Tucker Carlson is out at Fox News, and now another conservative news outlet, Newsmax, wants him to be more than just the face of the network, and it’s putting on a full-court press to land him.
Sources with direct knowledge told TMZ … the news channel is doing everything it can to sweeten the deal for Tucker to come on board — including floating the idea of letting him program the whole channel, not just his own show.
That would be a pretty enticing deal point … in addition to having his own primetime show, Tucker would have a say over what shows lead into and out of his show, which can be key in achieving bigger TV ratings.
While TMZ sources stress Newsmax hasn’t formally offered Tucker a job — he can’t have formal discussions due to his current Fox News contract — we’re told the network execs have made it clear to people around him, they would basically give him a big say in rebranding their channel.
Newsmax has some competition for Tucker … as we first reported, NewsNation is showing early interest as well.
TMZ sources acknowledge it’s too early to know for sure where Tucker will pop up next, and it might not even be at a TV network … but we’re told whatever he does, it’s going to be big, disruptive, and will create a seismic shift in the conservative media landscape.
In the meantime, we’re told he’s cheerful following his Fox News firing … and he’s not dwelling on what he lost, but instead moving forward and hoping FNC does the same.
Fox News viewers in Tucker Carlson’s old timeslot reportedly decreased by about 50 percent since the network’s biggest star was shockingly ousted on Monday.
The effects on Fox News have been immediate and harsh, according to CNN senior media reporter Oliver Darcy. After bringing in more than 3 million viewers between Monday and Thursday last week, ratings fell to 1.7 million viewers on Tuesday and 1.33 million on Wednesday.
Wednesday’s ratings drop brought in 124,000 viewers in the 25-54 demographic, reported by Darcy as the slot’s worst ratings since prior to September 11, 2001. Fox & Friends anchor Brian Kilmeade filled in as one of many expected rotating hosts until a replacement is chosen.
Eric Bolling, a former Fox News host, secured about 510,000 viewers on Newsmax, which openly celebrated Carlson’s departure because of the potential benefit on its viewership. Bolling’s ratings nearly tripled since this time last week.
In 2020, Carlson’s show reached the top of the cable news mountain, averaging 5.3 million viewers per episode, which made him not just the highest-rated host on Fox News but in all of cable news. He became the first primetime host since 2008 to surpass 1 million viewers in the coveted 25-54 demographic.
The impact of Carlson’s exit has been immediately felt by Fox and Fox News Corporation Chairman Murdoch, the latter of whom lost $180 million of his net worth at a point on Monday after news broke of the split.
