’m with Tucker,” he tweeted. “Time to boycott Fox until they come to their senses and let the man speak.”
