Fox News, reeling from the loss of top-rated opinion moderator Tucker Carlson, overhauled its primetime line-up to reverse its recent decline in viewership.

Rupert Murdoch-owned conservative news channel Jesse Watters, who has hosted the 7pm ET show since January 2021, will move to the 8pm slot previously held by Tucker Carlson. announced. Watters will continue to co-host “The Five”.

Fox News also runs Greg Gutfeld’s talk show, Gutfeld! One hour early, by 10 p.m. Eastern time. The show is often the most watched show on the network among his 25-54 age group coveted by advertisers.

Conservative host Laura Ingraham, who has been on the 10 p.m. ET slot, will move to the 7 p.m. slot, while Sean Hannity’s evening show will remain at 9 p.m. ET.

The new lineup will go into effect on July 17th.

Schedule changes are rare for the highest-rated cable news channel, and Fox News has reached a $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems over the channel’s false statements about voter fraud in 2020. It was triggered by Carlson’s sudden dismissal a few days later. selection.

Carlson, an influential right-wing voice who sparked controversy with his inflammatory rhetoric on race and immigration, was ousted amid legal troubles facing Fox News.

The host and network are being sued by a former producer who claims they were exposed to a hostile work environment while employed on Carlson’s show. Evidence from the Dominion case shows that Carlson made disparaging remarks about his colleagues and management at Fox News.

But since Carlson’s resignation, Fox News has dwindled dramatically in the 8:00 p.m. hours, losing half of the 3 million viewers who watched it each night. The loss hit the rest of the Fox news lineup, even though it still outperforms top competitors CNN and MSNBC.

Watters, 44, has long been a favorite among Fox News viewers. His roundtable show “The Five”, where he is the center chair, is the network’s most-watched show, with nearly two million viewers watching his show at 7:00 pm ET.

He began his career on Bill O’Reilly’s Fox News show, ambushing and interviewing targets of the host who stepped down in 2017. Watters often plays the role of provocateur in provocative positions and tends to make outrageous remarks.

Sean Penn (left) and Sean Hannity in “Hannity.” The evening program remains at 9:00 PM Eastern Time.

(Fox News Channel)

In late 2021, Watters made inflammatory comments about Dr. Anthony Fauci at the Americafest of the right-wing conference Turning Point USA. He used violent language when he told the audience that questions about the origins of the coronavirus should be confronted with infectious disease experts.

According to one source, Watters said, “Go for the killshot.” A video clip of his appearance. “He didn’t see it coming, so he shot it in an ambush. It was fatal. This is when you say ‘Doctor.’ Fauci, you funded dangerous research in a sloppy Chinese lab, the same lab that brought this pandemic to the world. “

In explaining the impact of such conflicts, Watters said: he is dead! he is dead! he’s done! “

The network backed Watters after his remarks were denounced by Fauci and other critics.

After Carlson’s departure, Fox News used a number of hosts at 8:00 p.m.

Fox News has a history of replacing hosts that leave the network. The media industry was expecting a downturn after O’Reilly was fired over sexual harassment allegations. But Carlson, a cable news pundit when he arrived, has stepped up his rhetoric and become a polarizing star.

Carlson will continue to receive compensation from Fox News, so he can stay off the air for the duration of his contract, which runs through 2024. Earlier this month, Carlson announced on Twitter that the show would be resuming, but no other details were available.