Tucker Carlson Gets Fox News 9 P.M. Slot

Tucker Carlson will hold down the 9 p.m. slot on Fox News Channel starting Monday, Jan. 9, following Megyn Kelly’s jump to NBC News. Carlson’s Tucker Carlson Tonight started in November at 7 p.m. It will air live from Washington and retains its name.

“In less than two months, Tucker has taken cable news by storm with his spirited interviews and consistently strong performance,” said Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman of 21st Century Fox and executive chairman of Fox News. “Viewers have overwhelmingly responded to the show and we look forward to him being a part of Fox News’ powerful primetime lineup.”

Carlson joined Fox News in 2009 as a political contributor and was named co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend in 2012. Tucker Carlson Tonight has averaged 2.8 million viewers, including 515,000 in the 25-54 demographic, which Fox News says is up 23% and 26%, respectively, over the same period last year.

Martha MacCallum will take over 7 p.m. with the president-focused The First 100 Days. She’ll also anchor Inauguration Day coverage Jan. 20 with chief political anchor Bret Baier.

“Martha is a versatile and skilled anchor who has proven to be an essential component of our news programming,” said Murdoch. “For the last 12 years, our viewers have trusted her reporting and we are pleased she will be part of our primetime line-up for the first 100 days of the new presidency.”

(Photo via Gage Skidmore's FlickrImage taken on January 5, 2017 and used per Creative Commons 2.0 license. The photo was cropped to fit 9x16 aspect ratio.)

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.